Chorus NTL Charges

chorus and ntl have now merged together, i remember a while back that ntl were charging an additional fee for non direct debit customers.

i've tried getting them on the phone - still on hold 30 min later and the web site t/c won't load up.

however, i received my new bill from chorus today, its broken down as follows:

20/10/07-13/11/07 €18.98 plus Vat = €22.97 (Part month charge??)
14/11/07-13/12/07 €23.54 plus Vat = €28.48 (I was only ever signed up to the basic service, this seems to be the next one up)
There is also a €2 fee for not having DD

I didn't recieve any correspondance from chorus stating they were going to charge this fee - are they allowed to do this without my consent and do i have to pay it?

I do think they are wasters so maybe this is the right time to switch to Sky (don't mind paying them more - better service)

any input would be great...i think i'll have to hang up the phone cos it don't seem like they're gonna answer

I've had to ring them recently, and it took me over 10 phone calls to get the issue sorted out. I found the best time to ring is weekdays in the morning at about 09:30.

I called SKY at one stage, and they would have been twice as expensive as NTL (we've 3 NTL boxes), and they wouldn't give any discount to me as a (potential) new customer ... remember you may have the same hassle with Sky getting installation etc. done.

If you are having trouble with them, its useful to ask to speak to a supervisor, or get the operator to refer your case to a supervisor. And always take a note of the operators name, and their supervisors name ... once I started doing this, I found that they phoned me back when promised, and their "customer care" improved dramatically!