Maotou,The fundamental problem is that many (if not all) of these telecom companies are just not set up to take payments by either debit card or cheque. They seem to have rigid policies of payment only by recurring authority on a credit card ( God help you) or Direct debit. They are set up to take your money first then they will refund excess charges after the event (perhaps!!)

This is certainly the case with my former B/Band supplier,Horrange, and my current ISP (cos I've asked them!!)

Since Customer services in many of these companies either lie outright or are untrained and seem incapable of talking to their Billing colleagues they often assure you that it will be OK to pay on receipt of a bill by whatever means - unfortunately "computer says no!!"

MaoTou:

I am writing to complain about the AWFUL service a big communication company like Tiscali had responded when I requested to terminate my broadband service due to a change of address.

Unfortunately this is not news for readers of this Forum.

What you can do now is to obtain a copy of the Tiscali code of practice on complaints. Follow it scrupulously. Since the issue has "gone away" by paying the CCA you need to make the issue the Tiscali handling of the issue. Your good records will make a strong case. You need to ask for your Distress and Inconvenience (D&I) to be recognised with an ex-gratia payment. Yes you need to spell that out, but not how much. If you are not satisfied, including the amount of any D&I offered (if any, ha ha) after 8 weeks, whether or not you have had any response at all, you are entitled to ask the alternate dispute resolution provider named in the code of practice to consider you complaint. In that case Tiscali will be hit with a hefty case fee regardless of the outcome. It will cost you nothing.

Considering your post you should have little difficulty with the procedure. Just follow it scrupulously, ensuring you use "Signed For" delivery for any letters.