Broadband ISP issue

b0bsquish

Hi Folks,

I have an billing issue with my old broadband isp, basically I called them last March to cancel the account, I was told that was fine and to cancel my direct debit in the bank (Which I did) 9 months later, I get a bill for the that period and when I contacted them about this they claim not to have any record of my cancellation, and that the account is still active.

(Note: they didn't send out any invoices in that 9 months, and in the one they did send me, it clearly had made up invoice numbers in that statement)
Do I have any claim here, or will I have to pay up (200 euro) for a service I didn't get/want?

Paulw

Any cancellation must be done in writing, and giving 30 days notice.

In this case, while you did give them notice by phone, it may not be accepted. The person on the phone should have told you this.

You could ask for a copy of the recording of the phone conversation (Under the Data Proection Act), if the call was recorded. But then again, it's highly unlikely they'd still have a copy of that over 9 months later.

b0bsquish

Ah sorry I thought I added that, I did also send in a letter however I dont have a copy of it or proof of postage, so I have zero proof (they also claim not to have received the letter)
And they don't keep a record of calls

Paulw

Tell them that you plan to file a complaint with ComReg, that you followed the required procedure (letter giving 30 days notice, and followed up with a phone call which confirmed that you were cancelling). If they can't keep track of their post and phone calls, there's not much you can do.

Just keep hassling them, and don't let them away with this.

You could also always query why you didn't get normal invoices, and only were told 9 months after you cancelled your account that they had not closed it.

Also, you could always request a copy of invoices, customer support system logs (logs of your calls and what the customer support enter on their internal system), data usage logs and billing attempts all stored on their system (under the Data Protection Act).

foggy_lad

b0bsquish wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I have an billing issue with my old broadband isp, basically I called them last March to cancel the account, I was told that was fine and to cancel my direct debit in the bank (Which I did) 9 months later, I get a bill for the that period and when I contacted them about this they claim not to have any record of my cancellation, and that the account is still active.

(Note: they didn't send out any invoices in that 9 months, and in the one they did send me, it clearly had made up invoice numbers in that statement)
Do I have any claim here, or will I have to pay up (200 euro) for a service I didn't get/want?

you called them to cancel and they accepted the cancellation over the phone and have not sent you any bills for the next 9 mionths which leads one to believe they fully accepted the cancellation or you should have got invoices and reminders, but now after doing their end of year accounts their computer is telling them that you owe for the last 9 months and they have sent you a statement to this end? while your account may still be active on their system they have not provided you any service for the last 9months and have not billed monthly.