I do not choose my words lightly.
The story is, on 14 Oct I phoned EE (on the number provided for account cancellation ) to ask for the closure of a number & account I had for a mobile internet device, which I no longer used. I was told it had been done, account closed, which all seemed very simple ('too simple', as we shall see) and proper.
Then I see that over the next two months my direct debit was still being taken, as if account not closed. Therefore I shut down my direct debit at the bank to protect myself, as clearly either a mistake had been made (not jumping to conclusions at this stage) or I had been simply lied to, as part of an EE policy to make it hard for people to close their accounts and accidentally-on-purpose continue to charge them and chase debt, which many people would simply fold to and pay.
Then I get an EE reminder, £50 now (two 'unpaid' months). I reply to this in writing to customer care to explain how I had phoned to close the account and had been told it had been done, and please see to it finally. I merely got a brief letter back telling to phone them and I get a third and final reminder, before threat of account termination.
I this point I have a chain of written proof, so I send a Letter of Claim before Court action letter, giving EE a last chance to sort this out or face harrassment action. It is simply too difficult and too stressful to keep chasing this by phone, and I actually could bnot even figure out my way through the call centre to get to the appropriate department, and why the hell should I have to keep spending my life this way?
Within 2 working days, EE customer got back to me (on the phone) to deal with my complaint and, once again - finally??! - I was assured the account is now closed, my original phonecall had bene tracked down to 14 Oct, I recieved apologies for the technical blip that failed to close my account in the first place, and I am assured the account is closed now and the amount 'owed' of £75 scratched off. I felt a bit embarrassed and was grateful. However...
Today I recieve a letter from debt collection agency Advantis, 'on behald of EE', to demand £87.29, which 'their records (EE's) show as being outstanding'. This can only relate to the same issue, as I don't have any other account, except a payg sim card for my phone, never in debt. So, I was correct to put my foot down and threaten court action, wasn't I?
It's possible this debt letter is another technical 'blip', as it was dated the very day after my last phonecall from EE. However, my problem is how can I be sure? I can only assume that I am now 'in the system' of advantis, and that letters threatening debt collection are going to continue month after month unless I take action to stop it, because EE has clearly not communicated with advantis - either accidentally or deliberately. It hardly matters which, because this is indeed harassment and it's their responsibility as clients of advantis.
The only thing I am not sure about, is whether it is BOTH of them I need to take to Court, or just EE as the instigators behind it. One thing is for sure; we're in the realms of criminal activity now, plainly fraudulantly claiming and pressuring me for money I simply do not owe. And I am fast acquiring a chain of hard proof to criminal court standards (as opposed to civil court, which I am certainly ready already to proceed at).
My application to civil court does goes in this week, as of Mon 26 Feb , and the only thing that will repeal it is if I recieve confirmation in WRITING that both the EE contract is cancelled with £87.29 scratched off, and that advantis have removed me from their system so that I don't recieve any more threats and the false accustion of being in debt. In addition, I'm off to a string of national newspapers explaining how EE is a criminal organization, if such letter of confirmation is not forthcoming. I hate to take this tone, but I can't seem to get myself out of this false accusation of debt. The whole thing stemmed from a simple phonecall on 14 Oct 2023, just to close a £25/month contract, which did not get actioned
[Mod edit: Please do not post your phone number in this public forum. Thanks]
