Eat your heart out Tiscali
I second that whole heartedly being ex-Tiscali too.
I really want them out of my system and it is many weeks since I last had a look on their Broadband "Service" Support Forum at the misery any number of their remaining victims are suffering
but they just won't let go of me.
I had their telephone service as a separate account to my broadband and closed both accounts at the same time. I paid for the broadband by direct debit and the Smart Talk account by on-line bank transfer using a sort code and an account number Tiscali provided to me when they took over my telephone account.
When I left BT (apart from the line rental) I started with Cable & Wireless that migrated through the likes of ntl and nPower before arriving at Tiscali.
Throughout last year they kept saying I had not paid my telephone bill. This happened at least three times and once when I had been away on holiday they pursued me for £0.99 yes ninety-nine pence! I had my bank trace one payment, which they willingly did right into Tiscali's account. Each time after months of hassle they admitted that they had received my payments one and all. At Christmas they told me that paying them by on-line bank transfer was not possible! Something I had been doing since circa 2004! So I filled out a direct debit mandate but they never implemented it. So when the invoice for the final settlement arrived I sent them a cheque with the tear off Giro from the bottom of the invoice in the self addressed envelope they provided with a first class stamp of my own on it.
This cheque to the value of £6.22 (and another for £0.72 to settle the broadband account) have never appeared on my bank statement and this was months ago, end of February early March!
After about a month I received a reminder about the £6.22 they said I still owed them. So I emailed and was told that their "white mail" (yes "mail" not "male" before you ask) was being transferred overseas" and not to worry because this was causing delays in the processing of some payments.
After another month came a "Notice of Suspension" (by now the line they were going to suspend was back with BT). In this letter they said that if I didn't pay up they would be passing the debt to a debt collection agency. So with copies to ofcom and BBC Watchdog, I emailed, wrote, and even rang them on one of their expensive, dreaded 0871 numbers and was told not to worry that there were hold ups processing postal correspondence as this activity was being transferred to Manila. I was assured that I would not be put on a bad debtors list but what comfort can I take from a harassed call centre operative, who was overly keen to terminate the call and did in fact put the phone down on me when I was asking why, if there was no need to worry, did they persist in sending out these letters. I never did get this point answered and at this time the matter remains unresolved.
Thank goodness for IDNet. They restore faith in this industry that I can think of no other provider that I have come across doing.
Sorry about the whinge. Maybe this should have been in "Rant & Rave" but Davids remark in this thread triggered me and I have said before that I am not one to use two words when ten will do!
David scrub the above, I have just read your:
http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=8011.msg173457#msg173457My troubles with Tiscali are trivial! For hanging in there my friend!
I see you fought and won a good result!