Is this letter ok? - To Virgin Media re NTL

fizzyfeet_2

Afternoon all,

I'm hoping that some kind person might be able to give me some advice regarding the following letter. The letter sums up my problem, I think, but I'm not sure what to do next, or if I should pay it. The letter from Westcott said they were going to take me to court (I'm sure they say this to everyone, but it's still worrying:eek: !) Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the original letter I sent to NTL regarding moving out.

Many thanks
Fizzy

Dear Sirs

I am writing to you today with regard to the above account that I held with NTL. This account relates to my previous address of ***.

I vacated this address on 28 September 2005, and advised NTL in writing of this. I did actually phone up, and was advised to write a letter in.

I have had no further correspondence relating to this matter, and had assumed that NTL would have taken the necessary steps to close the account.

I have now received a letter from Westcott Credit Services with a bill of £57.49 referenced to Virgin Media. I contacted Westcott, because as far as I was aware, I hadn't had any account with Virgin Media. They advised me that you had taken over from NTL, and gave me a number to call to dispute the charges.

I spoke to a customer services adivisor, who looked into the account and informed me that the account hadn't been closed when I'd moved out, and charges had continued to accrue until October 2006. She then said she'd pass me on to someone in your dispute department. I was then put on hold for 23 minutes!

The call was eventually answered by Andrew R***, who stated that he was also a customer services advisor. I then had to explain again why I was calling. He told me that as he didn't have any record of my moving out, that there was nothing he could do.

Firstly, I am disgusted that it can get as far as being passed to a credit agency, without me even being aware of it, and secondly that I should be expected to pay for a service that I have not received from you, as I wasn't living in the property. Andrew R*** advisded that all I could do is write in, and the incoming post department would look into it. I do find it strange that this department would be responsible for disputes, but this is what he advised me to do.

Please can you look into this matter.

moneymaker2

Hi Fizzyfeet,

Personally I would scrap the letter and call up virgin media again and demand to speak to a manager and voice your concerns this way. Tell them that you will not put your concerns in writing as they tend not to reach them or get actioned. If they insist then I would ask for a fax number of the manager to fax or maybe email it across to them (This should save you some time). Also if they give you an answer over the phone then ask them to confirm what they are going to do in writing to yourself. These companies tend to fob you off as they get ''points'' deducted for passing complaint calls through to managers, so just be really insistant.

I hope this helps in some way. Laura

fizzyfeet_2

Thanks Laura, will give them a ring again on Monday.

pinkshoes

When you wrote to NTL, did you send it recorded delivery? Royal Mail loose a fair bit of mail, so there's a possibility that they never got it!

When you speak to Virgin Media/NTL again, you can tell them you can send proof that you moved out the address on this date. (council tax bill?!?! confirmation letter from bank of new address?).

If the phone call brings no luck, try writing again, this time sending it recorded delivery, with a copy of something showing when you moved out this address!