It will always be tough to topple BT from the top of my Brand hate-list.

Trying to get customer service from BT is like trying to get truth out of the Government. However, recently T-mobile has popped onto my telco radar screen, the unwitting, but unrepentant victim of an unscrupulous web sales company:
DIAL-A-PHONE.

What's the problem? They just can't stop billing me. For a phone I've never had, ordered from www.Dial-a-Phone.com, who will give a phone to anyone, deliver it anywhere, and not bother to check whether your credit card matches your address, whether your address matches your name...and who are partnered with ALL major telcos.

The same Dial-a-Phone that when I reported the fraud, forced me to spend 10 minutes listening to sales promotions on their 'Customer Disservice' line, told the customer disservice agent to put the phone down on me.

I also want to shame the insurer Cornhill Allianz (whose customer service person tells me: Yep, this sort of fraud happens 'more often than not' with Dial-a-Phone.)

Most of all I want to shame T-mobile...
1. I explain the fraud but am told: We acknowledge the fraud, but we can't do anything about this over the phone. please can you send us all the documentation'. So I do. And hear nothing.
2. I receive another different bill.
3. I phone them. "We have no record of that, can you send us the bill." I ask 'you mean the same bill you just sent me? "Yes, that's the one". I do, explaining teh fraud again.
4. I receive another bill, this time a final demand. So I phone. After 30 minutes on the phone, I get: "Could you just send us that final demand together with another letter...". I do, I give them my home number and ask them to confirm their next action.
5. No call. (What can you expect from a telco), but I get a three line letter acknowledging receipt of my letter. No apology, no indication of their likely action against Dial-a-Phone, nor their intent to reform their own systems and no indication that they will stop purusing debt that doesn't belong to me.

The truth here, is that we are all exposed, and none of these companies has any ability or intent to change the customer experience across their disjointed systems.
Are you a victim of fraud? Tough shit!

Choice and Additions on-line catalogues have also been exposed, and are similarly incapable of joining up their fraud investigation to their ruthless pursuit of outstanding debt.

Finally I turn to the police in a large London station. Perlease! I say, what can be done? You must report it Sir, but you're better to do it in your home town. You see none of our systems are joined together.

So I shall attempt to track down a pervasive network of internet-based identity fraud
from a small town police station.

Grrrr. Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells. posted by Tim, 2:39 PM  permalink