CPW Lifeline Insurance - Airtime Contract Protection

phil6011

Hi Guys,

Im new to this so please be gentle!

I have had an ongoing saga with CPW for 9 months now and I feel completely stuck and wondered if anyone could share any experiences/advice on the matter.

In August '06 i took out an 18 month Orange contract with lifeline ins., as I am a bit of a phone nerd the airtime contract protection (ACP) seemed perfect as it allowed me to terminate that contract after 6 months, CPW would settle the Early Termination Fee (ETF) with Orange (Approx. £300), and I would be contract free and able to take out a new contract with a new phone.

6 months on in March '07, i processed the ACP claim and was advised to simply cancel my direct debit with Orange for that contract as it could take a month or 2 to settle and was assured both the ETF and any line rentals not paid where i had cancelled the direct debit would be paid by CPW as i had officially signed the contract over to Lifeline's possession. Safe in this knowledge i took out a new 18 month contract with Orange with a better tariff.

2 Months on I was still receivin bills from Orange for the old contract which of course werent being paid and then about a week after I discovered CPW had cancelled my new contract in error when my phone stoppped working! I took ths into the store and raised it with management who advised that any costs incurred in cancelling the brand new contract were with CPW and they would get the old one cancelled immediately. I wrote a strongly worded leter and received a letter back in July/August 07 advising the original contract had all been paid off and even managed to get a small amount of compensation out of them.

Imagine my horror when 2 months on in October I received a letter from a Moorcroft Debt Recovery acting on behalf of Orange demanding payment of £100 for the original contract within 10 days which i was promised had been settled! Fuming, I managed to get CPW to send me a cheque to pay off moorcroft.

My fear now is that I have requested a copy of my credit rating and under the original contract it shows that the account is in default for being 8 or more months overdue and none of this is my fault! I was also recently refused credit for £400 and i have never had credit issues before. I have sent CPW 2 recorded letters and an email demanding an explanation and demanding that my credit history is rectified (I work for Vodafone mobile Insurance ironically and know that I have a right to this under the DPA/FSA regulations) I have had no reply at all and every time I phone I am told the Complaints Dept. only deal with people over letter and e-mail - both of which I have exhausted

Im really at my wits end with this and really concerned over my credit rating, Im looking to apply for a mortgage soon and this 6 year record will do me no favours.

Im sorry this is so long winded theres no short way of telling it

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

mobilejunkie

Maybe you'd be better writing a detailed letter to Orange about this; it is they and not cpw who would have to correct the credit file reference, since it was your debt to them. I would also try calling Orange - several times if necessary until you get through to someone who can help. In my experience the network operators can be very good and very bad purely depending on who you speak with. If you explain exactly what happened and that it was not you but cpw who were at fault at least you'd be communicating with the organisation who CAN rectify the (serious) problem caused. If you also state that you have contacted cpw but aren't getting replies, BUT that it was cpw who PAID the money owed BECAUSE it was their fault, MAYBE Orange will assist. Perhaps you could ask them to contact cpw without delay over this, given that cpw is a major dealer for orange and this will have soured your relations with the network through the dealer's maladministration (which is continuing). Only the network will make cpw jump - they don't give a toss for their customers nowadays I'm afraid. You could also write to the credit reference agencies - they may be able to help, although it is Orange who will need to confirm with them that this is not your error. You need also to keep hammering away at cpw - not a pleasant task. Send a recorded delivery letter complaining, setting out how they cause this problem and demanding they contact Orange and get the network to correct the entries on your credit reference files asap. It would be worthwhile copying that letter to Orange and all correspondence to the credit reference agencies. Don't waste time - you need to get this taken off your records asap.

phil6011

thanks for that ill try orange tomorrow, just so exhausting contacting people endlessly and not getting anywhere! The FOS think i may well have a case for them to look into as well, if anyone can strike fear into insurance companies its the FOS/FSA!

mobilejunkie

Unfortunately that takes too long. Such a wonderful industry, financial services, that the volume of complaints are stacked up for months before they even get looked at. Your need is more urgent. A complate pain I know - but too important to let go until you get a positive result.