Storms and chickens

[Reikiranf]

We used to be with NTL for broadband which was taken over by Virgin media, however once Virgin took over our speed got so slow that we were often unable to use the internet at all, whenever we phoned Virgin we were told that is was temporarily slow whilst they upgraded their system, this went on for so long we got fed up as we were paying £25 a month for a very poor almost nonexistent service, pages were so slow to load I could go off and cook a meal return to the computer and find it still hadn't loaded. The last time we phoned to complain they just tried to sell us a more expensive package!

 

The upshot is that we changed to 02 broadband in July costing just £7.50 a month and it is the best service we've ever had, we cancelled our Virgin account and thought nothing of it until September when they sent us a bill. We wrote to them immediately and explained that they had made a mistake and that their customer service department must have forgotten to notify the accounts dept and as we had no reply we assumed that was the end of the matter until now 6 weeks on we've received a letter from a debt collection agency, can they do this without even replying to our letter? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Amanda

[Egluntyne]

I would sent copies of all correspondence , inc emails to the debt collection agency.

 

Unless there is a CCJ against you, the debt collection agency can't do much, and bailiffs can only legally enter if your property if you give them permission. I would let them try to get a judgement against you. You can always pay it within 28 days if the court finds against you without any blot on your copybook.

 

The snag might be if you were tied into a contract and pulled out before it expired. Worth testing in court though, if it comes to that, as they weren't providing an acceptable service.

 

Good luck.

[clootie]

How did you cancel, by phone or in writing? I hope it's in writing and you've kept a copy of all correspondence. If by phone, did you get the name of the person you dealt with? Always keep records when dealing with any company in relation to complaints or cancellations. Isn't it funny how they are always falling over themselves to obtain your business, promising you the world but when it comes down to it and they don't deliver, any complaints can be met with a dismissive and unprofessional attitude. Perhaps speak to the Customer Services Department of your new provider. I'm sure they will be only too willing to point you in the right direction. I'm pretty confident that if you have proof of cancellation and it's in line with your contract, they don't have a leg to stand on.

[Reikiranf]

Thank you both for your advice.

 

We had been with NTL/Virgin for over 5 years so we weren't in breach of contract, unfortunately my DH cancelled over the phone although we might have a record of it on our phone bill. I think we may have to get onto Ofcom.

 

If I had money I'd be seeking legal advice with a view to getting back some of the money we paid them, I'm fuming about this as we were patient with them when they told us it was a temporary slow down in service, we paid a lot of money for service so poor one could hardly call it a service and the minute we change provider they get nasty and try and charge us money we don't owe rather than be content with the £300 a year they've had for nothing.

 

Amanda

[jess]

Can I just ask did you have to switch to a BT line to get 02?

[Willow]

Can you remember (approx) when he rang ? You could always ask them to pull the tapes for the call centre for that day, most companies will cave in rather than do that as it's a lot of hassle... Chances are they don't run their own call centre which may mean they would need to pay to get the tapes pulled.

[Reikiranf]

We've always had a BT line we were paying £25 to Virgin just for the internet! That's why I have a fringe it hides the word "mug" tattooed on my forehead Just joking it was DH really I'd been on at him for ages to change but he's one of those men who hates having to use the phone or write a letter.

 

We've always kept our phone with BT as I used to work for them so one day they'll be paying me a pension and if there's a fault it's always fixed within a couple of days whereas people I know with other companies have been left without a phone for up to 2 months

 

02 broadband is the best service we've ever had, no complaints so far and it's £210 a year less than we were paying

 

I phoned OFCOM who were very helpful so we've written to Virgin Media again quoting the Ofcom reference number and explaining the situation and enclosing a copy of our original letter to them and copied in the debt collection agency and Ofcom.

 

Patricia, thanks for your suggestion, we know the date of the phonecall and have stated it in the letter.

 

Amanda

[Cooks]

I had the same slow service during the switch over.. turned out that virgins systems are not too compatible with a lot of ntl's old modems, so they changed mine are kapoweee I was back on form, brilliant service now.

 

I would go with the advice of getting the tapes pulled. It should make no difference whether you cancelled over the phone, it's done a lot like that nowadays.

 

However, by complaining over the phone about my endownment polcy not reaching it's potential target cost me thousands as they denied I ever did and by the time I found out they were denying it and backed it up with letters they said I was out of time for complaining , so I back everything up in writing now saying further to our telephone call.. blah blah blah.. just covers any future problems.

[jess]

ugh right, thanks for replying tho, im with virgin currently and need to switch to a bt line to go to another provider :C

[Reikiranf]

We'll see what the outcome of the letter is before asking them to pull tapes, despite our numerous calls to them they never seemed interested in helping us and fobbed us off all the time It was only when my husband rang to cancel having already disconnected the modem & changed supplier that they then suggested our old NTL modem may be the problem! Too little too late why didn't they say that when we first complained? And if they knew that the NTL modems weren't compatible why did they not contact customers and send out replacements? it's not as if they didn't know who or where their customers were!

I'm glad you got your broadband sorted out Loopyloo but sorry to hear about you losing out on your endowment, I'll definitely be following up phonecalls with a letter in future thank you all for your help, I'll keep you informed.

[Egg Lou]

I had a similar situation with Orange recently.. moved for same reasons and got bill 5 months later and letter threatening to cut off supply..

 

I found after three rather stern phone calls, stating I was extremely unhappy with being threatened when I had clearly cancelled that finally after asking for management etc, I was taken seriously and did get an apology.

 

They acknowledged I had cancelled and were not keen on my reaction ref harassment and threatening behavour from a major company.. I stated they owed me money for the months I had paid without getting any service.. soon all went away!

 

I did ask for confirmation on writing though just in case!

 

Good luck!

[Redwing]

We changed to a lower special offer when we were with Virgin and inadvertantly then entered in to a new 18 month agreement because of the new price. When we left last month (no coverage at our new house) we had to pay the remainder of the term.

 

I know you dont believe you were in breach of contract but then neither did we when we cancelled so it may be worth casting your mind back to see if you changed packages etc.. recently