Kember.net

Persistance is key

Posted 28 March 2007, 14:59. (Filed under: by Andrew)

I’ll admit it up-front: I’m a student of both Lynne Truss, author of Talk to the Hand, and of Martin Lewis, who teaches people how to avoid paying more than we need to – consumer advice.

Combining the advice of both makes me doubly aware of how easy it is to get ripped off by “customer service” staff, who care little about me, and whose easiest route through their working life involves offering me what I already own, while trying very hard to avoid giving me what I want.

A case in point: BT. I’m writing this “fresh,” so the adrenaline is still working its way round my system. Last night, I noticed that we have two direct debits from BT, both with different numbers by them, as well as different amounts of money. I told Lisa, and we decided that I would try to find out what was going on today. I thought that I was probably paying for both line rental and a calls package, which would be my own silly fault, as we use TalkTalk for our calls.

Today, I got out the bills and saw to my growing unease that they were still charging us for the account at our old house. We moved in October, six months ago, and have been effectively paying for two phone lines ever since.

The gentleman I spoke to, whose name I didn’t catch, reminded me very much of Michel, the curt, affected Frenchman in the Gilmore Girls who doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

He told me that the account at our previous address had not been closed, but that no calls had been made on the account, so there was a balance of £60 on the account. (That’s the bit where he offers me my own money back.) I asked him for a refund of the line rental, as BT knew that I was moving home, and so should have closed the old account. He told me what a very strange circumstance this was, and how he couldn’t see why nobody had accessed the account when we moved. I agreed with him, and asked him what he could do about it. After some umming and arring, he offered me a line rental refund for the time since the January bill. He said he couldn’t offer a refund for the previous three months’ line rental, “because of the bill”. I paraphrase (until I get some telephone recording equipment):

“Could you please give me a full refund for the rental since I moved. I told BT that I was moving house, so I think that cancellation of the previous account is implicit in that.”

“I can only refund you from January. It seems very strange that [the old account] was untouched. I don’t see how any of us at BT could have done that.”

“So what are you saying?”

“Perhaps you didn’t mention [the old account] when you started the new one? It could just have been a mistake.”

“So I’m saying that I told you I was moving house, and you’re telling me that I didn’t?”

“No! Not at all, just that there was a misunderstanding…”

“I think this is really very simple. I told you that I had moved, and wanted a BT line in my new house. BT didn’t cancel the existing account, so now I’m asking for a refund of the line rental. I’m not asking for interest on the refund. I’m not asking for compensation, or champagne and chocolates – just a refund. I think that’s very straightforward.”

Silence

“Do you you agree with me? What do you think?”

Silence for another fifty or sixty seconds, followed by…

“Would you mind waiting while I speak to my supervisor?”

Kerching! The penny drops – I’m not going away, he can’t fob me off, or beat me in the telephone equivalent of a staring contest. The next ten minutes pass with me listening to a fragment of well-looped Mozart. Eventually, Michel comes back on the line.

“I’ve spoken to my supervisor, and we’re able to offer you the refund from October… [stuff about closing the account and sending me a cheque]... I hope you’re satisfied with the way I’ve handled your enquiry today.”

“Yes,” I jubilantly lied (interpreting his question as closer to, ‘I hope you’re happy now’).

I cheerfully thanked him for his time, and ended the call, feeling like I’d won a major battle in the war of attrition against the unseen call-centre armies.

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