EE falsely told me final bill was paid - worth going to the Ombudsman or not?

Cherryx

Hi all,

I’m hoping for some advice before I escalate this to the Communications Ombudsman.

I left EE earlier this year after more than 10 years as a customer. A few weeks ago, I noticed my credit score had dropped and discovered EE had reported 3 months of missed payments. I had no idea anything was outstanding — I never received a final bill, reminder, or arrears notice, and when I checked my account before leaving, everything showed as paid. I paid the last bill as it came through, early April for the usual amount.

When I contacted EE to raise a complaint, I was told a final balance of just over £10 was still owed due to the way my March/April bills were paid and adjusted. This was the first time I’d been told about this balance. In the past, EE had always texted me about late payments, but this time I had no warning and as far as I knew I'd paid my final bill.

I checked my online account, which clearly shows the final bill of this odd sum of £10 as “paid” and displays “You’ve already paid your bill this month.” It even says any further payments would simply credit my account. From my perspective, there was no reason to think I owed anything — EE’s own portal showed it was cleared.

EE explained that the £10 remained because my final bill included a pro-rata credit for unused days after disconnection, which reduced the total but didn’t clear it completely. However, despite the contradictory evidence I sent, EE’s complaints team simply repeated that the balance was outstanding regardless and said the credit file markers were a true reflection. They never explained why the portal said it was paid, and they offered no solution before reporting the missed payments and were completely useless.

I’ve since paid the £10 just to close this off, but the 3 missed payments remain on my credit file and have been there for several months. EE issued a deadlock letter, so the next step is taking this to the Ombudsman. EE have failed to even mention my evidence or screenshots in their letter and now won't speak to me about it, they were purposefully dodging the questions around the customer portal saying it was paid and I had to push back to get an answer. I also tried contacting their credit reference team, who also said because of the deadlock letter there's nothing they can do yet basically. 

This feels incredibly unfair and very unprofessional — I was never informed about the balance, EE’s own system said it was paid, and now my credit score has taken a big hit. As a freelancer, I rely on passing credit checks to hire vehicles and equipment, so this could directly affect my work opportunities or ability to access credit when needed.

Has anyone had success getting EE to remove missed payments in a similar situation? And do you think the Ombudsman will side with me given the portal evidence?

Thanks for reading — any advice would be much appreciated.

dumpster_fire2025

If you didn't pay the bill that was outstanding I don't think it's black and white that EE are in the wrong here. There is clearly a bill total showing so you knew you were not in credit at the end of the contract, why would you assume a payment had been made?

I can understand an argument that it shouldn't show as "paid" but if your entire argument hinges on that I don't think it's a particularly strong one.

outtatune

I take it the OP didn't have direct debit set up?

dumpster_fire2025

outtatune said:

I take it the OP didn't have direct debit set up?

"I paid the last bill as it came through, early April for the usual amount."

Doesn't sound like it.

born_again

Sounds like the 30 day notice period was missed by OP, which would be the amount owed.

amandaleeds

This happened to me over 10 years ago - was on a rolling contract so not tied in, and called to say I was leaving and called again to check it was definitely processed. Months later I saw missed payments on my credit score where they had tried to take money by direct debit (which I'd cancelled). 

They claimed to have no record of the phone conversations despite me being told at the time 'all calls are recorded' and the only way I managed to sort it was writing a letter to the CEO! 

A total face for a small amount of money but I got there, so definitely contact the ombudsman 

mta999

For me EE are definitely in the wrong - the bill is clearly shown as 'paid' and they further say they will write you if there is any further charge - which clearly they didn't do.

Cherryx

dumpster_fire2025 said:

outtatune said:

I take it the OP didn't have direct debit set up?

"I paid the last bill as it came through, early April for the usual amount."

Doesn't sound like it.

I guess you can't see the attached picture? 

Cherryx

dumpster_fire2025 said:

If you didn't pay the bill that was outstanding I don't think it's black and white that EE are in the wrong here. There is clearly a bill total showing so you knew you were not in credit at the end of the contract, why would you assume a payment had been made?

I can understand an argument that it shouldn't show as "paid" but if your entire argument hinges on that I don't think it's a particularly strong one.

Just to clarify – yes, I did pay what I believed was my final bill, which was significantly higher than £10.20. My final bill included a credit (as shown in my screenshot), because I left partway through the month and had paid upfront much earlier I assumed, quite reasonably, that this credit was applied correctly with anything outstanding paid off and that my account was settled.

As I mentioned, I double-checked the EE portal before closing my account, and it clearly showed the balance as paid. I wouldn’t simply ignore a bill and then act surprised when something appeared on my credit file — please give me some credit... no pun intended

Cherryx

outtatune said:

I take it the OP didn't have direct debit set up?

So I did not, I was paying monthly - I had a very poor financial year sadly at the start of the year and was struggling immensely, even to afford to pay for food. It was horrible. The only way I could control my outgoings at the time was to pay when I could to avoid bills coming out when I had next to no money left. Thankfully in a better place now, but earlier in the year it was very difficult. Nothing as far as I knew was unpaid - its why I switched in the first place to lower my outgoings!

Cherryx

amandaleeds said:

This happened to me over 10 years ago - was on a rolling contract so not tied in, and called to say I was leaving and called again to check it was definitely processed. Months later I saw missed payments on my credit score where they had tried to take money by direct debit (which I'd cancelled). 

They claimed to have no record of the phone conversations despite me being told at the time 'all calls are recorded' and the only way I managed to sort it was writing a letter to the CEO! 

A total face for a small amount of money but I got there, so definitely contact the ombudsman 

Very interesting they claimed they had no record of your conversation!! Yes they are meant to record all calls, that is so crazy to me. I honestly think refusing to back down pays off (obviously when its you that is in the right).

I'm proud of you for going for the CEO, needs must sometimes!

For me the staff weren't even acknowledging my evidence, it was ignored in the email entirely with them skirting around it with other things and were just telling me the bill was outstanding! No explanation offered whatsoever or apology. How is a customer meant to know anything is owed when they've been told its clear!?