Thursday 17 February 2011

Jazztel: tonto or what?

I had a huge amount of buggeration with an ISP called Jazztel after we moved to our new flat almost two years ago. This was because they had been supplying internet ADSL to our previous flat in Chueca, and refused to accept that we would no longer be needing their service once we'd moved. I actually paid them for about three months' worth of service that I never used, and had one hell of a time getting them to stop pretending I was still their client. In the circumstances, I think I was more than generous. And they were just stupid, arrogant SOBs, to the extent that, once we moved to our new place, we would get at least one phone call a day from their sales folks imploring us to switch to them. I don't have the Spanish to say 'I would only sign up with Jazztel again if I was the last person left alive on Earth', and so I would just say 'no thank you' and slam the phone down as hard as I could. I know, I know, most telecoms companies are like this - they all probably make significant amounts of money from ex-customers because those wanting-to-be-ex-customers didn't resign properly (I believe the only acceptable way of terminating a contract with Jazztel is to write 'I quit' on the left-hand side of a Tibetan mule between 1158 and 0002 on the 30th February and posting said mule to Jazztel HQ (somewhere on Planet Jazztel), supplying enough postage so that it arrives no later than midnight on the 30th February the previous year).


I had more or less got over this deeply unpleasant experience, apart from advising everyone I know to run as fast as they can from Jazztel if the subject ever came up. But my cage was rattled today. Somebody phoned me from Jazztel to advise me that I owed them €10.04 from some time in 2009.

I asked the man if he was insane, chasing me for a mythical ten Euro debt from two years ago.

'Ten Euros and four centimos,' he clarified.

Good God almighty, be so kind as to remove these people from this planet. I mean, even if I really did owe them anything and I refused to pay it, as far as I can tell their only option is to take it to a debt-collector - who is not going to be remotely interested in chasing such a puny amount - or taking it to court - which will not accept a case for such a puny amount and would be more likely to prosecute Jazztel for lack of common sense and harrassment.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I'll keep you posted.

3 comments:

leftbanker said...

I simply hang up on sales calls. I can usually tell that it's a sales call even before anyone speaks because there is a short delay when the auto-dialer connects and the person starts talking. Just "Click." No "I'm sorry" or any other words from my end. It's very "empowering" as they say in the self-help literature.

Jayne said...

Gawd almighty keefie, why anyone would attempt to chase down a (non-existant) 'debt' of 10 yoyos is beyond me!

I took over my mums prepaid cellphone after the folks left 12mths ago & am regularly hounded by our national broadcasting company (SABC) for the folks TV licence money, which they didn't owe. It's now got to the point where I'm threatening to sue them for harrassment! I've explained time & time again to these morons that my folks no longer live here & one idiots reply was "well where is their TV?" (like it's the suspect in a serious crime!)

a said...

Hi, Keefieboy! I found your blog post during a frantic Google search for "how to cancel a contract with Jazztel" (since of course it's nearly impossible to find on their website). I know you wrote this some time ago, but do you know the procedure for properly canceling? Thanks!