Is this a scam? "Phoneline fault"

tomthered

@normanmark although it may be classed as civil it could still be perceived as deception as they were trying to charge for a service not provided which is illegal. A court would take a dim view of this and would levy a large fine but it would never get there, BT would not want the publicity!

FannyHill

So if BT charges a customer and the customer feels it's an unjust charge what happens ?
I can imagine perhaps BT would want you to write here and write there and pay it and then ask for it to be appealed and make the customer go round and round in circles so they eventually give up.

It's never happened to me.......yet ??????

So
what's the deal....do they involve the heavy mob ?

BritBrat

If you owe money they cut you off and I think they pass the debt on to a third party.

I would not report them to the police for a billing error, but when they fully knew what they did to make the repair and then try and charge for the work they never done then I will make a police complaint every time it happened.

I think openreach are not going to last very long now that they have to stand on there own without having the resources from call charges, so they either need to reduce thier costs or charge the customer.

And they seem to be taking the charge the customer route a bit further than they should.

normanmark

BritBrat wrote: »

I would not report them to the police for a billing error, but when they fully knew what they did to make the repair and then try and charge for the work they never done then I will make a police complaint every time it happened.

But this is where the problem lies, if the engineer reports back that it was outside the house that the fault lies & the system bills you, that would be classed as a billing error. My advice would be pay close attention & if they have charged in error call them first, if you have the evidence there (and talk to an advisor in a polite manner ) then they have the power to amend the bill there & then.

I think its a bit 'OTT' to go to the police, and in all honesty & no disrepect intended they have better time to spend on 'real crime' than chasing stuff like this.

FannyHill

What happens if you have a large company and they are always right and they don't care to listen to the customer.They have the upper hand they just cut you off.Once call out charges start reaching hundreds of pounds people will have to start taking out insurance policies to cover themselves in case the big boys exert their power.
Years ago BT when they were the GPO would say you'll have to wait x number of weeks to get a phone installed. You don't like it go elsewhere.....knowing there was nowhere else to go.

normanmark

FannyHill wrote: »

What happens if you have a large company and they are always right and they don't care to listen to the customer.They have the upper hand they just cut you off.Once call out charges start reaching hundreds of pounds people will have to start taking out insurance policies to cover themselves in case the big boys exert their power.

FannyHill wrote: »

Years ago BT when they were the GPO would say you'll have to wait x number of weeks to get a phone installed. You don't like it go elsewhere.....knowing there was nowhere else to go.

Well it wont happen, the recent split of the BT Group & the opening of telephone exchanges means theres plenty of competition. The consumer does indeed have the power.

I dont see what the relevance of your post? Its the usual jibe against BT if people dont get the service they recieve they shout the 'monopoly' spiel. If i'm perfectly honest the market is as open as it has been for years. The problem is that no one is willing to invest in the network, many think its financially better to piggy back off BT as opposed to putting their own money to invest in their own network!

But back to the topic, refer to my previous post

FannyHill

I have only one choice in my area a BT line. I don't have cable or LLU I don't have a wide choice. I am not in an urban highly populated area.BT are the only game in town.

That is the relevance of my post.

BT have an appauling record of customer service, try phoning them up right now and see how long you have to wait to speak to an advisor ?

Any criticism of them is fully justified.

Heinz

FannyHill wrote: »

I have only one choice in my area a BT line. I don't have cable or LLU I don't have a wide choice. I am not in an urban highly populated area.BT are the only game in town.

You're wrong there.

Any of the many landline 'providers' now in the market could install/re-connect and rent a line to you by using the WLR (Wholesale Line Rental) system Ofcom forced upon BT. There is no need for your exchange to have been unbundled (LLU) for that to be possible.

IMHO, you'd lose far more than you'd gain though (the certain ability to use the likes of 1899, 18185 etc., the option to CPS your calls to name a couple) but the option is open to you.

FannyHill

Yes but it's BT or whatever the associated company is called Openreach or whatever that comes out and fixes the line and then sends a huge bill to the customer or phone provider or ISP who then bills the customer.

I can't say I don't want BT involved in anything my hands are tied.

Same as I only have one bus service into town.