Dear British Telecom (B.T)
Firstly I would like
to remind B.T that I am a State Disablement Benefit claimant and am therefore
considered "vulnerable", secondly I wish to make known my intention
to approach "OFCOM" concerning the issues raised in this
correspondence and to furnish them with a copy of same. I have now been without
any telecommunication or televisual service from you for approx. one month!
This has caused me extreme stress and a considerable worsening of both my
mental state and my (stress-related), Self-Harm condition. In essence therefore
I have been subject to an assault at your hands. In previous conversations with
B.T I have made known my concerns about the lack of consideration extended to
vulnerable customers such as myself that now appears to have become "institutionalised"
within your company. An examination of my account records and conversations
with the various departments of your organisation (esp. with regard to my most
recent changes of address and FOUR new line installations -incl. my initial
change of service provider from Virgin Telecom at ......-), will reveal
that I have been both a "good" and loyal customer (paying my bills
on-time and adhering to my payment plans), whose need for both "Unlimited
Broadband" and the "B.T Vision" service has ensured that my
State Disablement Benefits have furnished B.T with considerable revenue during
this period.
Prior to
privitisation B.T was a "trusted member of the household" and could
be relied upon to properly consider the real needs of it's customers, which is
why as a vulnerable adult I recently decided to retain my B.T service and not
avail myself of Virgin Media's offer of a fibre-optic connection. This was a
decision made in part due to a conversation that took place between myself and
one of your more senior customer service advisers (see acc. records). On the
occasion of the aforementioned conversation a monthly payment plan of under £50
was offered and accepted (your aim clearly being to secure my custom with your
company), this conversation took place over The New Year period (Dec-2011-Jan
2012).
I was therefore both
alarmed and surprised when my service was restricted by yourselves WITHOUT
WARNING some two weeks or so following my last £50 telephone payment to your
company. B.T's policy regarding not only
the restriction of access to customer service advice (an absolute minimum
requirement for vulnerable customers such as myself), has been the cause of the
stress and worsening of both my physical and mental health conditions to which
I referred earlier. This situation has been aggravated as a result of B.T's
inability to ensure my access to my Outlook Express account. As a vulnerable customer one of the reasons
that B.T has (so-far), remained my preferred service provider is the
"screen-sharing" service available from B.T online.
Many customers in
similar positions as myself (who require access to the internet as a necessity
not a privilege), are only "functionally computer literate" and rely
on the expertise of their service provider to ensure continuance of their
service. Despite (however), my utilisation of your "screen-sharing"
system your advisor was unable to access the protocols necessary in order to
"un-lock" my Outlook Express account (which had -for reasons unknown
to myself-, denied me access). I was not satisfied with the response of your
online advisor which I found dismissive and unhelpful. The protocols and
user-name/password for my Outlook Express acc. are the same as those required
to gain access to my B.T acc. and other services online, as a result I have
been completely unable to contact your company in order to discuss the
unexpected restriction of my service (for whilst I know my user-name which is
the same as my Outlook Express email acc. -see letter heading-, the password
reminder for the online acc. cannot be accessed).
As a direct result of
B.T's policies the only means at my disposal of raising these issues with the
company and re-instating a service which is vital to my own health and
well-being is via this written correspondence. Needless to say the current
lack-of-support offered by other governmental and non-governmental
organisations/institutions has contributed to the difficulties which I regularly
encounter when attempting to secure/protect services such as housing, health-care
and the utilities from the rage of the "free-market".
It is totally
unacceptable that I should both be deprived of vital services and forced into a
stressful and difficult process of response because of the all-pervasive
philosophy of Social-Darwinism which is leading directly to the discrimination
against and marginalisation of the concerns of vulnerable minorities within our
society.
Furthermore as your
customer it is fully my "intent-to-pay" something of which B.T cannot
be appraised as a direct result of it's poor customer service policy. As proof of my intent I cite my recent
telephone payment of £40 into my account (something I did in an attempt to
de-restrict my service), however despite the obvious intent represented by this
payment to pay your company NO RESONSE WHATSOEVER from yourself has been
elicited (despite the fact that B.T are now the ONLY people now able to contact
me via the telephone). Such DANGEROUS and UNCARING behaviour by a major service
provider must surely be contrary to more than one internationally accepted
standard of human rights.
As B.T has forced me
into this difficult and stressful position I must insist that you contact me
immediately upon receipt of this correspondence in order to ascertain my
intentions and enter in to negotiations with regard to the urgent reinstament
of my service. I will make no further payments into my account via your
automated service until I receive a PERSONAL RESPONSE from your company.
yours faithfully
G.K.Hales
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