Your OneTel hell

By GUY DRESSER
Updated: 11:30 EST, 10 August 2005

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MANY of you wrote in to tell us about your OneTel hell: here's a selection of your comments and experiences. If you've had similar customer service problems with the company, OneTel have assured us that they will sort your problem out - see below for details of how to complain to OneTel.

I have read your story about the incompetence of One Tel with great interest. Last year, I had great problems with this awful company. I had to pay hundreds of pounds in many instances for calls when my wife and I were not even at home, and in many cases when we were asleep in the early hours of the morning. Is there is anyone there who can make sense of this company's bills?
Henry Holland.

I am not part of One Tel and have never taken up the offer of their services. But I get plagued 4 or 5 times a day by their Indian call centre trying to get me to sign up. I cannot contact anyone to get my name off the lists. I feel extremely sorry for people who have taken up their service and then cannot contact anyone. It is time that this company was taken to task and made to apologise.
David Newman

I recently sent you an email detailing my complaint with onetel regarding a Broadband connection that I had been charged for and the way in which it had been dealt with. I am happy to say that I have been contacted by OneTel and they have apologised for the stress caused and a cheque for £103 is apparently going to be forwarded to me in the next few weeks. Thank you very much for for your actions in this matter as I would not have received this refund otherwise.
Sylvia Dorrian

Just to update you, I got a call from Onetel yesterday. They have decided to credit the amount that they claim I owed and also remove the 'default' that had been registered (I didn't even know that they had registered 'a default'). A very satisfactory outcome - thank you for all your help. Let's hope that companies learn that talking to customers instead of bullying them is far more effective. Well done - and thank you once again.
Hugh Fogerty

I am very angry at the way they use threats to intimidate their customers. I am 47 and will not be bullied by them.
Genny Haines

My 80 year old parents are are being bullied and harassed in the same way by OneTel. Frequent demands for money are being made despite the agreement with OneTel being cancelled in writing. Unfortunately my father gave into some of the demands and has paid money that he believes is not owed, just to get them off his back.
Bob Parsons

I will be most interested to know how many other people are being harassed by OneTel. It is absolutely true - it is the most worrying and frustrating experience. I signed up with them as a provider and to try to then some time later to cancel this service proved to be almost impossible. In one particularly long call I agreed to pay the major part of the bill - just to get rid of these people.
Chrissie Gorvin

I cancelled my service but this just doesn't seem to register with OneTel. It doesn't matter how many calls I make or letters I write. They are billing me for providing a service at a house I moved from last year, I'm now getting final demands and being threatened with bailiffs. The whole thing has got me really stressed out, I have got nowhere with them. I can't bear to speak to them any more.
Jacqueline Gilbert

Further to your article, attached is our final letter to OneTel. It eventually got sorted but only because I found that an old contact of mine was the Marketing Director at that time! It was a nightmare, exactly as per your article with broadband connection being the problem.
Lynn Harris

I received an invoice for about £2,766 last year from OneTel and realised it was for a charge made on a mobile that I had cancelled. Every call was to Nigeria. It took them two months and a lot of shouting to get the money back into my bank account. I still have not received the interest incurred - needless to say!
Jenny Coleman

To get the company to tackle your problem, email OneTel's special This is Money/Financial Mail reader help line by clicking here.