I am currently in a billing dispute with Hutchison 3G in Ireland. I'd like to get an opinion on this UK forum as there does not seem to be a similar forum in the ROI. The dispute began in May of this year, though its origins go back to April 2013. The details are as follows: • On 4th April, 2013 I spoke with Three’s Sales Team about purchasing a new Broadband account. I explained that I wanted to upgrade my account from the €21.99 I was paying to the new rate of €34.99. Three claims to have advised me that the old account number (8215453427) could only be cancelled after the new account was activated. Three claim I agreed to call back and get the cancellation processed, though I have no recollection of this. The old account remained active and invoices were issued by Three in relation to it, though the details of the account were never available online at My3. Nor were the details of my new broadband account. • Part of the confusion on my part in relation to the existence of these two broadband accounts was due to order of the figures on my bank statements. Any time I looked at these statements, which have numerous transactions over a monthly period, my broadband bill of €34.99 and my phone bill (also with Three, and which varied), were always deducted at the beginning of each month by direct debit. The old broadband figure of €21.99, which I somehow missed, was debited later in the month. • Three tells me that on 27th September, 2014, I spoke with their Collections Team and paid €21.99 by card to clear an outstanding payment on the old broadband account. This, they seem to imply, illustrates that I was aware of the existence of the account I thought had been cancelled. In fact, I assumed we were talking about the new broadband account for €34.99 I had ordered on April 4th the previous year. • Three also inform me that on the same day I also spoke with their Customer Service Team about the old broadband account as I needed assistance accessing it on My3. Again, I assumed we were talking about the new broadband account. And, as stated above, I was never able to access details of either broadband account on My3, only my phone bills. • On 15th May, 2015 I received a letter from Three, informing me of an increase from €21.99 to €24.99 on the old broadband account. I called Three’s Customer Service Team to find out why I was being charged this amount for broadband. As far as I knew, I was paying €34.99 monthly for line rental. It was then they informed me that the old account had never been cancelled, and that it had been active since I ordered the new one on 4th April, 2013. That is, over a period of two years. The total deducted on the old account during this time came to €502.84. • Since May 20th I have had seven telephone conversations on this matter, all of which I recorded. I had the last of these on July 28th. In three of those conversations (May 26th, June 26th, July 9th) I was told in no uncertain terms that the sum of €502.84 (Case no. 19929979) would be refunded to me within 21 working days. It transpired that the date of payment was constantly deferred, even though I was categorically told by Three’s Customer Service on July 9th that a refund had been approved on July 6th. This turned out to be a false pledge, and the debt was not honoured. • On July 28th I was finally informed by Three’s Costumer Service that because I had not confirmed the cancellation of the original broadband contract for €21.99 (as in, I had cancelled it but not confirmed it, as outlined above) their finance team deemed me to be culpable. I was then offered half the amount due (€251), though Customer Service could not promise that this would be honoured either since their finance team would again have the final decision. I rejected this and told them I expected a full refund. In written correspondence I received a bill from Three on June 24th, offering me the sum of €506.12 in credit (which included the refund sum of €502.84). Again I rejected this and said I expected a full refund. • I have sent two letters to Customer Care in Dublin (July 29th, August 14th) informing them that I intended to take my case to the small claims court. I received an email from their Executive Office Case Manager on August 12th, claiming that (as outlined above) I was culpable for not confirming the cancellation on my old broadband account. I replied on August 14th, telling them I would be initiating legal proceedings on Monday August 31st. There has been no communication since. • In relation to the recording of the telephone conversations in question, I informed all Three Customer Care personnel that I was doing so and to let their supervisors know about it. I did this so that, in the event of legal proceedings being necessary, I would be able to show precisely what was discussed. These recordings clearly detail the matters above, and show that I have been consistently misled by 3G on this matter. I have also made verbatim transcripts of these conversations. I basically want to know if I have grounds for a legal action. The weakness in my case clearly pertains to the fact that, if I received bank statements detailing all my transactions with Three, then I should have been aware of the continuing existence of the old account. I can only say that I did not expect to find it on those statements, and so I did not look for it. That Three would set up a new account without cancelling the old one as a matter of course - particularly after I had explained to them that it was for the purposes of an upgrade - appears to be a deceptive business practise at best, whether or not they claim I should have confirmed the cancellation. I was also, it seems, deliberately and consistently misled on the matter of a refund, which again shows how Three is so casually given to deceiving their customers. As it seems unlikely that Customer Service personnel would decide on such a ruse by themselves, it is hard not to conclude that they were instructed to lie by their superiors. Any advice welcome Ian

Received notification from Northampton Court that a claim has been made against me from Lowell Portfolio 1 in respect to Hutchinson 3G with regards to a contract I apparently got in in August 2013, the claim was made through the small claims court for £190. I have not had a contract in my name from that period, I did apply for one but was turned down on my credit status, I have sent my defence in through the money claim website, but I want to know is it illegal for a company to obtain money illegally knowing that you don't have a contract with them?

