I would like to share my experience as a subscriber to the “Hello” telephony service offered by Melita Cable.

One of the “advantages” of the Hello system is the “free” call services offered, one of which is Call Forwarding.

Before I started making use of the Call Forwarding feature, I made sure that this facility is free of charge by re-checking the information available on Melita Cable’s Hello website. After a few days using this service, I found that I was being charged for the telephone calls I received and which were diverted to my mobile phone. The charges in my account were at the rate of 10c per minute.

On the morning of 10 April I called the Hello billing section and spoke to Chris, who confirmed that I should not be charged for this service. He said he would check and call back. The next day, 11 April, having received no reply, I called the billing section again and this time spoke to Carmen, who again confirmed that I should not be charged for this service.

When she checked, she said that Melita’s records show that the telephone calls I was being charged for were originating from my Hello number. This was not possible as, at the time of the calls, no one was anywhere near the telephone set. Having been told to hang on for a reply, I was eventually cut off when someone at the other end hung up on me. I called again, and Carmen said she would check and call me back. I said that Chris had told me the same thing and he had not called, but she insisted that she would call back.

It is now the afternoon of 16 April and no one has contacted me, so I have just tried to contact Carmen in the Billing section. The lady answering the call said she could not transfer me to Carmen and I had to call administration on 2727-0000 and ask for Carmen. So I did as I was told but when I called this number, I was told by the gentleman who answered the call that he cannot transfer any calls to other sections and he can only give me the telephone numbers of other sections!

At this point I am fed up. I have stopped using the Call Forwarding feature as I don’t want to pay for something which is supposed to be free. This in turn is having a negative effect on my business. So what am I supposed to do at this stage?

This letter will hopefully prompt Melita Cable to take action and try to win back my trust in them – something I lost the minute I realised I was being taken for a ride.

Manwel Debattista

Santa Venera