What would you expect: Major phone billing mistake

Clipsey · 7 Mar 2011 at 15:49

In a nutshell:
My wife's grandfather has been paying for someone else TV service (the equivalent to Sky) for the past 28months! :eek:

How? Lot's of factors, he has a bundled phone service and the TV service is part of that bundle, it is automatically debited from his a/c each month.
He is an old man going through cancer (brain tumor) right now and not very well

I have spoken with the TV and phone company and they agreed it is their mistake and they have incorrectly been debiting his a/c every month for 2yrs and 4months at roughly $72-100p/m!!
So it is in excess of $2k that he is owed.

What would you expect from the above situation? Money back? Compensation? Credit note etc?
I am absolutely livid with them right now that this sort of thing happens, and is becoming a nightmare just trying to get anywhere (been 2hrs on the phone this morning).

If I had not noticed his phone bill on his desk and go, '**** Stan why are you paying so much for a phone bill?' how long would it of continued I wonder?

True_Scotsman · 7 Mar 2011 at 15:57

I would expect money back! Shocking that something like this can go on for over 2 years!

Tummy · 7 Mar 2011 at 15:58

True_Scotsman said:
I would expect money back! Shocking that something like this can go on for over 2 years!

Nothing less.

bam0 · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:08

True_Scotsman said:
I would expect money back! Shocking that something like this can go on for over 2 years!

Why? I think it's completely unsurprising it went on for 2 years. It gets set up, no one queries it, why would the tv company review anything when it doesn't appear to be wrong?

edscdk · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:11

bam0 said:
Why? I think it's completely unsurprising it went on for 2 years. It gets set up, no one queries it, why would the tv company review anything when it doesn't appear to be wrong?

this exactly,

however once noticed I would expect the money fairly quickly returned with possibly a good will bit of interest on top...

MickeyFinns · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:11

I'd expect the money back with inflation adjustments. If you're lucky you might get a credit note for their services on top.

Clipsey · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:14

bam0 said:
Why? I think it's completely unsurprising it went on for 2 years. It gets set up, no one queries it, why would the tv company review anything when it doesn't appear to be wrong?

I know it is all automated these days, but how I have no idea, it has all kinds of different names on the a/c (ones I have never heard of) the bill is being sent here, the service is being sent there kind of thing. Very strange.

True_Scotsman · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:17

bam0 said:
Why? I think it's completely unsurprising it went on for 2 years. It gets set up, no one queries it, why would the tv company review anything when it doesn't appear to be wrong?

Billing address and service address not matching would that not raise any questions?

Lunatic Dreyfus · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:19

I'd expect the money back. You can guarantee they'd be quite offensive if the money was owed to them.

Dolph · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:19

Money back at a minimum, however from the company point of view it is entirely possible that they were not aware of the incorrect billing, especially if it had not been raised before. The billing address and service address differing is certainly not uncommon, especially with the young and old customers where the parents/children often pay the bill.

bam0 · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:22

True_Scotsman said:
Billing address and service address not matching would that not raise any questions?

Hey, I'm not saying it's right, or that their system might be failing to check things properly. But I imagine it's probably a rather large company so I don't expect anyone would manually review anything unless it was flagged. Something got screwed up, the system accepted it, the bills got paid and no one queried it, I'm just not surprised that it went on for so long.

A.N.Other · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:22

I see why the company has never looked into it if nobody's ever mentioned it before, but it's pretty obvious that someone's been pulling a fast one on the old guy. There shouldn't be any hastle in getting a full refund, I wouldn't have thought - anything less and they're taking you for a ride.

2blue4u · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:24

You are unlikely to get more than just a full refund.

However..... A quick call to them to say "Wouldn't it be nice, when this is reported in our local newspaper, to say that you also made a generous goodwill gesture?"

POB · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:28

If its the USA don't ask UK people.
Our laws are different and the way companies and banks work totally different.

Find a USA based consumer forum or something who will offer much better help.

Clipsey · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:29

2blue4u said:
However..... A quick call to them

This does not exist I am finding out!!
They are being extremely unhelpful in resolving the matter. Some give me information, and some don't, some put me on hold for ages, some don't. I have phoned 4 times and each time I have had to explain and each time we go a different direction lol
Trying to get someone to help you is nigh on impossible :mad:

Viper² · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:39

Can you chargeback 2 years?

flibbage0 · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:39

A refund definately, if not then 2 years free service.

whitecrook · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:43

ha ha

Someone, somewhere is going to get a bill for 2K for TV services they have been enjoying FoC for the last 2 years.

Clipsey · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:59

whitecrook said:
ha ha

Someone, somewhere is going to get a bill for 2K for TV services they have been enjoying FoC for the last 2 years.

lol this is what I was wondering, can they even do that?

Tomsk · 7 Mar 2011 at 17:03

Clipsey said:
....I have spoken with the TV and phone company and they agreed it is their mistake and they have incorrectly been debiting his a/c every month for 2yrs and 4months at roughly $72-100p/m!!
So it is in excess of $2k that he is owed.

What would you expect from the above situation? Money back? Compensation? Credit note etc?
...

If you have some solid proof of this, then you should be able to easily get the money back.