Billed for phone service never received

Ask a Lawyer

Question

Country: Canada
State: ManitobaAbout 6 months ago I signed up for Primus talk broadband service. The deal was that they would take over my number from my telephone company MTS, Primus never did this. There were three separate times when I found out that they didn't do this and in all I was supposed to be under their service for 4 months. Primus kept taking automatic payments from my chousing account or the credit on my account with them but they never provided the service I signed up for. MTS at the same time was actually providing my service and billing me appropriately. So I was getting billed from 2 companies, one providing service and the other not. Primus, I just found out yesterday, now claims that they knew I was not under their service, but what I can't understand is how is it legal for them to continue to charge me knowing that I wasn't receiving the service I paid for. Is this some sort of fraud? Also if Primus had contacted MTS even once during the 4 months I was being charged to take over my number I would not have continued to be billed by mats. Primus is refusing to give me a full refund and they are also refusing to reimburse the amount paid to MTS when I thought I was making calls on Primus' network. It was Primus's responsibility to contact MTS, something they never did, they never informed me I was not on their service, and they continued to take my money. What should I do? What legal steps can I take to get paid the money cost to me because of this company's inaction and shirking of their responsibilities?

Answer

Based on what you say here, you could probably file suit against them (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney.you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to their behavior. You may also report them to your state attorney general's office.