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Vivaciti unfairly suspended my internet (story inside)

(This is also posted in another popular internet forum)


TL;DR:
Bill shock, dispute, cancelled direct debit, got suspended, feel bullied.



Here is the story:

Recently I moved house, bringing my Vivaciti ADSL line with me.

A month before I moved I asked them if there was any cost involved and they didn't reply.

I went ahead to tell them I am moving house, and they said there is an active line in the new flat and they will take it over.

A week ago I received a large bill from Vivaciti with some unknown charges:

Broadband Activation Fee £40.00
WLR Basic SL - Trans-Conv from MPF £40.00
WLR Renumber Charge £14.95
ADSL Cease charge £31.12

I immediately asked them to delete them of course, because I was never told about these fees.

So while I am still waiting for a resolution, the day before the direct debit is due to take money out of my bank account, they put in the amount of the full bill with all these extra charges included, I cannot afford to have this much money out of my bank at once so I stopped my direct debit just before the day, after they have entered the amount.

And the next day my internet is stopped and I received an email (luckily my phone still works) saying "We have been advised that you have cancelled your direct debit, I can see you have disputed some of the charges but by just cancelling your direct debit this gives us no alternative than to temporarily suspend your service until this issue is resolved."

We exchanged some emails and they keep saying vague questions I don't even know how to answer like
"who told you there would be no cost"
"can I assume you just thought there were no cease charges or activation charges at all?"
"At no point where you told there would be no costs to cease your existing service and install a new service."

I said I only moved my house and I never wanted all these random things.

I feel like I have been bullied to pay money I do not owe, and now I am without internet. (I am using my phone right now.)

They are taking ages to sort out my bill (and still unresolved), but the moment I cancel my direct debit because of the ongoing dispute, my internet is suspended. I feel this is totally unfair.


Also I have just signed up to another ISP out of frustration, but I got this email from Vivaciti:

"I have been informed that you have placed an order to move your phone line, this has been blocked as until the account is settled no moves or transfers can be done."
"Sir you are not going to have a new line installed for free and then move it to someone else without paying for it. We will NOT be releasing the line."

I believe they cannot do this. They cannot block me from switching away. They cannot brand me a thief just because I am disputing a bill.


Also they have changed my contract period from one month (I signed up in 2013 and has been with the same plan) to 12 month suddenly and they say I am now in a new 12 month contract. I was not told any of this, at any point. I did not even know about the 12 month contract, let alone agree with it.


Questions:

Are the fees normal for moving house?
If so, what are my options for complaint about poor (non-existence) of information and mis-selling?
If not, what are my options for complaint about poor communication and my internet being unfairly suspended?

Am I at fault? Am I at fault for cancelling my direct debit? Although I am happy to pay the regular monthly fees, I am not prepared for the extra fees listed above to be taken out suddenly.

My worry is what if Vivaciti drags on and not willing to cancel the fees and amend the bill, I won't be able to pay the correct amount, thus they will never re-enable my internet.

And if they continue to block me from switching, and with them unwilling to release my unfair suspension, I am literally trapped forever without internet.

I feel very bullied. I feel trapped. I feel cheated. I am treated like a thief. I am now without internet. And I cannot switch. I am literally trapped. And 8 weeks from being able to contact the ombudsman.

I appreciate any advice at all, thanks.
 
He's right, their support page makes no mention of any fees for moving an account to a new house, although there is a clue; they say you have to place a "cease" on your existing line.
 
As a general rule it's better to pay the disputed charges and then have an Ofcom approved ADR complaints handler tackle the issue for free on your behalf later on. However this does not automatically mean you took the wrong approach and any ombudsman or court would understand your reasoning.

Firstly, the charges themselves may be technically correct, although the onus was on the ISP to inform you of them before the transfer (some ISPs may charge those, others may not.. but the amounts can vary so they have to state it).

One reason for that is because the amount they've charged means that, if you had been given an option, you might have then found it cheaper to cancel the service with Vivaciti and sign-up with another ISP instead. But you weren't even told about them until the service move was occurring and then given a time to consider. In addition, the T&C's on their website only appear to clearly list one of the four charges:

http://www.vivaciti.net/termsandconditions

In regards to stopping your migration, Ofcom's rules appear to largely forbid an ISP from holding a customer's service hostage, even in cases of a billing dispute. The suggestion in their rules appears to be that you should be allowed to leave and the dispute can be settled external to that.

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.ph...dband-and-phone-provider-after-june-2015.html

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/bi...tion_22_Service_migrations_and_Home-moves.pdf

Furthermore Ofcom requires that all ISPs should be members of their Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) complaints handler scheme, which is either CISAS or Ombudsman Services: Communications. These companies will mediate complaints (those that have not been resolved after 8 weeks) between the ISP and their customer, but it appears as if Vivaciti are not members of an ADR (I couldn't find one listed anywhere on their website, you might want to ask them who they use).

IMO your first port of call should be to raise the issue with Ofcom, mentioning the migration block and apparent lack of an ADR membership. Ofcom may not investigate individual complaints, but it's important to get the ball rolling. After that I'd raise the issue with Citizens Advice to get their opinion and, if necessary after that, then don't be afraid to use the small claims court.

However if Vivaciti do happen to be members at one of the above ADR schemes then you could just pay up and dispute it all through the ADR after 8 weeks have past. There would be no charge to you. So you definitely want to establish if Vivaciti are members of such a scheme or not.
 
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Mark, we are members of an ADR, and at NO point was a stop put on them moving their broadband at all as was pointed out in their other post on a different forum
 
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