I think most companies in this type of industry dont care aboput customers that are paying for service.
Attracting a new customer or throwing credits to keep one who wants to disconnect is another story though. Throwing money on retentions is a cycle that ntl has gone through a number of times, they also kept customers who had cancelled their service and ones with long term debts on the books to make the figures look good. They did the same by using tens of thousands of homes passed on old networks that had been shut down for years.
Offering credits just to keep a dissatisfied customer when there is absolutely no way the company can resolve the customers gripe is nothing more than massaging figures until the customers credit runs out and the cycle starts again.
I honestly believe (and some ntl employees) that billing problems where direct debits are taken after the customer has cancelled ntl's service is NOT incompetence but a method to make things look good. What other reason could the company have for so many ex-customers being charged for cancelled services.
It's either incompetence or fraud, take your pick
