disputing a bill

alooof

is anyone aware of the legal position of a consumer in disputing a charge?
i was in a contract for a service, which was not provided. i was still charged despite many calls and letters trying to get reconnected or any other kind of resolution.
my calls and letters were ignored (the company was notorious at the time for poor customer services) and eventually my account was passed to a debt collectors. again i disputed the bill with the original company and was ignored

now the debt has been sold to a debt restructuring company and the original company refuses to discuss the account with me, saying it has now been passed onto a 3rd party. I did give them many opportunities to open up channels of communication at the time, but was not refused, just ignored.
I believe I shouldnt have to pay any money and have tried, many times, within the correct time-frame, to rectify the problem.
I am now being pushed by the 3rd party who has taken over the debt to make payments, they want to add interest, solicitors fees, send round the bailiffs etc but I need to find a way to put them off while I settle it with the original company

Can I force the original company to review my account? surely they cannot ignore me at the time and now refuse to speak to me?
I am confident that legally I should not be liable for any amount and need to get my story across. The best I could get was a general customer service address (the same one i wrote to 4 times previously with no success) and all i can do is write to both parties detailing my concerns.
from a legal point of view am I allowed to dispute charges at any point? and do I have a right to have these disputes legitamately reviewed and actioned? its not that they dismissed my dispute, they just made no attempt to resolve it at all


many thanks!

pania

a little cryptic that one alooof but maybe trading standards?

pania

duplicate post, sorry

trying-very-trying

I don't know the answer, but I think I'd try cab.

MissKJ

Is this a company which has a governing body like an ombudsman or just private? Need to know in order to advise. Best to start with codes of pracice and official complaint procedure. You obviuosly don't want to name them?

alooof

its 3 mobile. when they first started, they were terrible. beyond belief. i'm convinced all problems stemmed from their incompetence, because i went far beyond 'reasonable' steps to fix this issue, many times

i'm going to speak to the CAB and ofcom. best to cover all bases i guess!
from my knowledge of UK law (and general faith in consumer protection) i know i have a case to argue, but i'm not sure of my exact standing and because it was so long ago, how to prove it.

the main problem is 3 refuse to talk to me because they've sold the debt on, and of course the company that now owns the debt doesnt care and are pushing for the money.
what stalling tactics should I use to slow them down? they talked about forwarding the account to the pre-litigation dept and then to solicitors if I dont make a payment by next week

thanks

tigerfeet2006

It might be worth writing to this company and asking weather they have a copy of the signed, true credit agreement, because if they havent got it the debt is unenforcable anyway.

Here is the template letter from National Debtline. Send it recorded delivry with a £1 postal order. They will then have 12+2 days to provide it and if they don't then you are in dispute and don't have to pay them. Then if they don't reply after another 30 days that is it the debt is unenforcable.

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/temp/9845_58521.pdf

Not really keen on this letter, there is a better template somewhere on these forums if someone wants to find it.

alooof

i wish i could say thanks twice! cheers for the advise. i would love to screw them on a technicality even though i'm confident of my case!

alooof

just double-checked where i would stand in relation to this law, and a google search showed that the law has been updated
it is now the Consumers Credit Act 2006
it looks pretty similar to the 1974 act except now its sections 44-46

thanks again tigerfeet!

warburtonrichard

Hi alooof
I used to work for a telecoms company; and here's another version of what you should do.

1) Write to 3, as regardless of who they have sold the debt to, your original contract was with them. If they are hassling you, send a copy to the collectors, at least they will know you have a dispute on file.

2) When 3 incompetantly fail to reply or more likely, fob you off, write again giving 28 days to either resolve the matter to your satisfaction or issue you with a DEADLOCK LETTER with which you can refer the matter to OTELO, the ombudsman for telecoms. Set out what you would consider to be the best resolution in this letter.

3) Whether or not 3 reply with the deadlock letter, you can then take your complaint to the Ombudsman. 3 will have to pay a case fee whether or not the ombudsman rules in your favour (I am happy to give my opinion on whether he will or not if you give me details). At least you know you're maknig them pay something for your mistreatment!

Recorded delivery for everything. Google OTELO when you get to the right stage for the ombudsman.
I can be PM'd if you would like help.

Warby