No refund after cancellation

Question

Hi, I wonder if you can help?
I recently signed up with BT for Broadband, Phone and TV package after being given a ridiculous quote from my current provider to add BTSport, (for MotoGP coverage), to my package.My account was debited for £196.95 immediately.
After terminating my contract with my current provider, they subsequently called me and bettered BT's offer.
I subsequently cancelled my contract with BT. This all took place on 18th/19th Feb 2014.
Approximately 2 weeks later I still hadn't received a refund from BT so contacted them via the live chat section on their website. i asked about my refund and was asked to wait whilst the person went to check my account. I was told that they had now processed the refund and that I would receive the money in my account in 5 days. I asked what would have happened if I hadn't contacted them and was assured that the refund would have been processed in due course.
The responder's closing line on the chat said that the refund would be in my account in 10 days time!
No refund was received so I telephoned BT on 20th March asking where my money was. The person at the call centre again asked me to wait whilst they checked and came back with, 'I've processed your refund and the money will be in your account within 3 days'. I asked why it wasn't already in as promised and they claimed that there was a problem processing the refund.
I telephoned again on 23/3 and was told that the refund was given on 20/3, and that I would receive an E mail confirming that fact by the end of 23rd and that the money would be in my account within 3 days.
No E mail arrived.
The money has still not arrived in my account so I telephoned BT to ask where it was. I got the same runaround again, 'please give me one moment', (repeated at least 10 times), and was then told that the refund was now processed and that the money would be in my account in 5 days. I thanked the operator for her help and asked why she had just processed the refund when I had been told that it was already processed on 20th March. She couldn't answer that but said that the money would be back with me in 5 days. I asked to speak to her manager for an explanation why I keep being told the same thing and yet have not received my money back. She didn't sound too pleased but took my telephone number, (which must have already been in front of her?), for her manager to call me.
The manager, JIT SEN, called me and asked the problem, I explained and was subsequently cut off.
He called back straight away, apologising and said that he had checked and that the money would be with me in 5 days.
I asked why I keep getting told this and how come they keep processing the refund when I have been told that it was given on 20th March to which he replied that I would get my money back. I said that if I called again in 5 days time , would I get the same thing again to which his reply was, 'call in 7 days time as we can't process refunds at the weekend'. I again asked why the money was not in my account as it was now over a month since BT E mailed me cancelling the contract to which he replied, 'contact your bank'. I told him that the bank were not to blame if BT hadn't issued the refund to which his reply was, 'it's nothing to do with us, contact your bank'. I again told him that it was now over a month that BT had had my money to which his reply was, 'don't worry, you'll get your money back'.
Fortunately, I had the funds to re-sign with my former provider. What if I were someone who didn't have the funds and maybe went overdrawn to continue their broadband/phone connection? If they didn't have continuation they could have also lost their phone number.
Here's hoping you can help, thanks for listening.
Ian. 

Answer 1

I cannot see, in that case, why you would have paid any money upfront, unless it was a security deposit of some sort?
I have asked a moderator to provide assistance, they will post an invite on this thread.
They are the only BT employees on this forum, and are a UK based team of people, who take personal ownership of your problem.
Once you get a reply, make sure that you are logged into the forum, then click on their name, you will see a screen like this. Click on the link as shown below.
Please do not send them a personal message, as they may not be on duty for a long time, and your message will not be tracked properly.
For your own security, do not post any personal details, on this forum. That includes any tracking number you are give.
They will respond either by phone or e-mail within 5-6 working days.
Please use the tracked e-mail, to reply, not via the forum. Thanks
This is the form you should see when you click on the link. If you do not see this form, then you have selected the wrong link.
When you submit the form, you will receive an enquiry number, so please keep a note of it
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.