I have recently had the most curious dealings with my water company. The flat in which I live has a water meter. I’ve been there since August and my first statement came in January. They’d read the meter and I supplied them with a meter reading when I moved in.
For those four months, and including the annul standing order, my actual bill came to £48.00. Interestingly, my direct debit had been for about £12.00 per month, which seemed about right, although my total bill for the year will mean that I’m overpaying as I won’t pay another annual charge until next year.
For some strange reason, they estimated that my total bill for the year would come to £239.38. Where did they get that from? Maybe that’s what a flat this size normally does. But I’m not here at weekends, and sometimes not other times as my job takes me all over the place. Clearly, from four months’ usage, you can see that I do not use that amount of water. They suggested a monthly payment of £19.00.
I protested. They agreed to bring it down to its former level. They didn’t hesitate. I get the impression they knew they were trying to pull a fast one.
All fine and dandy. Except that on the new statement they tell me that my payments will not cover my charges. Pardon?
£48 / 4 = £12.00. I’m actually paying £12.61. What I should be paying is £48 -16= 32/4=£8.00 per month. I think at the end of the year they should be giving me money back. Should I demand the interest?
Nice try!
Showing posts with label Direct Debit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Direct Debit. Show all posts
Friday, 15 February 2008
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
Contacting Credit Card Providers
I had a letter form one of my credit card providers, saying that they had not managed to collect my direct debit. Well, yes, it had been a difficult month and yes, there probably hadn’t been enough for the direct debit to go out.
So, I tried to phone. I got through to their automated paying service. After much punching in of numbers, it recognised me, my card, and the debit card with which I was paying. Then it started to read back the number I had given, in its funny, tinny voice. It got almost to the end. Then silence.
I rang back in, and went through the whole rigmarole again. It was still saying I owed money. I opted to speak to an operative. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait too long, although by the time I did speak to someone, I had been trying to solve this for forty minutes – forty minutes I wouldn’t normally have. And by the time everything was solved, we had used up an hour. Depending on which way you calculate it, my time is worth anything between fifteen and sixty pounds an hour.
I’d also been puzzled by the fact that the machine told me that my next payment would be paid by direct debit and the letter said it was cancelled. The young man I spoke to did get it all sorted out. The direct debit was still in place, but the debit card payment had not gone through. Good job I checked, really.
So, I tried to phone. I got through to their automated paying service. After much punching in of numbers, it recognised me, my card, and the debit card with which I was paying. Then it started to read back the number I had given, in its funny, tinny voice. It got almost to the end. Then silence.
I rang back in, and went through the whole rigmarole again. It was still saying I owed money. I opted to speak to an operative. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait too long, although by the time I did speak to someone, I had been trying to solve this for forty minutes – forty minutes I wouldn’t normally have. And by the time everything was solved, we had used up an hour. Depending on which way you calculate it, my time is worth anything between fifteen and sixty pounds an hour.
I’d also been puzzled by the fact that the machine told me that my next payment would be paid by direct debit and the letter said it was cancelled. The young man I spoke to did get it all sorted out. The direct debit was still in place, but the debit card payment had not gone through. Good job I checked, really.
Saturday, 8 December 2007
Direct debit madness
I had a phone call form a credit card company. In fact, they called me three times on my mobile phone. One of the first things they asked me when I eventually spoke to them was could they have a mobile phone number in case they needed to contact me in future. They would not believe that they must already have my number because they had already used it three times … but I digress. However, that mistake is not too dissimilar from the one I’m really writing about.
For some reason – and I’m completely non-plussed as to why – my direct debit did not go through. That is going to mean some meaningless conversations with my bank, I guess. But again, I digress.
So, I paid by another debit card. Would I like to pay next month’s payment as well? Well, not really. But apparently, their computer is set to take a double payment from the day after the payment is missed. Well, I know all about the direct debit guarantee and that we shall be informed of all payments etc. But much of that is just back-covering activity anyway. If the computer is programmed correctly, customers can be informed in a fairer way.
