O2 Refresh final bill concerns

[Anonymous]

Good afternoon

I paid off the phone part of my iPhone 5s O2 Refresh contract and cancelled the airtime plan early. I was told on the phone at the time that I would have one final bill of £17.xx, which I have already paid.

I had a bill e-mailed to me today and it says that I owe £275.xx. 

I contacted the O2 Live Chat and they confirmed this is a mistake, I don't owe anything and the bill will be nullified, but I'm still a little concerned. Does anyone have any experience of this? 

My understanding is that I definitely should not owe anything, having paid off the phone part in full.

Thanks! 

[davethorp]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Have you chased it up Dave ?

Two weeks sounds a long time to get that amount back to you.

😞

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I think the form said up to 10 working days when I filled it out which by my reckoning would be on Thursday. I'll be giving them a call then on 202 from my one remaining O2 mobile if it hasn't materialised by then

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I've already had a letter confirming the phone plan is paid off, and it shows as such on the O2 website. 

I've set a reminder for Thursday to check that the bill is updated.

I'll survive if they do take the money, I'd just rather not go through the hassle of having to get it back when they shouldn't be taking it in the first place. 

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It would be cleaner to stop any money from being taken at all as trying to retrieve monies is way harder to do in some cases.

Let us know how you get on.

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Yeah agreed. 

I had to wait three weeks for Three to refund some money they should never have taken from me. 

Will do! 

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Matty, if you find that the money is taken from your bank incorrectly (and this applies to all companies using direct debit)  then you can do an indemnity claim through your bank and the money will be back in your bank within 24 hours. You're covered under your direct debit guarantee.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I've already had a letter confirming the phone plan is paid off, and it shows as such on the O2 website. 

I've set a reminder for Thursday to check that the bill is updated.

I'll survive if they do take the money, I'd just rather not go through the hassle of having to get it back when they shouldn't be taking it in the first place. 

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It would be cleaner to stop any money from being taken at all as trying to retrieve monies is way harder to do in some cases.

Let us know how you get on.

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Yeah agreed. 

I had to wait three weeks for Three to refund some money they should never have taken from me. 

Will do! 

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Matty, if you find that the money is taken from your bank incorrectly (and this applies to all companies using direct debit)  then you can do an indemnity claim through your bank and the money will be back in your bank within 24 hours. You're covered under your direct debit guarantee.

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I would rather let them keep the money until such time as they refund it to me of their own accord - saving for a mortgage deposit and don't want to risk anything adverse going on my credit report. 

[Anonymous]

What a shambles this is turning out to be...

The bill was still showing as £275.xx today so I called the O2 call centre. 

The lady again confirmed I do not owe anything, but that if I don't cancel my direct debit O2 will probably collect all of the money on the 14th March 2014 anyway. She advised me to cancel the direct debit as otherwise I'll need to wait weeks to be refunded by their refund process. She said that I'll probably get texts telling me I haven't paid and that I should just ignore these. 

She showed me the "recent charges" part of my account which shows that a credit has been applied to my account, yet O2 will still try to collect the full amount anyway. 

There has to be a better way of dealing with customers than this. O2 billed me for monies that I don't owe. They fully accept I don't owe the money yet they're saying there's no way they can stop their systems from taking the money. If I cancel the direct debit, their systems will chase me for the money that they know I don't owe. She couldn't say one way or another, but I suspect that they will probably issue late/missed payment markers on my credit report as well if their systems start chasing me for money. 

I'm going to cancel the direct debit and then send in a written complaint. 

[Anonymous]

I agree it does sound a right mess.

I for one am looking forward to your next update on the outcome !

[MI5]

I wouldn't be cancelling the DD tbh as you know this will lead to a default on your credit file which will sit there for the next 6 years.

[Anonymous]

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@MI5 wrote:
I wouldn't be cancelling the DD tbh as you know this will lead to a default on your credit file which will sit there for the next 6 years.

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That's my concern. I'm looking to get a mortgage in early 2015 so that's not an option. I might leave the DD and still write the letter of complaint.

If they take the money I'll complain to O2 and then to the ombudsman / CISAS, whichever O2 is registered with.

I've documented all calls thoroughly but the only thing I have in writing is this on the O2 website: 

"Early Termination Credit/Adj (VAT NA) -275.37 

Total other charges & credits -£275.37"

[MI5]

I think that's a much better approach.

[Anonymous]

Matty,

Did you ask about if the bill was placed into dispute like I posted? When a bill is incorrect o2 can hold back the request for the direct debit for occasions just like this, in fact it is done as standard so I would have expected it to have been done.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Matty,

Did you ask about if the bill was placed into dispute like I posted? When a bill is incorrect o2 can hold back the request for the direct debit for occasions just like this, in fact it is done as standard so I would have expected it to have been done.

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I must've missed that part of your post or not taken it in properly. She has placed the account into dispute; I didn't realise that meant the direct debit wouldn't be taken, as the advisor said that the money would most likely still be taken unless I cancelled my direct debit. 

Cheers