If a telecoms provider I have left sends me a bill, what is the legal position?

ColinD1

I am in the process of writing my resolution form to the correct service, so don't need any advice there.

I know mistakes happen and have tried incredibly hard to sort this out.

However, what is the legal situation if you're ex-provider mis-routes calls and bills you for this service?

If a bill came from an unknown source this would be attempted fraud?

Ofcom says it is nothing to do with them, consult a solicitor. Are there acts of parliament that apply?

pinkshoes

If you didn't request the service and were not aware you were receiving this service then this falls under Consumer Rights Act 2015. 

What do you mean by mis-routes calls? Did you request a re-routing service and they did not do it? Or they redirected the calls to a wrong number? In this case, you would need to prove that you did not receive the service you requested.

powerful_Rogue

Guessing this is related to your 3 previous threads?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6121611/have-you-left-talktalk-and-they-are-still-taking-their-direct-debit
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6153123/who-provides-routing-from-id-three-mobile-to-landlines

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6122247/weird-problem-with-phone-after-transfer-from-talktalk-to-vodafone

davidmcn

ColinD1 said:

If a bill came from an unknown source this would be attempted fraud?

I would have thought it much more likely to be a mistake, what makes you think it's fraud? And what's the "unknown source" if it's not your previous or current provider?

ColinD1

Yes I do think it is a mistake as a result of a complex set of conditions. The choice between unfortunate mistake, incompetence and conspiracy probably comes down to how feel the provider behaves. Even up to last Thursday, if they had said thank-you for bringing this to our attention, sorry for our mistake and the aggravation we have caused you and here is the £35 we owe you. I would have walked away happy.

I have tried incredibly hard to resolve it for over 3 months, even though as a customer I had not done anything that unusual (found a second alternative provider after the first attempt failed because they could not provide increased capacity).

However, it is like standing in front of a juggernaut that does not listen. I do not intend to make a legal case (only gives lawyers money and doesn't), but one of the moderators suggested someone here might be able to explain the legal ramifications. Ofcom initiated a class action against TalkTalk around 10 years ago for similar tactics. The individual appears to be powerless unless they have very deep pockets and unscrupulous business's can tale advantage of this.

I have no way of knowing if this is a one in a million case or a one in a hundred or one in ten case. Anyway even if it only happened to one person it doesn't make it acceptable. I have filled in the CISAS form and am selecting the evidence to go along with it, but it should never have got to that stage or lost me so many nights sleep or hours of my time.

If it was an e-mail from an unknown source I would send it to report@phishing.gov.uk.

ColinD1

CISAS process coming to an end.
TalkTalk have apologised and should be rectifying billing.
Vodafone are hopefully getting somewhere with the routing problem. 
Not getting too excited. Is that light at the end of the tunnel or is it a train coming the other way?