We have just moved back to the UK from Australia. We tried to set up a phone line with BT then realised we needed to order it as part of an internet bundle. We were advised to cancel the phone order and put in an order for the Infinity 2 bundle. BT sent an email to say this second order had been cancelled (no reason given). I rang and they assured me any money taken would be refunded. I have now received billing details for both the cancelled accounts. It seems BT cannot provide us with a service but its billing is an unstoppable machine. I have taken to Facebook and Twitter to try to get this resolved but can’t make any headway. I’ve been out of the country for a while and can’t believe how much customer service standards have dropped in my absence. CB, Ringmer, East Sussex
BT first tells me that because, following its advice, you cancelled and reordered in quick succession the system flagged up the need for a credit check and it called you to request additional documents. You failed to send these, it said, so it cancelled your second order. All your fault, then. Except that then it delves further and realises it has got it all wrong. It never asked you for those additional documents.
The next explanation is that the £50 connection fee you’d paid when you placed the first order had to be refunded before your second order could be processed. The fact that the system was still showing this £50 on your account when you tried to order another one triggered the requirement for a credit check because people who request multiple accounts in quick succession are deemed a bit dodgy. BT, which never explained any of this to you before you contacted The Observer and its chairman’s office, has now got your phone and broadband up and running and is giving you two months free line rental for “inconvenience”.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
