Legal Action Against NTL

[lostandconfused]

can i ask how you got to the figure of £50? did you calculate your avergae amount of calls, work out how much it would cost using a mobile, find out how much it would cost at an internet cafe and the cost of getting there. Or is it just a figure you think is correct?

does this also mean you would be willing to pay £50 per day for all your services?

[Okonski]

Originally Posted by lostandconfused

can i ask how you got to the figure of £50? . Or is it just a figure you think is correct? does this also mean you would be willing to pay £50 per day for all your services?

You make the mistake the NTL staffer made in calculating the loss. It has nothing to do with the actual value of services removed, but the fact they were summarily and incorrectly withdrawn denying me access to services that had already been paid for, and meaning I had to decamp to alternative premises when the service was pulled at 1010am. Just as NTL will not break down their £20 and £10 fees to justify a reconnection or late payment respectively, my cost of £50 per day was based on already having paid for BB, TV and Phone, to have all those services disrupted (except incoming voice calls). As I work from home it also affected my work. If I was in a higher paid job, my claim would have be considerably higher. The more users hold their service providers accountable for error, the less this will happen My claim was not unreasonable, if it wasn't ntl would not have capitulated and the courts would have to arbitrate instead.

[HughesJ]

I think that Okonski has made a good point here. Essentially people who end up in these kinds of situations with NTL are forced to pay because phoning CS becomes too much of a stressful event. Especially when you think that they are resolving it - but they aren't, or you wait for a manager to call - and they don't. or worst of all, when every time you call you get a different response.

In the main, NTL will always be up (financially) because the number of people who just pay up for a quiet life greatly outway those who are prepared to fight.
following that - most people just don't know how to fight and are afraid that it will end up costing them much more money and stress. It doesn't seem worth it.

I only came across this forum by luck whilst stressing about my own NTL hell. This site is great, but more people should know about it. but what I'm trying to discover after that bit of wisdom is what is the best way to go about fighting NTL (or anyone you have a dispute with). When you say 'letter before action' what is the action? and how much could it cost. the last time I checked a solicitors letter was about 200 quid.

[Okonski]

Originally Posted by HughesJ

I only came across this forum by luck whilst stressing about my own NTL hell. This site is great, but more people should know about it. but what I'm trying to discover after that bit of wisdom is what is the best way to go about fighting NTL (or anyone you have a dispute with). When you say 'letter before action' what is the action? and how much could it cost. the last time I checked a solicitors letter was about 200 quid.

Firstly, I don't want to diminish this forum as a useful conduit to get matters resolved informally, however when things are not pulling together and you want to show them you're serious, an LBA usually does the trick. You don;t need a Solicitor, and there are plenty of such templates you can copy from a different forum that worked for me. PM me for more details and the URL.

[big_rayster]

Originally Posted by HughesJ

I think that Okonski has made a good point here. Essentially people who end up in these kinds of situations with NTL are forced to pay because phoning CS becomes too much of a stressful event. Especially when you think that they are resolving it - but they aren't, or you wait for a manager to call - and they don't. or worst of all, when every time you call you get a different response.

In the main, NTL will always be up (financially) because the number of people who just pay up for a quiet life greatly outway those who are prepared to fight.
following that - most people just don't know how to fight and are afraid that it will end up costing them much more money and stress. It doesn't seem worth it.

I only came across this forum by luck whilst stressing about my own NTL hell. This site is great, but more people should know about it. but what I'm trying to discover after that bit of wisdom is what is the best way to go about fighting NTL (or anyone you have a dispute with). When you say 'letter before action' what is the action? and how much could it cost. the last time I checked a solicitors letter was about 200 quid.

Maybe a few people on the forum might be willing to help(myself included) others with the legal side!
Before sending a LBA (letter before action) you must be prepared to take the matter all the way to court, oh my god, court!...i hear you shout! Now before you lose the plot it's not that bad, there is the small claims court (as long as it's the claim is less than £5000)done in plain english for everyday people to fight back, it's available on line also if you call in to your local County Court they will be more than helpful in explaining what you got to do, and it won't cost a fraction of a solicitor! One of the best things about the small claims court is that if you do lose you don't have to pay the other sides court costs!

[Okonski]

Originally Posted by big_rayster

One of the best things about the small claims court is that if you do lose you don't have to pay the other sides court costs!

If only that were true! The loser in any court case has a liability to pay full costs of the action - it doesn;t matter if they initiated the action or not. The Small Claims Court does have an advantage that the costs are capped to a maximum of £80, and it is the judges discretion that can limit or disallow expense claims. If the pursuer (you) wins, your costs are covered, however if the court rules against you, the defender (them) can claim their reasonable costs up to the cap - some do not make the application, but just because they don't doesn't mean they cannot.

[VSPNET]

I moved house in August 2006 and NTL's representatives came round and said they would install it at my new property but i couldnt transfer my existing account here, They said i would have to sign a new 12 month contract right there and then before any work had been carried out. So i signed this contract and then waited 3 weeks for them to contact me on an instalation date, I waited and nothing, All this time i am still paying for 2 accounts (unknown to me) They had prmised me that as soon as i sign the new contract they would cancel my old one. So eventually i got onto NTL and asked them niclely when someone was going to come and install the broadband. They couldnt give me an answer because they were waiting on WAY LEAVE apprently. so another week went by of phoning NTL 2 times a day to get this sorted. Eventually one of the women on the phone dropped the bomb shell and told me i had still got 2 accounts with them. This is completly not acceptable. Finally one of the engineers came out and installed it at the address after my partner had a go at them down the phone. All they would offer me in compensation for the damn right cheekyness of there reperesentitives was £10 a month off for next 3 months :-O I am sorry but i would rather have the money in my wallet than off the bill. Do they honestly think were morons? Do they honestly think just because there a huge business and there indespensable that they can rip us off and it dont matter cos we wont be able to do anyhting??

I dont knwo what NTL think there playing at but they have got a great broadband, TV and Phone infrastructure but there customer care, reperesentitives and technicians dont communicate or they just plainly dont give a damn after contracts have been signed or installation.

[Okonski]

Originally Posted by VSPNET

All they would offer me in compensation for the damn right cheekyness of there reperesentitives was £10 a month off for next 3 months :-O I am sorry but i would rather have the money in my wallet than off the bill.

As would I, but why must the negotiations end there? They made their offer, but youi could claim that the inconvenience was worth considerably more, and you could reject it. In your situation, I would have agreed to and immediate bill refund of £50, and not in monthly increments. If they wished to follow this route, I would only accept staged bill discounts to the VALUE of £120 - after all, it's not really costing them that much. Always remember, there's always someone further up the chain who had a greater limit to negotiate that the person you speak to first.