Ekona Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I got an email through this morning telling me that BT had sold my debt of £66 onto a collection agency as I'd not paid it for ages. This was the first I'd heard of it, so I started digging a bit. First stop: The debt collectors. Spoke to a very nice Scottish lady and said that I was disputing the debt, so please check back with BT before proceeding. Now, this is where it gets interesting... I've got both a personal account with BT for the home, and I'm the nominated contact for the work phone as well so I thought it best to figure out which one this debt related to. I went through five addresses before we found which one, and it turns out that it's my personal one that relates to my old house. That's a bit odd, since I moved out of there a year ago! After more digging with them, they said the account relates to the period between 9-7-08 and 23-9-15. The earlier date could well be when I switched back to BT, but the latter date? I'd been out of the house for nine months by then! So I called BT. I gave them my details, they found my current account (which is up to date), but could they find the other one? Nope, no chance. The woman I spoke to was very helpful, and she was as puzzled as me as she said that although she wouldn't be able to do anything with my account now BT had sold it on, she should at least be able to see the details of it. But no, it simply didn't exist on the regular BT system. She could see it on a different system that the account number was correct, but nothing else at all. She gave me another number for BT Credit Control, but they couldn't see it either. Now, can you guess where this is heading? Yup, I think we can all see the future on this one. Debt collector goes back to massive corporation. "Our client disputes the bill", "We can't find that number. You need a different department.". "Hey new department, our client disputes the bill!", "Don't care, not our department, go bother someone else". "Hey newer department, our client..." etc and so forth, until the debt collector boss man says sod it, go chase him and take him to court anyway, he'll cough up as it's only £60. No. No I won't. It's only £66, but I refuse to quit. This should be fun! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirag1988 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Watching with interest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 although this could go on for some time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Well, I don't expect it to be resolved in the initial 30 day grace period I've been given by a long shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 You've probably seen my Facebook post with vodamoan so I feel your pain! Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Heh, I remember it well matey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexx Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 BT really are a shambles. A number of years ago when I first moved into a flat and set up BT they over charged me for set up and activation etc. So I called up and explained the situation and asked that they refund me the difference. Which they agreed to do. 2 days later I buggered off to sea for 3 months with no email access or phone access. Got home, checked post, had a number of BT letters, debt collector letters, and general bollockings demanding payment. So looked into my bank statements and found instead of refunding me the difference they had refunded me the entire payment. Which then meant I owed them circa £50. Instead of just adding this to my monthly bill to resolve it whilst I was away they decided to sell it on. The reason being "you owed a different department". The debt agency were very understanding and after producing copies of my bank statements and bills from BT they withdrew the debt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Pay them in pennies and damn their impudence! Watch out for your credit file though, just in case, a trifling debt can be a PITA at some future date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 (edited) My only concern. At this point though, as long as I keep on top of the correspondence then it'll just end up in court, where my documented evidence to prove I tried to confirm with them why I owe the bill will have it ruled in my favour But yeah, ultimately I would blink first and pay up if I thought there was a risk to my flawless credit history. I'd pay first, then fight like a bastard. Edited January 8, 2016 by Ekona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I worked on the NHS central database project for a while before it got canned. The contract was awarded to BT, who paid Sun Microsystems for kit and contractors, who then paid another company who then contracted me. So my salary was paid through Gov/NHS -> BT -> Sun -> Contracting company -> Me... with each of them making money just for me being there. Needless to say there was a load of people sitting around with nothing to do just because we made people money by being there. It was the most boring job I've ever had! The biggest moan was that internet just wasn't big enough to keep you entertained and you could only eat so much toast in a day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 I once got paid to sleep. True story, best job I ever had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 The worst job I ever had was with Jayne Mansfield................ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 What happened to your great experiences of BT. I knew you would come to see the light one day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 The worst job I ever had was with Jayne Mansfield................ dirty boy !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedutch Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 This reminds me, my wife had one of many phone calls from "BT" the other day trying to remote access our computer to resolve a problem, the last one insisted if she didn't allow access they were going to cut us off! This should be interesting as we have a sky broadband and calls account bundled with our TV package and have done so for several years ! Good luck fighting this Dan, but as previously mentioned watch your credit score, this could go down as a default even before you get it resolved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kieran O'Quick Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) Got to be worth fighting if you have a bit of spare time. Edited January 9, 2016 by Kieran O'Quick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggalo Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 No way they'll take it to court for £60. Just demand sight of the original contract. They're obliged to produce it. No contract, no debt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 15, 2016 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 In a somewhat disappointing end to what I secretly hoped would be a titanic struggle between myself and the faceless corporation, the debt has been cancelled. This is all because of an intervention from a member on here (who shall remain nameless, unless they want to post up themselves) who contacted me and offered his assistance as he works for BT. A quick email, an even quicker phonecall and BT confirmed that they hadn't got a clue what was going on either. They also couldn't find the account, had no idea what it related to, so they've recalled the debt and written it off. I cannot thank the chap who volunteered his help enough, one of the nicest things anyone's done for me for a while and very much appreciated. The only reason I'm not naming him is in case he doesn't want to be flooded with messages from others who want some help within BT! But you know who you are, and once again matey I definitely owe you a beer or two. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I could have done with this guys help in the summer when BT cut my internet off for 4 weeks and wouldn't do anything about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Good old social media to the rescue. Nice result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Good old social media to the rescue. Nice result. I'd like to think followers on here are a little more discerning than what the term "social media" normally embraces 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I resemble that remark!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Me too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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