My complaint

I was first contacted by Buchanan Clark + Wells in November 2007. They called my home number while I was out, asking for me and declining to state their purpose. They left a number for me to call and after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing where they asked me to verify my identity, they eventually said that they were contacting me because I owed their client, T-Mobile, money. Not a huge amount, but not pennies either.

I made it clear to BCW that I didn't think I owed T-Mobile any money but there was no discussing the matter with BCW: they only act on T-Mobile's behalf, and it was up to T-Mobile to call off their attack dog or for me to pay up.

So I called T-Mobile. What followed were several weeks of very costly international calls during which I tried to convince T-Mobile that I had indeed canceled my contract with them when I moved abroad, and T-Mobile did its best to play dumb, lose details of previous calls, hang up on me mid-call and generally pretend that I was the one at fault not them.

In the meantime the letters, calls and emails from BCW got nastier and nastier, containing ever more serious threats culminating in an announcement that they would soon be initiating legal action.

And then T-Mobile gave in: I proved to them without a doubt that I had canceled my contract, they apologized and said they would cancel my debt. I also asked them to call off BCW, which they did. But when I next contacted BCW the company refused to talk to me.

"Bcwgroup plc are no longer involved in this case and therefore any further enquiries should be directed to our client."

BCW went from bullying me into providing them with my personal details lest I want to face court action to refusing to talk to me at all. Why? Because I had done what any sensible person would do and asked them for an apology and proof that my records had been deleted from their files. It takes a very special kind of arrogance to do what BCW does: attack people, and then offload all responsiblity onto somebody else. While T-Mobile did apologize and do the right thing, BCW effectively showed me the finger.

So I made a formal complaint. I said BCW had better apologize and confirm deletion of my records. But instead of doing that, their head of complaints, Darren Carruthers, said BCW would be doing no such thing. In fact, he said,

"Your details will be held on file for 18 months and will then be archived."

First of all, what gives BCW any right to keep my details on file for even one more second, especially if they are "no longer involved in this case"? What's more, how dare they 'archive' my details? Am I to infer that BCW plans to keep them in perpetuity?

I've decided to 'escalate' my complaint. This includes contacting relevant trade and oversight bodies, as well as seeking further clarification from BCW and exploring possible legal options. I cannot accept that BCW has any right to hold my details without my consent, and if successful I hope my case will set a precedent that will force plenty of other companies to stop unjustifiably keeping damaging information on people without just cause. Over the coming months I'll write about what happens so that other people who find themselves in a similar situation know what to do and what not to do.

You can support me by linking to this blog, sending me links to other BCW complaints on the Web (use the comment form), and tipping me off about relevant legal issues, inside info on BCW and anything else you think should appear here.