Problems with Pipex

toby77_2

Hi there,

I have an issue with Pipex that I really need some advice on, I recently moved provider to Talk Talk (I know they are rubbish in the customer sevice department but they're the cheapest!), anyway, The nice sales person from Talk Talk said not to worry about anything and that they would contact my current provider (Pipex) and cancel the account and take over the line. Cool I said.

On the 24th of July Talk Talk took over the phone line and my Pipex sevice stopped, (my Pipex internet connection was cut off at roughly 1:00am - i was surfing the net at the time). Now I was slightly annoyed with Talk Talk as my new modem hadn't arrived and I couldn't get on-line. but a couple of days later it did and my new service could begin.

However, Pipex then sent me letters saying i owed money for phone and broadband after the 24th of july (When my provider changed). more letters kept comming and threats of court action and dissconection?!

Automated calls started coming through 3 times a night, I waited to speak with the debt department, told them of the situation and they informed me that there was nothing they could do and that I would have to speak to customer services. so I did.

I have had several conversations with customer services at Pipex, the first 3 all ended with the outcome that I did not owe anything and that they we're very sorry etc, but then more recently I have had more letters, more automated phone calls and spoke to customer services who want to argue that i owe them money. I was promised by one member of staff (after 20mins on the phone) that they would get the last person who told me I owed nothing to call me and explain why now I do owe money?! I didn't get a call.

I have now stopped taking the automated calls and started a (very slow) dialogue via email. They sent me terms and conditions and alike but it doesn't make up for the fact that my sevice with them stopped on the 24th July and because someone 'didn't update their system' (Pipex member of staff's words) I have been hassled for money.

So the timeline of my situation is this;

1. Talk Talk take over my service on 24th of july and I cannot use Pipex phone or internet

2. Pipex send letters and call me asking for payment for sevice after 24th july, after conversation with customer services we find that the broadband is the culprit of the letters etc but it is resolved and I'm told there is nothing to pay.

3. More letters (now with £25 admin fee) demanding money or sevice will be cut off (it already had on the 24th July). Again I call customer sevices and the matter, I'm promised, is resloved.

4. More letters and calls, I call customer services and again am told everything is sorted.

5. More calls and letters, I call Customer service again, (very annoyed) and am catagorically promised, after a 40 minute conversation, that the matter is finished, the account closed and that they are very sorry for the mix up.

6. More letters and calls, apparently the last person I spoke to lied and i still owe money for broadband use for a month (which was cut off for the month in question) and that the lady I spoke to last would call me to explain.

7. No phone call from customer services, just annoying automated ones from the debt department.

8. I email customer services as i've spent about £5 calling them, we have some 'email tennis' going back and forth and they copy and paste some T&C's but don't really listen to the situation, they keep quoting me different dates that they dissconnected my service and that I'm liable for this and that.

So now I don't know what to do, I still get automated phone calls and letters saying if I don't pay they'll cut me off (?) and take me to court etc. One thing I Haven't mentioned is that the amount of money they are chasing me for is the grand sum of £13.33! (plus there admin fee of £25)I am almost ready to pay it just to stop them being annoying but my principals say why should I be charged money for a service I could not and did not use!!

Sorry for the exremely long post but any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

somerandomguy_2

Pipex do have a 30 day notice period for terminating broadband if you are out of the minimum contract period. The notice period starts when they issue the MAC for migrating to a new provider.

This is in the T&C (but is not that easy to find). The issue you have described sounds very much like TalkTalk activated your line and service quickly, so the 30 day notice period had not expired.

Even though you are no longer being provided service by Pipex, you are still liable for the full 30 day notice.

BUT as you have had CS reps explain that you do not own anything - I would stick to this. They record telephone calls so have a record of it (and have admitted it by the sounds of it). It depends how much aggro you want, but simply referring to the conversation where you were told you owe nothing in response to their demands is the way I would go.

barbuda

Pipex problems solved. (it works, trust me)

Just list the problems that you have with them, and as long as you have upheld your obligations, tell them that their contract is unfair, as below, and let them worry about it!
They have around 1 million UK contracts, if just one is found to be unfair then they all are..... Would they risk a court case, I think not.

Letter to Pipex, quoting account number etc....
You appear to be a communications company that severely restricts the way that you allow your customers to communicate with you, and also to be an internet service
provider, that will not accept email instructions using the very same internet service that you provide.

Banks and Building Societies do not seem to have any problem at all with email instructions, so why should Pipex?

Requests to you have to be made using a premium rate number 0870 143 0904. But then you do not answer in a timely manner,20-40 minutes on hold is a regular occurrence.

I believe you deliberately obstruct your customers means of communications, force them to call by telephone, and then delay your answering times.
You quote “high volume of calls, all staff busy” etc but in effect all this translates to is a lack of staff.

I believe that this creates an unfair contract under the "Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts” Act 1999, where paragraph 5 states:
A contractual term shall be regarded as unfair if it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.

Basically, your terms insist on cancellation by telephone, but your system prevents this happening in a timely manner.
This makes your terms unfair by creating a “significant imbalance in the parties’ rights”. This is detrimental to your consumer, makes your terms unfair and consequently they are illegal.

Send them a registered letter to;

Pipex Communications
1 Triangle Business Park
Stoke Mandeville
Buckinghamshire
HP22 5BL

I think that the silence you receive will be deafening!