Back Billing for Line rental. Ive had enough now

[sf49er]

hey guys. nob on here and was sent here by a friend who knew about the forum.

Anyway. From March of 2005 - November of 2005 NTL say they forgot to charge us line rental. In december they lumped it all on our bill but fialed to explain what it was for. Obviously this was a huge amount so they immediately cut us off as well.

When we rang up to complain we played hell with them for loading it all on in one go, never mind loading it on at all!

We demanded copies of the bills which they said would be sent out. And the disputed amount would be put to one side.

Januarys bill comes out. No copies of bills, and we are cut off again. Same complaint to CS.

Long story short, same Feb, same today.

But now they are saying that they want £4 per bill sent out. We demanded them at the 'price' they were in December when they were originally ordered (ie nil). We were told no chance. £4 per bill or nothing. CS have been rediculous on this.

They are telling us that they undercharged us Mar-Nov but refuse to provide proof unless we pay for it.

We are being held to ransom. In addition they have cut off out going calls and refuse to switch them back on till we pay disputed amount.

Who the hell do these people think they are. I asked 'what the hell was going on' and was told to stop swearing or the call would be ended!! When did hell become a swear word.

NTL seem to think that we should be grateful for being treated like ****. Well Ive had enough.

I dont know whether to drop them, complain further or sue them.

Any comments?

Welcome to the site.

If you would like me to send this to our ntl contacts to investigate please send me a private message, such as a name and contact number. Thanks.

[sf49er]

Can they demand this money without providing proof that they havent billed me for it previously as I want to go back to CS (I have decided) and have another go at them.

Already spoken to CS. Got automatically routed through to credit control as they have suspended services. Guy there gave me another number for cancellations which I cant dial as dial out is suspended. Seems they wont even listen now till I have paid them, and then I would have the joy of trying to get it back!!!

if your broadband is working use a voip service to call the 0800 number!

You can use sipgate or voipfone.co.uk, both these allow calls to 0800 numbers for free and all you need is a mic & speakers!

Otherwise it's a walk to the phonebox unless you want mick to help you.

Just to add though, you say you want proof you have not been billed for the service but you must have had bills from NTL. If you did not read them or simply bin them then that is your own fault and not NTL's and therefore why should NTL supply copy's for free?

I'm not saying this is the case but if you pay by DD don't NTL still send out a monthly bill?

[sf49er]

Thanks for the reply.

Just to add though, you say you want proof you have not been billed for the service but you must have had bills from NTL. If you did not read them or simply bin them then that is your own fault and not NTL's and therefore why should NTL supply copy's for free?

Yes I did recieve bills for that period. But who reads every line of a bill?

They asked for £xx.xx and I paid £xx.xx. Now they are demanding more and I am just asking for more proof that they are due it.

Is it my fault that I didnt read the bill? Yes. But it is NTLs fault that they failed to charge me for the services in the first place? Or do you think THAT is my fault as well?

As it happens I have just spoken to CS again and they are now sending out the bills for free.

I check all my bills from top to bottom!
(Always have & I always will.)

It is as much your fault as NTL's. As they did provide you with these bills you do have a responsability to check that they are correct.
(and as in the terms & conditions it clealy states you must inform them of any services you are getting which you are not being billed for.)

However on the other hand NTL have more of a responsability as it is their fault the problem occured in the first place!

Personally I would despute the full back dated bills and request some type of compensation for all the hasle they have caused!

I am no fan of NTL as anyone will tell you from my posts on this forum but in this case I don't think it is all their fault. However glad to see they were willing to compromise with you over the duplicate bills!

legally they did not have too!

[Shaun]

If they want £4 per bill then write to them telling them you want a copy of all data held on you under the Data Protection Act. Enclose a cheque for £10 and they will return you all your statement for the past 6 years. You'll also get a copy of any other data they hold on you including recorded calls and CCTV they still hold on you (if you've ever visited their offices).

They have 40 days to comply if not then the Information commissioner will make them.

Once that's through write a detailed letter disputing the charges and tell them you want compensation for the period you've been without service.

In the mean time I'd recommend you look for alternative companies to do business with, after all who wants to stay with a company that would prove you owe them money.

HTH

Edit - I see they're sending out the bills for free (as they should) but if you have any further trouble then write that letter. You'll get further quicker if they know you know your rights

[sf49er]

Thanks for your advice. Would you by any chance be a visitor to a website concerning certain financial institutions? (if not pm me for more details)

In my phone call I threatened them with a DPA to which they replied that bills are not covered by the DPA. I emailed the ICO for clarrification but haven't heard anything yet.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by sf49er

Thanks for your advice. Would you by any chance be a visitor to a website concerning certain financial institutions? (if not pm me for more details)

If you're talking about this site then yes. Make very interesting reading. Saying that I've not had a bank charge for the past few years so it doesn't help me.

Originally Posted by sf49er

In my phone call I threatened them with a DPA to which they replied that bills are not covered by the DPA.

Complete and utter bunkum. Shame on Ntl for still trying to BS their way out of subject access requests. They still haven't learnt.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by sf49er

In my phone call I threatened them with a DPA to which they replied that bills are not covered by the DPA. I emailed the ICO for clarrification but haven't heard anything yet.

Complete rubbish. I'd call back and ask for the address to write to so you can get the history of your account, not just the charges but notes and changes made to your services.

It should show when and how the charge for the line rental was removed. If it was done by mistake by an Ntl employee or by a system error I think you would have a strong case not to pay it.

The way it used to be done for things like this was to refund customers if we had overcharged them or write it off if they had been undercharged.
Charges were only backdated in extreme cases.

[Pinkypants]

My dad had the same problem in December.. I got him to call retentions and he got the outstanding amount written off and a handy discount off his broadband and phone line

My advice is to call retentions

Yes but if you call retentions you have to be prepaired to go through with your threat!

They may just take you up on it!