Think IT Simple - not so simple

indextwo

I'm not sure if anyone else has dealt with this company so far, but a search on the name revealed this thread going back to 2010, which was one of the first things to cause concern.

To try to cut a lengthy story shorter: I was cold-called by this company on Thursday. Normally I have absolutely zero tolerance with cold-calling, but I guess my game was off. To be fair, what they were offering sounded quite promising - to cut my phone bill by over 50%. They also offered me an ADSL package, but I informed them I was on 150mbps Virgin Fibre. Unfortunately this didn't seem to take hold, as I had to remind them at least 5 times during the call that I didn't need broadband. Then, like an idiot, I seemed to be giving them my Direct Debit details and had somehow agreed to the switch. Again, I am not a sucker, but this was a pretty slick manoeuvre, and I kind of felt blind-sided once I hung up.

The guy I'd spoken to had confirmed my email and said I would be sent a confirmation with details, and a welcome pack would be mailed out the next day. I didn't receive an email, and in the meantime had started to do some digging (which included finding the thread mentioned), and realised that I didn't want to go through with the transaction. I tried calling, but as it was after 5pm I figured the offices had closed, so I emailed my 'account manager' and informed him I had changed my mind and wished to cancel the contract (note that this was the same day).

The next day, I still hadn't received a confirmation email, nor a response from my account manager. However, I had received an email from BT about transferring my services away. Since I had changed my mind, I called up BT and assured them I wasn't transferring away, and could they cancel the procedure. They informed me that they could make a note of it on their end, but the transfer wouldn't be cancelled unless Think IT Simple actually cancelled the pending transfer request on their end. The BT operator offered to put me straight through, but once again there was no answer.

The following day (Saturday) I received my welcome pack from Think IT Simple. The contract detailed the costs of my contract... and it was not what I had been told on the phone. At the moment I have an Unlimited Anytime contract with BT, so essentially all of my calls (minus mobiles) are free for up to an hour. When I spoke to Think IT Simple on the phone, the sales pitch had been for a 500-minutes-per-month plan, within which landline calls would be free. I was also informed that my mobile calls on BT were costing me 20p per minute, and through Think IT, they would be just 10p per minute. Looking at the contract they sent through, I was going to be charged with a 500-minute call plan... and my landline phone calls would still be 1p per minute. So what was the point of the call plan? Not only that, but I had subsequently checked my current phone bill, and BT are charging me 6p per minute - so Think IT's mobile calls were 66% more expensive! And, despite the many repeated admonitions about not needing broadband, in the bill they included £10 per month for broadband, and £50 for an ADSL router.

As soon as I received this information, I emailed both customer services and billing at Think IT and, as stated in their terms (which I read carefully), I requested a 'Cancellation Reference Number', as apparently a cancellation request would not otherwise be considered. I also stated in clear terms that I should not be billed, and that no equipment (including the utterly pointless ADSL router) should be sent to my address. No response. Which I wouldn't have expected on a Saturday... but I also received no response on Monday. Or Tuesday.

So yesterday (Tuesday) I called up Think IT again. This time I got through to a customer service representative. I requested a cancellation reference number, to which she responded that only my account manager could provide me with one and put the cancellation through. She offered to put me through to him, and - surprise surprise - he was unavailable. I requested a call back as soon as possible. A few hours later, the phone rang, and it was a very similar-sounding man from Think IT; initially I thought it was my account manager, but... no such luck. It was a follow-up call to see if I'd received my welcome pack. I informed him that I was expecting a cancellation reference number:

Think IT: Why do you want that?
Me: Because I want to cancel.
Think IT: ...but why though?
Me: Because I've changed my mind, and I no longer require your services.
Think IT: You must have had a reason though.
Me: I require a cancellation reference number.

...at which point he became quite sullen and said someone would call me back "in five minutes". I was not called back.

At this point I re-emailed customer services, billing, and included my 'account manager' (the one I'd never heard from again) and reiterated all of my points in clear and certain terms, and that I required a written response to my email, including a cancellation reference number.

Finally, this morning, I received a call from my account manager(!). To be fair, he was apologetic that no one had responded - he had apparently missed my previous emails & multiple requests for him to call me back. I informed him that I required a cancellation reference number. Much like the previous call, he wanted to know why; unfortunately, unlike the other call, he was absolutely dogged in his persistence to know why I'd changed my mind. He repeatedly gave me a sales pitch about how much I could save, and asking if BT had strong-armed me into changing my mind (they did not). In the end, I said "Look, it's immaterial as to why; I have changed my mind, and that's that. I require a cancellation reference number." - at which point, he too became quite sullen and gave me the reference.

To be doubly sure, I have emailed Think IT's billing and customer service departments and confirmed my cancellation, including my cancellation reference (finally!), and stated that I require written confirmation of my cancellation. However, given that they have never once responded to me, I'm not holding out much hope. I'm just going to be extra vigilant and double-check with BT and my bank to make sure that Think IT's transfer request has been cancelled, and that I'm not billed (especially for that goddamned ADSL router).

Obviously I absolutely should not have made a decision like this over the phone, and I feel stupid for so easily sliding right into that position. However, more than anything, and regardless of the reasons for my wanting to cancel, it struck me that the stonewall of silence that I got as soon as I wanted to cancel was concerning. It states quite clearly in Think IT's terms that, unless they receive a cancellation request with a cancellation reference number, they will not consider it as valid; and if that cancellation request comes 10 days after the initial contract date (or 'within the transfer window'), I would be charged a get-out fee.

It's also worth noting that BT claimed they could not cancel the impending transfer request from their end and, unless Think IT cancelled it, it could still potentially go through and I would lose my services with BT. So, if I was unable to get hold of Think IT within a reasonable time (which was almost the case), it would go through regardless, and I would lose my BT contract and be charged by them. I actually spoke to Ofcom about this, and they seemed certain that BT should have 'no problem' cancelling the pending transfer request from their end.

So, just a general 'be wary', and I was wondering if anyone else had experiences with this company? I had read suggestions that they had been insulting and bullying on the phone, so I was expecting the worst; but apart from the fairly pushy sales pitches (even in the face of certain cancellation), they weren't out-and-out rude. However, I do feel that if I hadn't pushed as hard as I did and been as insistent and stoic as I was, I would have ended up with a contract that I would have had to paid through the nose to get out of.