M
madge
Guest
Dear aom,
I have the following situation.
I was a satisfied NTL customer for several years at various addresses I rented. About 2 years ago I moved to a rural part of the county and once again called up NTL to connect me. Apart from the fact that I lost coverage of 2 of the channels (apparently due to the poor signal out where I was) all was well until it came to bill payment.
I have always paid all my bills manually though the online banking system with my bank. I went to pay my NTL bill, but the bank called me and said there was a problem - basically my NTL account number started with the digits 900 and for some reason, the banking systems could not support payment do this account number. My back said NTL were aware of the problem and they suggested I contact them and get a new NTL account number.
I contacted NTL who were aware of the problem and said that it should be rectified in a few months. I requested a new account number but was told "to get you a new account number, I would need to set you up as a new customer and charge you connection fees". I pointed out the madness of that considering I neither a new customer nor needed connection!! This went on for a year and was exacerbated by there move to monthly bills. My payments were often late as a result. I don't work near a bank or a post office, so manual payments were only possible if I managed to get up early enough on a Saturday and walk 40mins to my nearest village before they closed at noon (I didn't have a car at the time)
I contacted NTL many times and said that I should have the same payment options as all customers. They suggested I pay by credit card or DD(neither of which were suitable options for me!!) I contacted COMReg at the time and they felt I certainly did have a case in that I should have the right to pay my bills via the same options as all customers. However, NTL customer service didn't react to this information and I got nowhere. Time and again I asked when the 900 account number problem would be fixed and for a full year got the answer of " a few months". Time and again I requested a new number which would have solved all the problems and the response was either " this is not possible" or" I would need to set you up as a new customer and charge you connection fees".
I started to get late payment reminders from NTL which sent me into a fury as I was only late because of my problem account number. However, about a year and a half ago I got a nasty final warning for non-payment of an outstanding amount of 4 cents!!!!! This was the final straw for me - I stuck a 5 cent coin to a letter and sent it to NTL and again explained my case yet again. 2 weeks later I was cut off. A week later I got a bill for the full month and I contacted them again and explained that I had been cut off etc. The woman I spoke with couldn't understand what I hadn't simply been issued with a new number to start with. She also said I needed to pay for the full month and then they would refund me the amount for the portion of the month unused - in this case most of it. I told her I would not be paying as I had reached the end of my tether and that customer service had never once addressed my issues or tried to help, even though Comreg has indicated that I did have a case. The woman was understanding and said that she would have to their credit department know, to which I said fine.
A year and a half later, I am happy with my Irish channels. As I had hear nothing from NTL, I threw out all my old bills and correspondence. Then last week, I got a letter from a collection company looking to collect the amount owed to NTL, just under EUR50. Apart from that fact that I no longer have record and can't even verify the amount, I just can't believe it!!
Part of me just wanted to pay it and get rid of it, but part of me just wants to ignore it, but I don't have the energy to argue this any further. Any advice???
I have the following situation.
I was a satisfied NTL customer for several years at various addresses I rented. About 2 years ago I moved to a rural part of the county and once again called up NTL to connect me. Apart from the fact that I lost coverage of 2 of the channels (apparently due to the poor signal out where I was) all was well until it came to bill payment.
I have always paid all my bills manually though the online banking system with my bank. I went to pay my NTL bill, but the bank called me and said there was a problem - basically my NTL account number started with the digits 900 and for some reason, the banking systems could not support payment do this account number. My back said NTL were aware of the problem and they suggested I contact them and get a new NTL account number.
I contacted NTL who were aware of the problem and said that it should be rectified in a few months. I requested a new account number but was told "to get you a new account number, I would need to set you up as a new customer and charge you connection fees". I pointed out the madness of that considering I neither a new customer nor needed connection!! This went on for a year and was exacerbated by there move to monthly bills. My payments were often late as a result. I don't work near a bank or a post office, so manual payments were only possible if I managed to get up early enough on a Saturday and walk 40mins to my nearest village before they closed at noon (I didn't have a car at the time)
I contacted NTL many times and said that I should have the same payment options as all customers. They suggested I pay by credit card or DD(neither of which were suitable options for me!!) I contacted COMReg at the time and they felt I certainly did have a case in that I should have the right to pay my bills via the same options as all customers. However, NTL customer service didn't react to this information and I got nowhere. Time and again I asked when the 900 account number problem would be fixed and for a full year got the answer of " a few months". Time and again I requested a new number which would have solved all the problems and the response was either " this is not possible" or" I would need to set you up as a new customer and charge you connection fees".
I started to get late payment reminders from NTL which sent me into a fury as I was only late because of my problem account number. However, about a year and a half ago I got a nasty final warning for non-payment of an outstanding amount of 4 cents!!!!! This was the final straw for me - I stuck a 5 cent coin to a letter and sent it to NTL and again explained my case yet again. 2 weeks later I was cut off. A week later I got a bill for the full month and I contacted them again and explained that I had been cut off etc. The woman I spoke with couldn't understand what I hadn't simply been issued with a new number to start with. She also said I needed to pay for the full month and then they would refund me the amount for the portion of the month unused - in this case most of it. I told her I would not be paying as I had reached the end of my tether and that customer service had never once addressed my issues or tried to help, even though Comreg has indicated that I did have a case. The woman was understanding and said that she would have to their credit department know, to which I said fine.
A year and a half later, I am happy with my Irish channels. As I had hear nothing from NTL, I threw out all my old bills and correspondence. Then last week, I got a letter from a collection company looking to collect the amount owed to NTL, just under EUR50. Apart from that fact that I no longer have record and can't even verify the amount, I just can't believe it!!
Part of me just wanted to pay it and get rid of it, but part of me just wants to ignore it, but I don't have the energy to argue this any further. Any advice???