Across the pond

Unlike Bernard Madoff, who has admitted that his £500 billion empire was based on a deliberate fraud from the beginning, other beneficiaries of the era of deregulation are behaving as if they were benefactors of ordinary people. Rather than rapacious money makers seeking to make as much money for themselves as possible, and ignoring the needs of the people to whom they provide services.

Like BT, which emerged when Margaret Thatcher decided to give the British telephone network to private investors.

BT has not only totally failed to connect their telephone line in my rented flat in Gospel Oak from June 2007, they have been harrassing me continually. Not only asking me for money for a service they have not provided. But sending their bills to a firm of debt collectors, which cannot do wonders for my credit rating.

The letters from BT, demanding an ever increasing fee for their ‘services’.  Even now, in December 2008, the bill is short of £300, because it is only for line rental.

I have not made any telephone calls. Because the line has not been connected.

Which complaint is not mentioned in any BT letters to me.

Because despite my many mobile telephone calls to BT, when BT employees admitted that there was something wrong, their letters to me have not even acknowledged my complaints.

Although, amongst the many messages I had to listen to, there was one saying, that this conversation was being recorded for ‘training purposes’.

I have told BT that far from owing them money, they owe me an apology and compensation for the money I have had to spend on mobile telephone calls to try and sort the probrlem.

Their letters to me do not even acknowlnedge the problem.

They just continue to ask me for money for a service they have have totally failed to provide.

This amounts to harrassment.

Because they are referring me to debt collecting agencies. But without even listening to the many complaints I have made on mobile phones to them about their total failure to provide me with the service they are asking me to pay for.

I do not think that the fortunes BT people have made have been based on the kind of deliberate fraud that Madoff has now admitted to.

But I do think that they are guilty of ignoring the needs of their customers.

And I do think that their pursuit of me, for money for a service they failed to provide, is serious harrassment.

Which I have had to endure since June 2007.

And for which I would welcome a letter of apology and a cheque.

Robert Jones