I received an email yesterday from BT telling me my bill was ready.
What bill? We moved phone and broadband provider in last June. We didn't pay for the old email accounts to be retained and used either, so no services were remaining.
Using my old log-in details I found BT had continued to take the direct debit each month.
When we switched from BT to Plusnet I received confirmation from BT that we were leaving and the date our supply would change.
The move to Plusnet took place (though we had problems there, took five weeks to get the fibre broadband working).
They have now closed the account down but are refusing to refund the money because I didn't ring them to say I was leaving.
They have over £400 of our money.
I never thought about the direct debit mandate, mainly due to needing to pay the final bill and then getting caught up in the Plusnet issues.
A complaint has been started with BT themselves, but I think it's going to become a matter for taking to Ofcom.
Yes, I know I should have checked for the final bill, but when you're no longer a customer and they themselves stated on our account page we had no services, why would I think they'd keep taking direct debits?!
So be warned, if you switch supplier from BT.
Contact your bank and use the direct debit guarantee to get the payments back. Keep better control over your bank accounts in future, I would have noticed after the first unauthorised payment had gone out !
I had a similar thing happen with Vodafone. Lodge a formal complaint but in the meantime I'd also be going after your bank to refund it under the direct debit guarantee. Just make sure you get your sums right as otherwise you could be left owing BT money, which could cause you more grief down the line. If you happen to have copies of your final few bills, I'd go over them to make sure you know exactly how much you are owed.
Went into bank today and they confirmed only two payments had gone out- BT had paused taking the direct debits due to the amount of credit in the account.
The statement I downloaded from the BT account before they closed it showed they intended to resume taking a lower payment from February. Cancelled the DD.
The bank did the DD guarantee refund for those two months and that should be back in our bank account by tonight.
Unfortunately that still leaves a substantial credit balance still owed to us. So when they finally do the final bill they will still be owing us money.
The complaints resolution team have not left a message- if they did ring, so I will see what they come up with.
Voyager2002 Posts: 15,588 Forumite
The bank did the DD guarantee refund for those two months and that should be back in our bank account by tonight.
Unfortunately that still leaves a substantial credit balance still owed to us. So when they finally do the final bill they will still be owing us money.
Under the direct debit guarantee scheme, you can recall ALL the money that you have paid by direct debit. In practice you should only reclaim the amount of the credit balance that is still owed to you, but you have the right to insist that your bank does this.
Under the direct debit guarantee scheme, you can recall ALL the money that you have paid by direct debit. In practice you should only reclaim the amount of the credit balance that is still owed to you, but you have the right to insist that your bank does this.
As I no longer have the statements to work it out, I decided that reclaiming the DDs taken after the switch took place could not be challenged.
Once they contact me I'll be able to decide what action to take, but I will not give up without a battle.
spyhunter Posts: 250 ForumiteIt sounds like you had a monthly payment plan with BT. A set amount each month on the same date but you get a quarterly bill/statement.
The amount is taken regardless of what you owe/dont owe. It's not the same as a
regular whole bill DD.
If there was a 5 week delay switching then this could delay your BT account closing and means DD will continue.
If your BT account is now closed a final bill will be generated and all charges sorted out on the final bill.
It sounds like you had a monthly payment plan with BT. A set amount each month on the same date but you get a quarterly bill/statement.
The amount is taken regardless of what you owe/dont owe. It's not the same as a
regular whole bill DD.
If there was a 5 week delay switching then this could delay your BT account closing and means DD will continue.
If your BT account is now closed a final bill will be generated and all charges sorted out on the final bill.
The switch took place on the date given (and confirmed by both BT and the new provider) and the phone and BT broadband disconnected.
But BT Openreach didn't connect the fibre broadband supply, just the phone. It was 1-2 weeks before Openreach connected the broadband, but it wasn't working. Openreach kept telling our new provider it was working, but it wasn't. Ended up with our new provider removing both the phone and broadband and getting both reconnected- it worked this time (that was the fifth week).
So even if that created the delay there was no reason for BT not to then complete the paperwork and send a final bill.
I was putting in long days for three months as well as dealing with the lack of broadband, so lost track and didn't realise I'd not received that final BT bill. A lesson learned for the next time I change provider.
