EE have reduced me to tears (of frustration).

Taucher

So my wife's cousin comes to the UK for the first time in December 2012. I get a rolling 30 day contract sim for her to have a phone for the 6 weeks she is in the UK.

When she left the UK, in January 2013, I call EE to cancel the rolling contract and was told that it was done. In October I checked my bank statements for the year and found out I had been paying £15 a month for the contract, it hadn't been cancelled! I called, they said they had no record of me cancelling it. They said they would cancel it then and there and, if there was any proff I called them in January 2013, they MIGHT offer me a refund. I didnt hear from them again and gave it up as a bad job.

In March this year I cancelled outdated direct debits on my bank account that were for cancelled accounts, including my EE one for the 30 day rolling contract.

In July, when checking my credit score, I saw DEFAULT PAYMENT from EE Communication Services! They hadn't cancelled the contract again! When I cancelled the DD, I went into arrears!

Since then, I have called EE 15 times, been promised refunds and that they would sort out my credit reference entry only for nothing to happen. When I call back, they have no record of my previous calls at all! Today I have been on the phone for 2 hours, I have been cut off twice, been laughed at and told to stop being 'an idiot'. No one knows what to do.

I dont know what to do anyomore. I will write to them and take it to OFCOM.

Anyone have similar experience?

JohnDinton

The first thing to do is to stop wasting your time making phone calls. Put everything in writing. There is then a record of what you have said and the response or lack of it. Look at the complaints procedure. Follow it, including the steps for escalation.

The next thing to do is next time you want a phone for a short period consider using a pay as you go phone.

I am very happy with Lycamobile. It was fairly easy to port my and family members' numbers from Orange. We get free calls between Lycamobile numbers. Auto top-up gives most of the benefits of a contract, but if the phone is stolen you lose less than if a contract phone is stolen. There are some good rates on international calls.

LazyTyper

I've had an issue with EE (Orange more specifically) with the final payment when porting to O2.

This eventually caused a late payment on my credit report also.

Things only got sorted when I raised a formal written complaint.

As JohnDinton suggests, don't waste your time phoning, just follow the complaints procedure and things should get sorted.

And if they don't you will then be entitled to raise it with an ADR (Ombudsman Services: Communications or CISAS, depending on which EE is a member of).

macman

The regulator will not touch it until you've been through the supplier's own complaints procedure, which you haven't yet begun.
And, as above, that starts with a letter, sent by RD, headed 'Complaint'. That starts the clock ticking.

Taucher

Thank you everyone. I have sent off a letter of complaint and will get onto CISAS if they continue being terrible. I have never experienced such awful customer service. But doing this in a measured way I think I will regain my sanity with this.

I did intend to get a PAYG sim but was stupidly talked into a rolling contract.

Still, now I have cancelled my contract as it came to the end of two years, I have bought a highly regarded unlocked budget smartphone (a Motorola Moto G) for £150 and I am waiting for my £10 a month rolling contract sim card from Virgin (unlimited texts, 300 minutes and 2 gigs internet - better than my recent EE contract that was £31 pcm). Not tied into to any contract and will save about £400 over two years! Why havent I done it this way before? Why doesnt everyone do this?!