have i got a chance, taking 3 (Hutchison 3G UK Limited ) to small claims court?

mikeouk

Ive been a 3 customer for multiple years, originally on a sim only deal.

I recently discovered i was paying for 2 different accounts , the payments were coming from my business account, I never access the account because my father does all my accounts and banking, He presumed I had 2 mobile accounts and never questioned it. It came to light because I recently upgraded my phone and bought some accessories at the same time, so said to my father that the bill would be higher next month, he asked on which account? This is when I realized id been paying 2 accounts since September 2018, two different reference numbers on bank payments and the account i never knew anything about was the same payment every month.
I then tried to cast my mind back .and remembered going into the local 3 shop and trying to upgrade from my sim only deal to a contract with a handset, its a hazy memory being over 4 years ago, but can remember there was some sort of a problem with the handset i wanted being in stock, I must have already filled out paper work and then told them I didn't want to proceed, I then ordered the upgrade online.
I never received a second handset or sim card.
When I realized what had happened ,I called 3 customer services, at first they dismissed it because they said there was no evidence of fraudulent use, I explained that i wasnt claiming fraudulent use, but an account had been set up in error, they told me I should have reported it earlier, I told them that when they saw an account with zero usage they should have questioned it. After weeks of phone calls, today they offered me 3 months of payments back, i told them no, then they offered me 3 months payments back and a free 3 months on my active account, i told them no, then they offered me 12 months payments back, i told them no. The total i have paid is £1911 for an account ive never used, never had a handset or sim card for, so I think its only fair they refund the total amount.

So im thinking my best option is to take them to small claims court.

Ive been paying for a service that I wasn't aware of and never used and that was set up because of an error by someone from 3, so is this my best cause of action and if so, am i likely to get a full refund?

DullGreyGuy

You are on very poor footing...

1) You say this is a business account and so rights are massively reduced

2) For 5 years you have happily paid for it, have signed off accounts with HMRC etc saying these are legitimate business expenses (see ex-presidents currently facing criminal charges for signing off accounts blindly)

3) You admit you aren't really sure what happened...the whole "he came out of no where" isnt well accepted by courts as teleportation hasn't been invented

SiliconChip

I'd say you should snap up their offer before they withdraw it. You might win a small claim, but you really have no evidence that it was a mistake by 3, and even if it was you had many opportunities to notify them of the error since payments started to be taken. I think 3 might well choose to defend any claim and for sure they will have a better legal team than you can afford to pay.

visidigi

I would take the 12 months and run. You can't completely blame Three here.

tightauldgit

What exactly would you be claiming in small claims? Negligence by 3? Would that amount to more than the negligence on your part for not checking or questioning the bills for years? 12 months sounds like a very fair settlement to be honest. 

mikeouk

tightauldgit said:

What exactly would you be claiming in small claims? Negligence by 3? Would that amount to more than the negligence on your part for not checking or questioning the bills for years? 12 months sounds like a very fair settlement to be honest. 

id be claiming the full amount paid for a missold service ive never received. The fact I didnt notice the payment for years is irrelevant .
Ive filed a claim with the telecoms ombudsman ,so will see what they decide.

Aylesbury_Duck

How exactly was a contract you went into store for, completed a load of paperwork for and handed over your bank account details for, mis-sold?

Clive_Woody

mikeouk said:

tightauldgit said:

What exactly would you be claiming in small claims? Negligence by 3? Would that amount to more than the negligence on your part for not checking or questioning the bills for years? 12 months sounds like a very fair settlement to be honest. 

id be claiming the full amount paid for a missold service ive never received. The fact I didnt notice the payment for years is irrelevant .
Ive filed a claim with the telecoms ombudsman ,so will see what they decide.

If this way being paid from a business account then presumably the business would need to make the claim, not you as an individual. The fact that the business missed this payment coming out of the account for 5yrs would seem highly relevant as many opportunities to notice this earlier and take action.

Casskale

mikeouk said:

tightauldgit said:

What exactly would you be claiming in small claims? Negligence by 3? Would that amount to more than the negligence on your part for not checking or questioning the bills for years? 12 months sounds like a very fair settlement to be honest. 

id be claiming the full amount paid for a missold service ive never received. The fact I didnt notice the payment for years is irrelevant .
Ive filed a claim with the telecoms ombudsman ,so will see what they decide.

How was it missold and whose fault was it that the service wasn't received?

These are questions a judge will ask so you'd better figure out your answer to these questions before you blow money on court fees.

littleboo

So your bookkeeper/accountant was fully aware of the payments, but failed to verify the spend was correct and instead made an incorrect assumption that both accounts were in use? Don’t you as the business owner ever look a summarised accounts? The fault would seem to lie with your business financial practices.

Pollycat

mikeouk said:

tightauldgit said:

What exactly would you be claiming in small claims? Negligence by 3? Would that amount to more than the negligence on your part for not checking or questioning the bills for years? 12 months sounds like a very fair settlement to be honest. 

id be claiming the full amount paid for a missold service ive never received. The fact I didnt notice the payment for years is irrelevant .
Ive filed a claim with the telecoms ombudsman ,so will see what they decide.

Don't you think your accountant is at fault here?
He made an (incorrect) assumption that the 2 bills were valid.

I think 3 have been more than fair here.
I'd snatch it quick.
And review whether my accountant was really up to the job of managing my financial affairs.