Hi, I had an old default with Hutchison 3G for a contract I had for a number of months a couple of years back. Same old story, the service was awful, I made many complaints about their billing, poor signal, chasing money which they would not send me invoices for - unfortunately all by telephone so I probably can't prove any of my complaints. I've recently noticed that the Hutchison 3G default had disappeared and it has now reappeared as Lowell Portfolio 1 a few weeks later. I understand this now means that the debt has been sold to Lowell Portfolio 1. I have a number of questions I would really appreciate some help with. 1. I'm quite certain that the default before was not appearing on CallCredit (Noddle), however now, after it has been sold to Lowell Portfolio 1, they have now added a default under their name. I was under the impression they could only replace an original default not file a new one? Do I have any right to get this removed if this was the case? 2. Whilst dates etc. check out on the default, the new balance amount showing at the CRA is over twice as much as the default balance, and indeed the amount owed to Hutchison 3G - are they allowed to just randomly add charges after they have purchased the debis t? 3. This debt was chased by a DCA not long after the debt however it has been quiet for some time - I have never received a Notice of Assignment, or any kind of documentation to tell me this debt has been passed to Lowell Portfolio. In fact, I haven't even been contacted by them as of yet - I have only noticed the default notice along with a search on my credit report. My ultimate goal is to now get this default removed, however unlikely. I know that a mobile contract isn't a CCA etc. but do I have a leg to stand on in any way? As I mentioned, I was originally contacted by DCA a couple of years back, I ignored them and did end up receiving a discounted offer - does this mean they are getting desperate? My only thoughts are though that I think back then, the debt was still owned by Hutchison 3G and now I believe it must have been sold completely - despite me receiving no notice of this. I did toy with the idea of contacting Hutchison 3G to try and pay the debt (or indeed transfer it into their account with my reference number as I doubt they would accept payment over the phone if the debt is sold), and then dispute with the DCA as I have already paid the debt. I'm probably clutching at straws here, but is there anything I can have a go at? My credit record is clean other than this one default and I would like to sort.

Hi, I posted this on the wrong forum a few days back: "Any advice trying to remove a default from a 3 mobile account? It is for £81 (defaulted in 2007) and is now settled as per my credit file but, it constantly lets me down when applying for credit. I have seen the 2 letters here now, do i send them both to 3 Hutchison? Would it be best to try a sympathetic approach first asking if the would remove the default from my file as it is only a small amount or go straight in with the 2 template letters?" Following advice from what I have found, I sent a letter asking 3 to remove the default from my accout as I am having problems when applying for credit. Here is the response they emailed to me: I've received your query regarding a default on your credit file reported by us. I understand that you no longer have an account with us and that you settled this account in full in 2008. However, this does not mean that the account should have been removed from your credit file at this time. When you entered into the agreement with us, you accepted that the way this account was managed would be reported to the credit reference agencies. You defaulted on your payments in 2007 and we reported this to them. When you settled the balance in 2008 we reported that the default was satisfied and we were not required to do anything more than this. I'm sorry this is causing problems with your credit file but we cannot remove the entry for you. My understanding is that a default on any credit agreement will remain on your credit file for six years but if you want further information on this I'd suggest that you contact the credit reference agencies. I must make it clear that we are not breaching the Data Protection Act in anyway, irrespective of the fact that your account has now been closed. We are obligated to provide the credit reference agencies with correct information on how an account has been managed and I can only reiterate that we will not be making any changes to your credit file, in relation to your request. I'm sorry I couldn't be of further assistance but if you wish to discuss this matter further, you can call me at the Executive Office on 08433 733330 (5p/min from a BT landline, other networks may vary). Our business hours are Monday to Friday, 9am until 6.30pm. The bit where it says My understanding is that a default on any credit agreement will remain on your credit file for six years is a bit confusing. Am I right in saying that you do not enter a credit agreement with a mobile contract? I entered this contract in 2006 from carphone warehouse. Please can someone advise me what my next steps could be?

Hi all, I have since found out that Three have registered a default to the pitiful sum of £50.00+ on a monthly rolling contract, not signed as a contract, but as a monthly only contract. This has had a disastrous effect on my credit rating and I am having all sorts of problems trying to talk to anyone, just the usual call centre in India. Various discrepancies of 3 different dates and no one knowing what date the default was registered. I never ever received the so called letter of 'Default' as it just appeared strangely after the amount was paid. I am now in the process of applying to the court to have it removed due to the odd dates, no reply to a recorded letter and the various discrepancies....not a nice way to treat anyone especially for the ridiculous amount of £24.00 + a charge of £25.00! Anyone any other ideas, experiences? Kind regards, TB