£150 Bill out of the Blue !!

[MidgeY2K]

OK, I'm after some advice.

At the end of October 2004 I changed from NTL Dialup to BT broadband (as NTL couldn't supply me broadband!) I cancelled my direct debit, and sent an e-mail to them to confirm that I was cancelling my account. I got an automated reply saying that they may not be able to answer all e-mails personnally. I thought, OK, if they didn't get the e-mail I may need to pay for another month when a bill came through the post, due to the direct debit being cancelled. I never saw a bill so I presumed they had recieved and cancelled my account....
I have not used this dial-up account since, so thought nomore about it.

...then, last week I received a bill from NTL saying that I owed them £150 !!! This is a year after I had cancelled my account, and I assume they have been clocking up the bill ever since.

I spoke to someone on the customer service team, who said that in the small print I couldn't cancel by e-mail ! OK fair cop, I didn't read the small print(who does), but why didn't they send me a bill in the post when the DD was cancelled? They said they have sent me e-mails asking for the money. I could say that that I didn't accept e-mails!! but the truth is that I get around 100 spam emails a day, and only my friends and Family get through the filter, so I was unlikely to find it.
I do not want to pay £150 for a service I have not had or used. I would be happy to pay for a month, due to the incorrect cancellation method. (If they had sent me a bill, I would have been able to sort immediately)
Also, the Contract has the wrong name on it, so is it legally binding?

Hope for some positive response, as I am feeling rather dejected at the moment.
Midge

[arcamalpha2004]

It seems ok for them to tell you that you owe them money because they emailed you, and yet in the same breath tell you that you cannot cancel by email, something wrong here I think.

Take all your corresopondence to the cab if nobody here can help you.
It is their duty to bill you, not contact you a year later asking for the money when they have plainly not attempted to contact you, if they got no response by email why did they not use snail mail?

[Rob]

MidgeY2K to Cable Forum

Whoever told you ntl do not accept email cancellations is talking rubbish!

From the current Terms & Conditions publsished on the ntlworld website

30. Notices

Notices given under this Agreement should be delivered by hand or by prepaid first class post or electronic mail either:


to us: at the address on this Agreement or on the last invoice or to an alternative address notified to you;
to you: at the address in this Agreement or to an alternative address notified to us. Alternatively, if you take the Television Service or Internet Services we may deliver notices to you by sending them via the ntl Network so that they are displayed on your television or computer screen.

So in fact the only question would be whether you used a valid email address.

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by Rob C

So in fact the only question would be whether you used a valid email address.

I would presume he did as he got an automated reply to his cancellation email.

[arcamalpha2004]

Originally Posted by ian@huth

I would presume he did as he got an automated reply to his cancellation email.

I can only suggest that someone takes a sledge hammer and proceeds to beat ten bells out of the automated system, because it is useless.

[MidgeY2K]

Thanks for your responses so far,
I think the best step is the CAB, as suggested. I forgot to mention that I asked the customer service (<How can they use that title legally??) to cancel my account on the phone last week to avoid it "clocking" up another month of debt, but he said he couldn't without me paying off what I owe first !!!!

Also, although I sent the e-mail to one dept, it came back from another!?

I did like NTL and their service, and their price.....until now!!!! Things are great until a problem occurs!!
Midge

[Syco]

MidgeY2K

I know its over a year now but do you still have the email you sent cancelling the service? If you do print it out and send them a copy of it (recorded delivery) explain your situation that you were not aware that your instructions to cancel the service had not been followed, and as you were no longer receiving any bills from them during this time you had no reason to belive it had not been cancled.

NTL are at fault too as although they say they sent you emails, if they had not received a reply to the first couple of emails then they should have followed it up with a letter to the billing address which would have alerted you to the fact that your instructions had not been actioned by them.

It should not be your problem if their automated service aint as good as they would like it to be you followed their T&C for cancelling the account.

[Sipowicz]

If you still have proof that you cancelled the service, then I would send them a copy along with the portion of the T&C's that say E-mail can be used to cancel highlighted, and state that any service provided by ntl since that date (whether used or not) falls under the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act of 1971 (as amended). The amendment makes it illegal for anybody to invoice or demand money for an unsolicited good/service. I am sure the CAB will provide you with further advice. For more information on the above-mentioned act of Parliament, just Google it!