“All credit card companies do this,” was the defence. No, they don’t. Many do have unfair practices, but they are not all the same by any means.
And as usual, the junior employee at the call centre can neither give you satisfactory advice nor point you in the direction of someone who can really deal with the matter.
For some reason – and I’m completely non-plussed as to why – my direct debit did not go through. That is going to mean some meaningless conversations with my bank, I guess. But again, I digress.
So, I paid by another debit card. Would I like to pay next month’s payment as well? Well, not really. But apparently, their computer is set to take a double payment from the day after the payment is missed. Well, I know all about the direct debit guarantee and that we shall be informed of all payments etc. But much of that is just back-covering activity anyway. If the computer is programmed correctly, customers can be informed in a fairer way.
“All credit card companies do this,” was the defence. No, they don’t. Many do have unfair practices, but they are not all the same by any means.
And as usual, the junior employee at the call centre can neither give you satisfactory advice nor point you in the direction of someone who can really deal with the matter.
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Getting a Phone Line
21st Century Madness
Getting a Phone Line
“Watchdog” recently did something on this. But this is my saga of trying to get a phone line. Now, in line with my own etiquette for this blog, I am not going to name the company. But they are big, and it’s difficult to do anything without them. So you can probbaly guess.
I deliberately found my new flat early so that I could get all the services sorted out, move in, go on holiday, and be up and running to start my new job on 24th September.
I found the flat on 10th August, and made arrangements to move in on 24th. I immediately contacted said phone company. There was no line in the flat already, so I would have to pay to have one put on. Fine, there was plenty of time. After two hours on the phone – thank goodness a free phone number – they agreed to come and put it on between 8. a.m and 1. p.m on Thursday 30th August. That would work. I was going on holiday form 31st August to 23rd September.
By 1. 00 p.m on 30th August, no one had come. I spent two hours on the phone until someone answered.
“Oh, didn’t anyone tell you? They should have phoned to say that they were coming tomorrow instead.
“Tomorrow? But I arranged to be here today. I’m going to be driving to France tomorrow.”
“Oh!”
Now, it so happens, the wiring is all there for the phone. They really only have to go and do something to a junction box within the building. We have a concierge on site and a manager. In theory, they don’t really need me to be here. Wouldn’t you have thought they would have known that as they have such a monopoly? (Careful, I may be giving something away here.) The rather friendly person on the other end of the phone made notes.
Whilst abroad, I set my phone so that I will only get calls from family. I then pick up voice messages as and when and only reply to the important ones, roaming charges being what they are.
We were almost at Tours when I picked up the call form the engineer informing me that I had “Missed your call-out”. The next appointment couldn’t be until the 10th of September.
Good luck, I thought. I made a mental note to talk to the management and concierge a little nearer the time.
Two days later, I had a call form the same company, telling me they would be putting my phone line on the 12th September. I later spoke to the concierge and the management people. They agreed to look out for the phone engineer.
I did get a call on the 12th September. Someone did go and do as much as they could. Stupidly, despite the fact that everything is already there, they do need to get into the flat. Just to put a little machine on to the end of the line and get someone to tell them that it’s working. MY line did work – I tested it from France. I even tried reporting a fault. There was no fault. It was working fine.
They then did the double-act trick again. This time it was going to be 21st September and 24h The 24th might have been okay – but not a.m. It didn’t seem to occur to anyone that it might be an idea to check with me first. At this point, we found that not only was the line live, but it was also listed in the phone book. Just one snag. I couldn’t use it yet.
I spoke to someone sensible eventually. They offered me 1st October a.m. I settled for p.m and recounted the whole sorry saga. Whilst I was speaking to this sensible person, I had four messages left on my mobile phone from cheerful gentlemen in India informing me that the engineer was coming on the morning of 1st October.
