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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Anna Tims

BT is sending threatening letters after my father died

BT is threatening to use a debt recovery agency over a late father’s bill.
BT is threatening to use a debt recovery agency over a late father’s bill. Photograph: Andrew Walters/Alamy

My father died five months ago and we notified his landline provider, BT. However, it has been sending increasingly threatening letters insisting he owes £763 for the early termination of his contract. It has acknowledged he is deceased and that no money is owing, but the latest letter threatens a debt-recovery company.
SR, Newcastle upon Tyne

Only when I intervened did BT bother to act. It discovered the agent who terminated your father’s service pressed the wrong button and logged him as a migrating customer, thus triggering the cancellation fee. It has now donated £100 to the Alzheimer’s Society. BT says: “We apologise for causing additional upset during a difficult time. We have provided extra training to make sure this doesn’t happen again. All charges have been removed and the account closed.”

Email your.problems@observer.co.uk. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions

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