topic Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure in Contracts & Billing

Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 11:49:00 GMT

How to quickly get to the correct level of complaint...on an existing 'OPEN' complaint. I switched to EE from BT. EE accounting error gave me a £900 bill. Over a month now, 4 hours of time on over 6 phone calls and still not properly resolved. Money had finally been refunded but to get to the right level took me an hour today, to be told at Exec level I would get a call back from a different dept - within 72 hrs. My complaint is now escalating, my mental health is creaking, as 2 previous promised callbacks have not happened.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

bristolian — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:07:18 GMT

Do you have a point of contact that you've previously dealt with?

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:09:38 GMT

Jill was the last senior person on 28 Aug. Said she would call back on 2 Sep.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:10:02 GMT

TY for swift response.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

bristolian — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:10:34 GMT

Do you have a phone number or email address for Jill?

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:11:04 GMT

Sorry no.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

FIZZYLP — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:16:29 GMT

Hello @Andrew1959

sorry to hear that, doesn’t sound like you’ve had a bad experience.

Complaint process is:

all complaints stay with the person and team it was raised against.

Stage 1: Any Guide is a complaint handler and this is the first level of the complaint, they must be given the opportunity to attempt to resolve the complaint.

Stage 2: Management Escalation this is where the Guide couldn’t resolve your complaint so have escalated the complaint to their Team Manager.

Stage 3: If the Manager cannot resolve the complaint they pass the complaint to the Executive Complaints Team known as EC or ECR these deal with the complaint at the highest level, it’s the only department to issue deadlock letters and they also handle ombudsman complaints.

So has the executive team been in contact or are you still waiting for them to get in touch?

No matter if the complaint is on stage 1 or stage 3 BT and EE have 52 days to resolve the complaint or you can refer it to the ombudsman automatically.

Ombudsman complaints is an independent handler who reviews the complaint and see if BT or EE could of handled it differently or they agree an outcome with all parties and its legally binding whatever the outcome is, this would be the final outcome of the complaint process.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

FIZZYLP — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:18:47 GMT

If Jill isn’t part of the ECR Team then you wouldn’t have a direct contact number, only ECR will provide you with a direct email to their team and contact number, we obviously don’t know what position Jill is.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:21:48 GMT

I was told Jill would call back, on 2 Sep, and has had to escalate to Exec level.

I was offered £25 compensation, which after 4 weeks, £900 and over 4 hours seems low.

Regards

Andrew

[Mod Edit: Removed personal information from public post]

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:25:24 GMT

Thanks, thats added a lot of clarity.

Regards

Andrew

[Mod Edit: Removed personal information from public post]

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

FIZZYLP — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:26:20 GMT

Sounds like Jill is a team manager and has escalated the complaint to the executive team.

Jill should of made contact on the 2nd and should of told you it’s been escalated.

I can only apologise this never happened.

have you made contact with EE since and been given and update?

the you said EE have corrected the £900 bill and refunded it all it in full and they offered you £25 extra as compensation? In most instances they would only the money back that is owing, additional compensation isn’t going to be much if at all.

is this what the dispute is on the complaint?

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:34:04 GMT

The complaint was initially to get the £900 not taken. Then it was taken from my account (told it definitely would not be) so then to get a refund. That took 3 weeks and lots of time/calls.

Now I finally have the money back I’m wanting to complain how inefficient, poor the process and support and comms was.

Obviously having not got the money for a month has cost me money.

And over 4 hours of waiting to get help……

Regards

Andrew

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

FIZZYLP — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:34:15 GMT

Please stop posting personal information publicly it’s not safe and I highly recommend reframing from doing so for your personal security.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:40:39 GMT

Ta
Regards

Andrew

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

bristolian — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:38:50 GMT

@Andrew1959 wrote:
Ta
Regards

I presume you're replying to these internet posts using your phone's email client. That's including your contact details and phone numbers - which are being posted on the open internet. An open invitation for spammers to start contacting you.

I strongly suggest editing those out ASAP unless the site admins beat you to it, And be careful on future posts.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

FIZZYLP — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:41:23 GMT

I absolutely understand your frustration.

each case and complaint is different, things like large refunds do normally take time, they have to do a full investigation and no guide or manager can authorise £900 refund so this would normally have to be passed to a different department who can authorise large refunds, they have to make sure the refund is correct before providing it.

I absolutely know it’s taken longer then you expected but at least that’s now been resolved.

because us here is only the community we can only provide general information and support we cannot offer any kind of resolution to your complaint.

I would contact EE to clarify when you’ll receive an update from the EC team as they the best equipped team to handle such issues.

we cannot help anymore then this sorry.

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Andrew1959 — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:44:24 GMT

Zoiks. Ta
Regards

Andrew

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

FIZZYLP — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:43:54 GMT

I didn’t think about that, good shout!

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

Christopher_G — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 13:03:56 GMT

Hi @Andrew1959

I see that you've been given some great advice about our escalation procedure and how to go forward with your complaint.

Could you please keep us posted with what happens once you've spoken with the relevant teams?

Thank you

Chris

Re: Billing and Complaint Procedure

vteeproblems — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:31:53 GMT

Phew, I feel for you. I have a small value monthly contract, £16.90 a month incl vat, but in September they took £116.40!! When I phoned they said sorry, a system error, not to worry, money would refunded the following month. Then in October they took £239.63!!! I panicked like crazy. Another very long phone call and I actually got through to the man I dealt with the first time who understood and said very sorry the money would be refunded in 5-7 working days. he calc the amount at £268.54 which is correct BUT ee took vat on top of that. Anyway, now 1st Nov and the money was not refunded so just off the phone after another long phone call, man I spoke to very nice, said he has initiated the refund, this time I got a text, and that money will be back in 4 working days. So I had to chase. Now I have to wait and see if the vat element is refunded. I said once money is back I will switch to paying by Standing Order but aparently that's not possible. So only option is to phone them each month and pay, which is a pain. I learned I can phone my bank and put in what's called an indemnity claim so they refund the money immediately if excessive/wrong amount is taken, but this will take time. I still have another 15 months left on my contract so I cannot switch or else I would do so, because the stress is truly horrible, not knowing whether this'system' error will result in them taking exessive amounts in the future. It does not seem at all fair that the customer has to spend time and emotional energy investigating their errors. if it had been a one-off, I would not be writing this post, but it happened twice and the second occaison they took nearly twice as much as the first. Anyone else suffering from this 'system' error, as I was told I wasn't the only one affected? I asked how given my low value contract they could have ever calculated I owed multiples more, apparently it is to do with their 'system' thinking one is calling abroad or s omething. It wasn't clear to me. I have asked for transcripts of my phone calls, as I may need them if I need to take action to recover the VAT and also in future if this happens again. It is deeply stressful.