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“Avoid this PC repair company at all costs”

written by on 18/04/2013

I had the misfortune to use PC Callout regarding my old Windows XP PC.

To summarise:

PC Callout Limited is a national company who operate from an office in London. They assign a local engineer to a customer’s call.

I called PC Callout in August 2012 and an engineer came to my home within a few hours. Great I thought. Within a few minutes he announced that my PC could not be fixed and therefore there was no charge under the companies “no fix – no fee” policy.

However, out of the blue and without any contact from PC Callout whatsoever, on 1 September I received a “Notice of Intention to Issue a Court Claim” for an unpaid account of £59.40 from a debt collection agency.

I did contact PC Callout that day who were singularly unhelpful and told me “my word against theirs”. I did seek informal legal advice from a friend who is a Bailiff who advised me not to pay, but with the stress of caring for elderly parents, I relented and paid up.

With PC Callout there were several issues:

1. I never received an invoice from PC Callout for £59.40 so was not aware of any charge.
2. I was not expecting an invoice from PC Callout as the engineer who called to my home categorically told me that as he could not fix my PC, there would be no charge under their “no fix – no fee” policy.
3. Even if the engineer had made a mistake in telling me this, I received no communication whatsoever from PC Callout about any charge. The first I knew there was a charge was when I heard from a debt collection agency.
4. The aggressive speed which PC Callout pursued this alleged “unpaid” charge was alarming. The engineer called on 16 August, the date on PC Callout’s letter to the debt collection agency was 21 August.
5. What I found extraordinary was that in PC Callout’s letter to the debt collection agency, they stated that I "refused to pay" and I was "deliberately attempting to evade payment". These were blatant lies as I was never given the opportunity to pay in the first place!! I found these accusations quite distressing.
6. To this day, I have yet to receive any invoice for £59.40 from PC Callout.

I reported PC Callout to Trading Standards who were appalled at the way I was treated.