Chess Telecom outrageous

pcombo · 24 March 2012 at 7:24PM

Tried contacting my ISP to get my billing information login etc. But says there busy all day then tried next said they having problems with phone system.

Well anyway i got bored and started checking some history of the company and i found out alot of stuff for example they seem to be operating alot of businesses at a residential property in Derby then dissolving the companies maybe 2/3 years later im talking around 20 companies.

They seem to have a guy who was born 1931 running an isp but got dissolved but now same surname but born 1980 is running the isp but under a slightly different name from the first.

I contacted company houses and they said they have been struck off alot of times for nor filing there accounts.

What should i do.

aldredd · 24 March 2012 at 7:27PM

have they done anything wrong yet?
ie, have you paid for a service they're yet to deliver?

Not sure there's much you can do until that happens.
May be worth mentioning the ISP, as there may be people who can vouch for them being reputable (I myself use an ISP few people will have heard of)

pcombo · 24 March 2012 at 7:30PM

aldredd wrote: »

have they done anything wrong yet?
ie, have you paid for a service they're yet to deliver?

Not sure there's much you can do until that happens.
May be worth mentioning the ISP, as there may be people who can vouch for them being reputable (I myself use an ISP few people will have heard of)

Dont get me wrong there service is good except it has problems with streaming some stuff.

I just dont like the look of the records, it seems like something dodge is going on with them.

Edit: the guys who answer the phone obviously know there stuff and are really clued up english guys.

But its not english guys who actually are in charge.

aldredd · 24 March 2012 at 7:36PM

well, from my (relatively little, it has to be said) knowledge, setting up an ISP isn't as simple as setting up a regular company, as you have to get licenses etc - so I'd imagine you're less likely to encounter a 'dodgy' ISP than some other industries.

Like I said, my ISP will be barely known, and when you ring you think you've dialled a wrong number as you just get a 'hello', and at first, their site looks like something a 12yr old knocked up in 1998 - yet they're one of the best companies I've dealt with in a long, long time, and know there stuff way beyond you'd ever get with a major ISP - not sure i've ever read or heard a bad thing about them.

What I'm trying to say, is appearance / impressions can be deceiving.

Evilm · 24 March 2012 at 8:09PM

More people name their sons after them than you would think. Its even possible that there are three "James" as grandfather, father and son in the family.

Until you name them then none of us are going to be able to check it out/be warned against them.

If you are dissatisfied with the service change ISP. Its not your job to police how well they do business.

pcombo · 30 March 2012 at 2:14PM

Ok Basically I have 2 telephone lines with a company its going to pay £14.04 a month inc calls, This line rental is business line rental but im residential, So i ordered redidential line with another company who offered cheaper price.

Anyone my current telephone company said there would be a £900 termination fee as im in a 3 year contract,

Under general condition 24 section 24.18
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/telecoms/policy/narrowband/statement.pdf

The current telephone company is saying i need to cancel my current order to move and wait 10 days till the move date, before they can discuss new price plan under ofcom regulations but i contacted ofcom about this and they said they dont have any regulation that would stop a company discussing there own price plan and never beaten prices.

What do i do im getting annoyed.

pcombo · 30 March 2012 at 2:18PM

24.18 Where the Losing Communications Provider communicates with the Customer in order to comply with this General Condition, it must not make any marketing statements or representations in the communication which may induce the Customer to terminate their contract with the Gaining Communications Provider and/or remain in a contract with the Losing Communications Provider.

According to the company they cannot discuss never beaten price or offer me any new prices, But ofcom seem to disagree with this and say that they can offer me new prices.

vuvuzela · 30 March 2012 at 2:36PM

Are you a business ?
If not, why do you have a business line ?
When you signed up for the business line, what were the T&Cs about cancelling the contract ?

pcombo · 6 April 2012 at 6:56PM

So I signed up to chess telecom after dealing with a very very pushy sales guy who basically told me what i was getting regardless if i said otherwise, I sent emails negotiating a deal but sadly i deleted those. So i signed 1 line up few months before i other one, It seems they just stuck me on the exact same deal and contract even though i expressed i did not want a 3 year contract, ( i need to get a recording of the sales calls)

So anyway i got a letter today with an outrageous bill if i want to leave the company for £972 for both lines to leave at £14.04 amonth. The reason i wanted to leave is they added fraud monitoring to my bill that cost £2.99 and didn't ever tell me in the sales call or in any letters. The company offer a never beaten price, So i sent a few quotes but they said we dont except residential quotes even though it doesn't say it anywhere on the site, (except on terms thats hidden away). They wont accept quotes or even look at quotes if i have a pending order on bt system to move to another company because of general condition 24.

24.18 Where the Losing Communications Provider communicates with
the Customer in order to comply with this General Condition, it must not make
any marketing statements or representations in the communication which may
induce the Customer to terminate their contract with the Gaining Communications
Provider and/or remain in a contract with the Losing Communications Provider.

I contacted ofcom regarding this, and ofcom told me this is being misundertstood by chess telecom, ofcom told me this means if i were leaving the company and then the company approached me with a better offer to stay.But I am leaving the company BUT its me whos asking for a better deal under there never beaten price system.

columbiana · 6 April 2012 at 9:09PM

Im not sure I understand the complaint... Why did you sign up for another line if you were unhappy with the first one? Why did you agree to a 3 year contract if this wasnt what you wanted? Did they offer any cooling off period- 7 or 14 days to cancel? Did you express that you were unhappy during this time or have you simply asked them to cancel the contracts?

As I understand it they are similar to carphone warehouse or phones 4 u in that they supply airtime on behalf of the networks, so the network will demand an early termination fee which I dont this Chess could waive as it isnt their charge.

Did you ever request the fraud monitoring service? Cant they just cancel this and refund any payments you have made if you didnt want this service? I dont think this extra service would allow you to cancel the contract, usually the network themselves will have their one t & cs which are very strict and will have very few get out clauses.

Sorry for all the questions, but a bit more info may enhance the quality of advice you will get on here

pcombo · 6 April 2012 at 9:15PM

You know i am really confused because i cannot find the package they have gave me on the website, 3 year contract at £14.04 just doesn't make sense for someone to sign up to.

I never got any detailed paperwork explaining what they have gave me, i only have a small email from them with some basic info such as price and the cost of the calls.

supposenly they add fraud monitoring to all the accounts and thats £2.99.

The second line i wanted to sign up but on a 12 month contract not a 36 month one, but they put me on that one anyway.

this is landline line rental.

Chess Telecom outrageous

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