Wescot Credit Services and ntl 'debt' (merged)

Simon6776

I'm not trying to say that this is not a good site but you all might like to read the many comments about Wescot trying to recover debts from Gio customers at https://www.ispreview.co.uk see forums, then general isp discussions. A Gio representative has also posted a note but that just adds to the fury we all have.

Just added to that thread myself, which is here, if anyone's interested. There are some quite useful comments in there also.

Simon6776

I have had a similar letter, albeit for the small amount of £15.98. I did get through to Wescot and asked for details of the debt. Strictly speaking I do not owe Gio any money because I cancelled the service due to it being unusable. I then wrote to them (they wouldnt accept it by email) as per their terms and conditions and then cancelled the payment myself. I think they are getting people because the cancellation was not made in writing and also giving Gio 30 days notice. I am wondering whether to pay as I do not want any trouble in the future, but am frustrated at the way this has been handled. I do not owe £15.98, but I may owe £7.99 (if you say I need to give 30 days notice) even though I did not use the service and was unable to for weeks beforehand too. What is everyone going to do..... the demand is due on the 3rd (a bank holiday)....... I wonder if they will be there between Xmas and New Year to take payments! mmmm

You mentioned their T&Cs, which I assume you have read. Do you by any chance have a copy of these, and does it say anywhere that there is a minimum contract term? If not, then as the fees are to be paid in advance, merely stopping payment (and advising them of this) should be enough to end the contract, as they shouldn't have continued to supply the service without it being paid for up front. Surely by doing so, and incurring debts people know nothing about, is against their own T&Cs, let alone anything else!

mattgod69

Hi Simon..... I did 'read' their terms and conditions but cant remember exactly what they were.....!! Also, not sure if I can get a copy. You are totally right in what you say, but this 30 days notice thing may still apply. It is arguable that they were in breach of contract as they were not providing a 'satisfactory' service. Obviously, if something is not being provided you should not have to pay for it.......

Regarding T&Cs... I have however found some info about the WorldPay agreement (this was in an email from Gio....

Gio Internet uses WorldPay for its online payments, when you sign up for any of the Gio Internet services, you will receive an email direct from WorldPay with your Username and Password for your payment details. Here you can update your personal and credit card details when required. Please ensure you safeguard these details. It is your responsibility to update your profile (address, email, telephone etc.) and credit card details with WorldPay. The following is of paramount importance: - WorldPay will attempt to collect payment on a monthly basis for any ongoing services, should a payment fail, WorldPay will attempt three times to collect the payment for that month, after the third attempt your account will be terminated with immediate effect and you have to re-subscribe to the service if payment has not be collected. Should you for any reason decide to cancel the WorldPay agreement your account will again be terminated immediately and you will have to re-subscribe and pay any administration / activation charges.

Basically, as payment failed (because I cancelled it) the account should have been terminated.

I am trawling through my other emails now, so will let you know if I find more details.

roderickw

I came across this useful tip at http://www.clik2complaints.co.uk/sound/viewtopic.php?t=1063:

In the meanwhile if you have problems with this company and are getting nowhere deal with Mark Bristow Bsc PgD MIQA MISTC, Process and Compliance Manager. Call 01482 590590 and make him aware of the problems.

He appears to be a senior person at Wescot who you can reach more easily than their recovery department.

Personally I will send a recorded delivery letter to Wescot and follow up with the trading standards people.

I think its totally inappropriate to send out letters of this tone with a short timescale to respond immediately before the Christmas/New Year holiday. To illuminate how little Gio thought about this, a Gio rep has said on ispreview, they were not sure which subset of their customers/past customers/nearly customers has or has not paid so they sent similar letters to all of them. Unbelievable.

Simon6776

Thanks Matt, I'll use that in my letter, if that's OK.

Rod, Hi. Thanks for that tip - could prove useful.

steady__eddie

I sympathise with all the previous posters but you have made me feel a lot better because I thought that I was the only one who had received a letter demanding money with menaces. Mine is only for £62.65 but the damage to my credit history could be priceless. I have e-mailed GIO requesting details of the charge and attempted to ring Wescot...................unsucessfully. I have never signed up with GIO but a little bit of digging has revealed that the parent company is the HAUKA corporation. Prior to my migration to my present I.S.P. I was with Big Blue and paid via Worldpay on credit card. I recall that the receits for payment referred to the Hauka corporation. I left Big Blue due to an inadequate level of service and notified them accordingly. This may be of interest to other readers who like myself had never heard of GIO until today but may have been with some tupennyhapeny outfit which was part of the greater scheme of things and who, in my opinion, could not be entrusted with the sale of condoms in a brothel.

captainpugwash_2

Late night for me last night because of this Wescot letter I received yesterday, I feel a lot better today especailly after finding a mass of complaints posted at:

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/

Click on General ISP Discussion / ISP Complaints & Problems then Merged GioInternet Notice of Debt Collection and hopefully all of Martin's regulars who've had the misfourtune of using Gio in the past will feel the same.

CaptainPug

mattgod69

Morning all.... Simon no problem at all, and Rod, good tips. Although they are only demanding a small amount, it could still go nasty. I dont want this to happen but at the same time I dont want to give in to their tactics. It is a matter of principal and I think they should pay for acting like that, especially at this time of year. I feel especially sorry for the people who have demands for hundreds of pounds. Unforgivable.

I also think that Wescot may even be acting outside of the law doing what they are doing before sending proper letters. If Gio had written to me telling me they thought I owed them money, things may have been a little different, but this kind of approach is only going to get them into trouble.

We should really all get together and fight this. Let me know your thoughts.......

Matt

Simon6776

Hi Matt,

I agree we should get together on this. I have now drafted about 8 different letters to Wescot, changing each one as other bits of information come in. Does Martin Lewis himself ever frequent these forums? What I feel we need is a template draft to work from, to which we fill in the blanks (amounts, dates, etc.), worded in proper legal terms.

Simon.

mattgod69

Beacuse I may actually 'owe' them £7.99, I did actaully tone down my fax to them. Basically I just asked them to provide details of the debt. I also emailed GIO asking for the same thing.

Whilst a template is a great idea, it is a little more authentic if we all write our own letters whilst putting all the necessary info down.... what do you think?

I was now going to wait until I have heard back from them. But in the background we can all be planning the next approach, but if we all bombard Wescot with a simple letter saying we dispute the debt and please provide details then they will soon get very bored and will not be able to cope!!!