Mobile billing dispute.

[news outlook]

Hi All,

I find myself in dispute with a mobile operator over a bill. In the middle
of last year I sent a letter by recorded delivery ending the contract at the
end of the 12 month minimum period - sent it 4 months ahead of time. The
letter was correctly addressed and signed for but they say they never got it
and have continued to bill me after the 12 months was up. Now they say I
owe about £70 and I want to dispute this.

Don't want to have to deal with debt collectors and get a bad credit record.
Should I pay up and try to reclaim the overbilled amount via the small
claims procedure at the County Court? Or just pay up and put it down to
experience?

Ta for any advice.

W

 

[andy]

Hi All,

I find myself in dispute with a mobile operator over a bill.   In the middle
of last year I sent a letter by recorded delivery ending the contract at the
end of the 12 month minimum period - sent it 4 months ahead of time.  The
letter was correctly addressed and signed for but they say they never got it
and have continued to bill me after the 12 months was up.  Now they say I
owe about £70 and I want to dispute this.

Don't want to have to deal with debt collectors and get a bad credit record.
Should I pay up and try to reclaim the overbilled amount via the small
claims procedure at the County Court?   Or just pay up and put it down to
experience?

Ta for any advice.

W

I can't see why you wrote in 4 months early

What did you do on receiving the first bill after the end of the
contracted period? Even then you could have given a month's notice, so
I can't see how a court would accept that the bills since then are
charges you'd spent the last 3 or 4 months objecting to but
nevertheless were forced to pay.

I think you'll have to hope for a goodwill reduction, pointing out
that you haven't used it at all, not even turned the phone on.

 

[Adrian Boliston]

Hi All,

I find myself in dispute with a mobile operator over a bill. In the
middle of last year I sent a letter by recorded delivery ending the
contract at the end of the 12 month minimum period - sent it 4 months
ahead of time. The letter was correctly addressed and signed for but they
say they never got it and have continued to bill me after the 12 months
was up. Now they say I owe about £70 and I want to dispute this.

Don't want to have to deal with debt collectors and get a bad credit
record. Should I pay up and try to reclaim the overbilled amount via the
small claims procedure at the County Court? Or just pay up and put it
down to experience?

Ta for any advice.

There is no "credit agreement" so I can't see how it would appear on your
credit report unless they took you to court and got a CCJ.

I doubt they would go to court for £70!

 

[Tim]

There is no "credit agreement" so I can't see how it would appear
on your credit report unless they took you to court and got a CCJ...

What do you mean?
S/he quite clearly said it was a "contract", so probably
not a "pay-as-you-go" phone. Anyway, if it *were*
pay-as-you-go, the situation outlined above would never
have arised, so there *must* be a credit agreement, no?

 

[Rupert Moss-Eccardt]

There is no "credit agreement" so I can't see how it would appear on your
credit report unless they took you to court and got a CCJ.

I doubt they would go to court for £70!

Unfortunately the provision of the service for each month before payment
is counted as provision of credit. If you look at a credit report for
someone you'll see that each monthly contract payment appears there.

 

[DCA]

There is no "credit agreement"

Of course there is! Think about it. Unless you pay up front, you are
being given credit - which is why you need to be 18 to get a contract phone!

 

[judith]

Hi All,

I find myself in dispute with a mobile operator over a bill. In the middle
of last year I sent a letter by recorded delivery ending the contract at the
end of the 12 month minimum period - sent it 4 months ahead of time. The
letter was correctly addressed and signed for but they say they never got it
and have continued to bill me after the 12 months was up. Now they say I
owe about £70 and I want to dispute this.

Don't want to have to deal with debt collectors and get a bad credit record.
Should I pay up and try to reclaim the overbilled amount via the small
claims procedure at the County Court? Or just pay up and put it down to
experience?

Ta for any advice.

W

As far as I can see - you had a contract - you gave notice of
terminating that contract at the end of the 12month minimum period.
Legally the contract was terminated.

Did you however use the phone after the end of the contract - ie what
is the £70 for? If it is not for calls I suggest that you write
recorded delivery and tell them that you terminated the contract and
dispute the charge - tell them that you sent the letter recorded
delivery and you have proof that it was delivered. Tell them the
matter is closed as far as you are concerned.

If however you used the phone after the 12 months and part of the 70
quid is for calls then you are on dodgy ground.

 

[Adrian Boliston]

Of course there is! Think about it. Unless you pay up front, you are being
given credit - which is why you need to be 18 to get a contract phone!

But you could say that about almost any type of bill where service is
provided in advance of actual payment.

I had a plumber do some work a few months ago and I had an invoice which
said payment within 30 days, but there was no "credit agreement" entered
into.

 

[Tim]

But you could say that about almost any type of bill
where service is provided in advance of actual payment...

Of course, and those service providers could
also give details of your account with them to
the credit reference agencies; most tend not to,
though -- except for mobile phone operators.

... I had a plumber do some work a few months ago
and I had an invoice which said payment within 30
days, but there was no "credit agreement" entered into.

Yes there was! If it wasn't written down, it
was implicit. But did you check all the small
print on the back of the Invoice? It would
normally specify there the terms of credit...