Money Helpdesk: Receiving end of big problem

I agreed to let them become my telephone provider. I signed nothing and received no contract from them. When, some time later, I wanted to revert to BT I discovered that Fizz had been sold to Adept telecom and that I was bound by a five-year contract to expire on February 3 2010 and the penalty for breaking that contract was more than 300. I was surprised by this as it had not been mentioned on the telephone. I decided to stick with Adept but notified them in October 2009 that I would be returning to BT as soon as the five years were up. Now the five years are up I have returned to BT and Adept are chasing us for 177 they say is due to them for "breaking our contract". I am receiving daily emails and telephone calls from them, and find all this harassment very intimidating. Must I pay up to make them stop?

JB, Perthshire.

Teresa Hunter writes:

AS SOON as we contacted Adept, the company immediately backed down. Our reader said he was very happy and grateful for the outcome, and said that in the end the company behaved generously.

However, we are not certain what went wrong in this case. The company declined to discuss the matter with us, as a spokeswoman said the matter was resolved and the customer was happy.

It does, however, provide a lesson to other readers, to stick to your guns and refuse to pay, if you believe you are being unfairly charged.