How to deal with a disputed bill Your rights
When it comes to disputes about bills, your rights centre on the basic contract between a trader and a consumer – the trader will supply goods or services and you will in return pay an agreed sum and no more.
Once a fixed-term contract comes to an end, as long as the trader has been paid in full it can charge no more – so if it takes more than was agreed it would be in breach of contract.
However, you can't sue a trader until it actually takes any extra money, because until that moment you haven't suffered any financial loss.
If the trader makes demands for extra money, you can sit tight in the knowledge you can't be in breach of contract because you have paid in full.
Dealing with utility companies
If you dispute a bill or face problems switching your account, first take it up with your supplier. Consumer Direct (08454 04 05 06) can offer you advice.
After three months, or sooner if you simply can't agree, take your complaint to the Energy Supply Ombudsman (0330 440 1624 or 01925 530 263). Consumer Direct can offer advice on how to make a complaint and can help you through the process.
It will usually take up to six weeks for the ombudsman to make a decision, which is binding on the supplier. The ombudsman can't fine energy companies but can make them reimburse customers for inconvenience.
You need to remember that there is a time limit for referring a complaint to the Energy Ombudsman – this is nine months from the date the complaint was first raised with the company.
Dealing with phone or internet companies
You must take up your complaint first with the mobile phone or internet company. If your complaint hasn't been resolved after eight weeks or you get a 'deadlock' letter, you can complain to an independent dispute resolution scheme.
Every mobile phone service and internet provider must belong to one of two dispute resolution schemes, Cisas (020 7520 3827) or The Ombudsman Services Communications (01925 430049).
Cisas and the Ombudsman Services Communications deal only with complaints about the company you pay for your mobile service and not about other mobile phone retailers that 'resell' mobile contracts but don't operate their own service (for example, Phones4U).
Cisas and the Ombudsman Services Communications can make your service provider:
- apologise and or explain its actions
- give you a product or service, or,
- pay you up to £5,000 compensation for any loss you can prove you have suffered.
Cisas and the Ombudsman Services Communications can also recommend that a service provider changes its policies or procedures.
There is a nine month time-limit in which to take your claim to one of the schemes from the date that you first complain to the provider.
You could also contact Ofcom, the telecoms regulator. It cannot help with your individual problem, but it can be a good idea to let it know if you have a major problem with a company, as it monitors all consumer issues and can investigate a company if it finds serious ongoing problems. In August 2011, Ofcom fined TalkTalk and Tiscali UK £3 million for incorrectly billing tens of thousands of consumers for services they had not received.
Ombudsman or court?
Check the conditions of the ombudsman scheme you want to use, including whether there are:
- time limits for making a complaint
- limits on the amount of compensation that you can be awarded.
If you find there are limits relating to your particular complaint, you may want to go to court instead.