Well, someone did come on the afternoon of 1st October. They phoned first, but unfotunately the concierge was off sick and the manager was on lunch. Another hour’s delay, therefore. Once he could get to all the bits he needed to get to, it took him under ten minutes to get me a working line. For that, I have to pay £124.00
But the saga did not end there. I did not choose to have this company provide calls or Broadband. The company I did choose gave me a date ten days later. However, because the line-monoply company has inefficient processes, this was delayed be a further ten days.
Now we get on to the bill. I’ve opted to go paperless, pay monthly and use my debit card to pay – although I’d rather use Direct Debit. Guess what, you can’t get through to the people who set up the Direct Debits. They helpfully tell you to go to the website. I tried that. It wouldn’t let me complete the transaction.
And interestingly, “going on my average calls” I need to pay £76.00 per month. I pay a line rental to them only. My calls go through the other company. Oh, they will pay back. I’ve experienced this before. But how dare they take so much in the first place? They don’t offer to pay interest. Of course, I should phone them and query it … but have I got the two hours to wait?
Getting a Phone Line
“Watchdog” recently did something on this. But this is my saga of trying to get a phone line. Now, in line with my own etiquette for this blog, I am not going to name the company. But they are big, and it’s difficult to do anything without them. So you can probbaly guess.
I deliberately found my new flat early so that I could get all the services sorted out, move in, go on holiday, and be up and running to start my new job on 24th September.
I found the flat on 10th August, and made arrangements to move in on 24th. I immediately contacted said phone company. There was no line in the flat already, so I would have to pay to have one put on. Fine, there was plenty of time. After two hours on the phone – thank goodness a free phone number – they agreed to come and put it on between 8. a.m and 1. p.m on Thursday 30th August. That would work. I was going on holiday form 31st August to 23rd September.
By 1. 00 p.m on 30th August, no one had come. I spent two hours on the phone until someone answered.
“Oh, didn’t anyone tell you? They should have phoned to say that they were coming tomorrow instead.
“Tomorrow? But I arranged to be here today. I’m going to be driving to France tomorrow.”
“Oh!”
Now, it so happens, the wiring is all there for the phone. They really only have to go and do something to a junction box within the building. We have a concierge on site and a manager. In theory, they don’t really need me to be here. Wouldn’t you have thought they would have known that as they have such a monopoly? (Careful, I may be giving something away here.) The rather friendly person on the other end of the phone made notes.
Whilst abroad, I set my phone so that I will only get calls from family. I then pick up voice messages as and when and only reply to the important ones, roaming charges being what they are.
We were almost at Tours when I picked up the call form the engineer informing me that I had “Missed your call-out”. The next appointment couldn’t be until the 10th of September.
Good luck, I thought. I made a mental note to talk to the management and concierge a little nearer the time.
Two days later, I had a call form the same company, telling me they would be putting my phone line on the 12th September. I later spoke to the concierge and the management people. They agreed to look out for the phone engineer.
I did get a call on the 12th September. Someone did go and do as much as they could. Stupidly, despite the fact that everything is already there, they do need to get into the flat. Just to put a little machine on to the end of the line and get someone to tell them that it’s working. MY line did work – I tested it from France. I even tried reporting a fault. There was no fault. It was working fine.
They then did the double-act trick again. This time it was going to be 21st September and 24h The 24th might have been okay – but not a.m. It didn’t seem to occur to anyone that it might be an idea to check with me first. At this point, we found that not only was the line live, but it was also listed in the phone book. Just one snag. I couldn’t use it yet.
I spoke to someone sensible eventually. They offered me 1st October a.m. I settled for p.m and recounted the whole sorry saga. Whilst I was speaking to this sensible person, I had four messages left on my mobile phone from cheerful gentlemen in India informing me that the engineer was coming on the morning of 1st October.
