July 2008

I was charged for repairs to the damaged overhead line to my property. I contested the charges as the line was damaged at bumper height were it was attached to the gable end wall of my property which is also a boundary wall of a communal carpark.I asked the engineer who came to repair the line if it could be re-directed to enter the property at 1st floor level so no further damage would be caused. He answered no I have a bad leg and can’t climb ladders.

I contacted Otelo who were very helpful and told me contact BT and have the account frozen. This took a big weight of my mind as BT had already instructed a Debt Collection Agency (DCA) to collect the charges.
I was out of contract with BT so moved to another supplier.

September 2009 after the Ombudsman had decided the charges were not payable by me and BT also losing its appeal I thought that was the end of the matter.

September 2009.I was contacted by the same DCA acting on behalf of BT demanding I settle the outstanding amount. This was made up of £18 I actually owed and the VAT of £47 from the charges the Ombudsman had decided I didn’t owe.
After several hours of wasted time on phone calls to BT and the DCA threatening additional legal and court costs and other commitments I had, I decided to settle up and reclaim it with the help of Otelo.

February 2010 BT finally admitted after I forwarded copies of my old BT bills to Otelo that they had miscalculated the outstanding charges and would write me an apology letter and contact the DCA to credit my account.

June 2010 after still not receiving either the apology letter or a credit to my account I contacted Otelo who contacted BT who were adamant my account had been credited in February and an apology letter dispatched.

July 2010 I forwarded copies of my bank statements to Otelo to show that BT were lying

September 2010 I finally received a cheque from BT for the outstanding amount.