OneTel - delaying return of money
Please note that the rating refers to Customer Services and not to the company or its products and/or primary services.
 

We switched from BT to OneTel and enjoyed an excellent service and lower costs until it was taken over by Carphone Warehouse (CW).  Thinking that this could be due to CW's promotion of TalkTalk, we made enquiries at the local CW shop and decided to opt for the Talk3 International package.  We were told that TalkTalk and OneTel would deal with transfer of billing etc.  Although the sums involved are relatively small, the delaying tactics adopted by OneTel and an increasing number of companies to withhold customers' cash are deplorable and is known to have an adverse impact on low-income families. 

01/09/06
Signed up to transfer from OneTel to Talk3 International - go live date of 15/09/06
A refund of £14.11 was due as of this date from OneTel for advance payment of line rental.  This was not shown on the invoices from TalkTalk.
 

01/10/06
Wrote to OneTel asking for refund.
 
07/10/06
Invoice received from TalkTalk (not sure whether it was from OneTel or TalkTalk since they both use the same notepaper) showing negative total -14.11 with the note "Your credit balance of £14.11 will be applied to your next bill.  If you have any queries contact OneTel on 020 7181 9466.

29/11/06
When we heard no more and when this amount did not appear as a credit on our TalkTalk Talk3 bill, we investigated.  One Tel is a separate company within the Carphone Warehouse group and we were told to take up our complaints with them.  TalkTalk is only interested in signing you up

We were unable to ring OneTel Customer Services on the 020 7181 9466 since our previous identification (phone number and date of bill) were no longer recognised.  So, we had to make an 0845 call and work through a menu system for a call lasting 15 mins.  We were told that a supervisor would ring back.

01/12/06
Another 5 min call.  They wanted our credit card number, which we refused to provide since we had never used a credit card to pay our bills.  We had paid through a direct debit from a bank account but they refused to credit the money back to the bank account.  They agreed to payment by cheque to reach us in 2 weeks, which we accepted.
 

26/01/07
Had to ring again and talk to Senior Customer Advisor, Jose (?) 10.50 - 11.00 am.  Since no cheque had arrived, we were forced to give our Credit Card no. and expiry date but not the security code, to an Indian call centre, which were not happy about for reasons given elsewhere under identity theft and overseas call centres. 

Payment was eventually made on the 31 Jan 07 - 3 months late and after several telephone calls to an 0845 number.  What would have happened if we had not persisted?

Practices deployed to retain consumers' cash are deplorable and must be stamped out.   Carphone Warehouse should review and adopt customer-centred practices. 

24 Mar 2007
I have just come across this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and_radio/watchdog/reports/internet/internet_20070227.shtml
It looks like switching network providers is now easier as a result of Ofcom regulation but it does not address the problem described here. 
 

29 Mar 2007
In our 2nd letter to Mr Charles Dunstone (dated 25 Mar 07), we also asked him to look into this complaint about OneTel.  In response, Geoff Thirlwell (Managing Director's Team, OneTel) rang today with goodwill and an apology, which we have accepted.

Blog
The blog, entitled Praise or  Complain provides OneTel with the opportunity to address points raised here.

Mahes Visvalingam, 22/03/07
Last updated on 30/03/07