You may recall I was complaining to BT about unfairly charging me £135 for replacing the master box at the front of my house.
Oh, and also for failing to ring me back, poor service and having a dispute procedure that deferred exclusively to the expertise of BT’s own engineer.
I had been unexpectedly charged a couple of months after the engineer’s visit – at which he hadn’t mentioned anything about the issue being my fault.
Once I found out about the charge, I went online and used the chat feature to find out more about when BT applies the charge.
I then rang BT to complain and opened a dispute – which BT rejected on the grounds that their engineer disagreed.
So I found myself talking to a manager about my position.
Where was I?
I had pointed out that the dispute process wasn’t fair.
I expressed my frustration at having to chase at every stage; that the customer service was appalling.
What BT told me later was different to their warning before I first called.
I was astounded at how difficult it had been to challenge a clearly incorrect charge, and I had forcefully demanded the return of my money.
The BT manager was having none of it.
He stood by the decision of their engineer that the master box was the issue, and that the box was damaged due to decoration in the area.
He apologised for not having called me back, and that I thought the service was poor.
But he would not refund the engineering charge back, as it was correctly taken.
The wrong decision
I couldn’t believe it!
I argued back.
If there was one person who I needed to convince, it’s this chap.
He stood between me and £135, and I wasn’t off to a good start.
I threw in everything I had.
CC: I had only just moved in – how could I be blamed for damaging the master box?
BT: We’re not blaming you. It’s that it’s not BT’s line fault, and that’s why the charge is correct.
CC: But that’s not what I was told. Before I called, the warning from BT was that I would be charged if the line issue was my fault. It’s clearly not.
BT: It is your fault….
You can see the circularity.
Breaking the circle
This was getting silly.
BT weren’t conceding, despite this being common sense.
I had to change direction if I was going to achieve something out of this.
I decided to ask to speak to someone more senior, who would listen to sense.
I knew I had the right argument, I just wasn’t being listened to.
BT thought I would go away after a while – they were wrong.
However something unexpected happened.
The manager I was speaking to refused.
I wasn’t able to talk to someone higher.
The manager had determined the charge was right, and that was that.
We were in deadlock.
Deadlock: what is it?
When the company and you fail to reach an agreement, you enter a state of deadlock.
Essentially, you both decide that you and the company just will not agree.
Your avenues for appeal run out, leaving you with nowhere further to go within the company.
They should tell you what happens next: you need someone independent and knowledgeable to help you come to an agreement or, failing that, to decide on who is right.
Who will do such a thing?
The Ombudsman of course!
In the case of telecoms, the Communications Ombudsman.
You should always appeal to the Ombudsman if you think you’ve been treated unfairly by a company where this course of action is possible.
It doesn’t cost you anything and they’ll quickly decide if you have a case.
Their role is to investigate complaints fairly by listening to both sides of the story and looking at the facts.
They will decide what action, if any, should be taken when you and a communications company can’t agree, working with you and the company to resolve your complaint.
Help! I need somebody
I thought that, once the Ombudsman got involved, my obviously clear-cut case would be resolved quickly – and to my advantage.
BT were clearly in the wrong on this one, and I could smell victory.
An independent and impartial adjudicator would sort this out.
I was wrong.
Unfortunately, it transpired that the Ombudsman was not empowered to hear cases that related to telecoms issues inside private properties.
My complaint therefore fell outside the scope of their competence.
They would not be able to take on my complaint.
Being me, I appealed that decision too.
But to no avail.
I had reached the end of the road – and I hadn’t got my £135 back.
Despite my best efforts, I had lost.
BT had beaten me.
The one that got away?
What could I do next?
I considered writing a complaint to BT about my case and the way it had been handled – but how effective would that have been?
I decided to do the other thing that, as a consumer, I always have up my sleeve when nothing else works.
I took my business and my money elsewhere.
BT got my £135, but they lost out on my ongoing business.
So, in a way, I had the last laugh.
The take-home
- In regards to complaints about telecoms, if you and the company can’t agree, you enter a state of deadlock. This means that you have no further avenue of appeal. The company should tell you this, and should send you details of what you can do next. Don’t stop there.
- In many fields there is an Ombudsman who will consider complaints about companies under their competence. They are a free, impartial and easy to use service who offer practical solutions when agreement can’t be found. They look at the case, both sides and the facts – and come to a decision on a fair outcome. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of the service they offer where you can.
- If all else fails, you can simply take your custom elsewhere and deprive that company of your ongoing spending!
Any further questions?
Do let me know what you think about my battle with BT.
Please leave me a comment or send me an email.
As you know by now, I personally respond to every question.
I’d be interested to hear what you would have done differently – what where did I go wrong?
Could we learn from this how to better deal with cases like this?
I’d love to know your thoughts.