Well, someone did come on the afternoon of 1st October. They phoned first, but unfotunately the concierge was off sick and the manager was on lunch. Another hour’s delay, therefore. Once he could get to all the bits he needed to get to, it took him under ten minutes to get me a working line. For that, I have to pay £124.00
But the saga did not end there. I did not choose to have this company provide calls or Broadband. The company I did choose gave me a date ten days later. However, because the line-monoply company has inefficient processes, this was delayed be a further ten days.
Now we get on to the bill. I’ve opted to go paperless, pay monthly and use my debit card to pay – although I’d rather use Direct Debit. Guess what, you can’t get through to the people who set up the Direct Debits. They helpfully tell you to go to the website. I tried that. It wouldn’t let me complete the transaction.
And interestingly, “going on my average calls” I need to pay £76.00 per month. I pay a line rental to them only. My calls go through the other company. Oh, they will pay back. I’ve experienced this before. But how dare they take so much in the first place? They don’t offer to pay interest. Of course, I should phone them and query it … but have I got the two hours to wait?
Monday, 5 November 2007
Changing bank accounts
I have recently remortgaged one of my buy-to-let properties. Before it completed, but after I’d had the mortgage offer, I changed bank accounts. I rang them. They sent me a new Direct Debit mandate which I duly filled out and sent back.
When the mortgage completed, they sent me a summary of what would happen. They still had my old bank details. I phone today to try t find out what has gone wrong.
“Oh, we can’t use that bank,” said the assistant.
“Why not?” I ask. “It’s a normal bank, with a proper sort code and a proper account number. They just don’t make so many charges as the big boys, and they actually pay me a fair bit of interest.”
“Oh. I’ll ask.”
She comes back.
“You have to phone this other number, and they’ll be able to take your new details over the phone. You need option 3.”
Now I know better. Most banks insist on a paper version of the Direct Debit mandate. The problem is not that I haven’t given them information, but rather that they have lost or failed to process the information I have given them.
I phone and chose option 3. I seem to be put through to the department that deals with people in arrears. Come on now, I can’t be in arrears yet. I’ve only had this mortgage a month. They haven’t even taken the first proper payment.
I choose option 3. It rings and rings and rings. They do tell me they’re busy. Well, am I surprised?
I put the phone on speaker, but somehow manage to cut the connection. I redial.
“We are experiencing an unusually high number of calls,” a pre-recorded voice informs me. “Please try later.”
I’m still not surprised.
Has anyone had a straight forward conversation with a mortgage company about a change of bank account? If you have, please let me know your secret. I’ve had eight similar conversations with mortgage providers recenlty. Funnily enough, I own eight buy-to-let properties.
When the mortgage completed, they sent me a summary of what would happen. They still had my old bank details. I phone today to try t find out what has gone wrong.
“Oh, we can’t use that bank,” said the assistant.
“Why not?” I ask. “It’s a normal bank, with a proper sort code and a proper account number. They just don’t make so many charges as the big boys, and they actually pay me a fair bit of interest.”
“Oh. I’ll ask.”
She comes back.
“You have to phone this other number, and they’ll be able to take your new details over the phone. You need option 3.”
Now I know better. Most banks insist on a paper version of the Direct Debit mandate. The problem is not that I haven’t given them information, but rather that they have lost or failed to process the information I have given them.
I phone and chose option 3. I seem to be put through to the department that deals with people in arrears. Come on now, I can’t be in arrears yet. I’ve only had this mortgage a month. They haven’t even taken the first proper payment.
I choose option 3. It rings and rings and rings. They do tell me they’re busy. Well, am I surprised?
I put the phone on speaker, but somehow manage to cut the connection. I redial.
“We are experiencing an unusually high number of calls,” a pre-recorded voice informs me. “Please try later.”
I’m still not surprised.
Has anyone had a straight forward conversation with a mortgage company about a change of bank account? If you have, please let me know your secret. I’ve had eight similar conversations with mortgage providers recenlty. Funnily enough, I own eight buy-to-let properties.
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