BT Withdraws Light User

Igol

Now the booklet has arrived and I discover that in august BT will be means testing me.
So my bill will at least double.
Anyone know how to hack into next doors wireless?

normanmark

Igol wrote: »

And again.
LU had nothing to do with low income.

LUS was completely to do with Low Income.

From a BT Spokesperson...

'Ofcom worked out that the Light User scheme is not appropriate for around 40 per cent of the people who are on it,' says a BT spokesman. 'The intention was always to support those on a low income, not those who, for example, own a second home but happen to make few calls [from that home's phone line].'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/jun/10/internetphonesbroadband.observercashsection

dundeemania

I think BT basic is great for people who are on beneifts, Bt is the only company to help people in the catagory. Come on £4.50 a quarter line rental, inclusive call allowance and early payment discount. Why are you moaning??? BT is helping people who are on benefits, do you see Talk Talk or Virgin doing this????? NO becuse Bt cares!!!

diamonds

LOL cares my bum, OFCOM forced the TITANIC BT, as much as I did ( see post 27 )

diamonds

topherxp wrote: »

Also other calls are charged at the standard rates you'd get with the normal line rental.

outwith allowance its 10p a minute to a geographical landline - thats not as you quote

diamonds

topherxp wrote: »

So you don't even qualify for LUS as you have broadband, mobile, and use 18185 and although the Orange offer is good, you do need to have a contract mobile to get the £5 Broadband, so if you can afford a contract mobile you can afford a normal priced landline

I did qualify for LUS before Orange BB was activated in April '07, I was on it even when honest enough to say I had a Orange mobile registered in my name @ my address, BT didnt want to give me LUS for that very reason, I challenged BT " STATE recognised unfully abled dis-advantaged people " MAY need a mobile as PRIORITY for going outdoors & as for my experience MY BT landline ( I needed for emergencies ) was not suitable for doing such more than 300m with a cordless phone under optimal conditions & should they deny me LUS I was fully prepared to take BT to court for discrimination aswell as inform Ofcom of such practices that did not fall in-line with UK law - the Disability Discrimination Act - the reason why I was honest about my mobile in the first place.

If you read most T&C you will find a flaw/loophole somewhere....I found it, I challenged BT on it, the Disabilty Discrimination Act is one of the UK's most powerful slices of legislation - I used it to full effect against mighty BT

STATE already ruled I had needs beyond a fully abled person and awarded me DLA, communication indoors & outdoors were a must for me & I demanded to know why BT were practising discrimination as I did not match their T&C BUT I was protected by UK LAW - & BT Mobile did not even offer a payg service & forcing me to purchase a mobile CONTRACT from BT ( BT Mobile only unwritten exception to the LUS rule, but try getting that on paper ! ) was enforcing a monopoly position, & TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE DIS-ADVANTAGED, BT crumbled, I got LUS, again under BT's T&C I still was NOT qualifying but I got LUS, I made myself the straw that broke the camels back, & broke BT's long term " financial " stance on LUS/DISABILITY, by quoting relevant UK LAW to them.

I did not even use the Orange mobile it was there for me to contact my main helper @ the time & if I was out I was with them, to allow them to deal with things for me they got that mobile, their credit score was BAD, I had no choice considering the organisation of things they had to do for me, BT would not even budge on that, frustratingly & understandable as it was, I started looking into BT's LUS T&C in detail and realised they were not in place with latter introduced UK LAW since LUS was introduced by BT.

It was me who made the BT CEO aware of the fact LUS was discriminative & I was assured the " product " was currently being re-organised & my input would ensure new terms on people recognised by STATE as " dis-advantaged by ability " & " have more than 1 address due to care needs " ( quoted from BT CEO ) would be taken wholelly into account by BT on this NEW replacement product, we got BT Basic as that re-organisation & the " STATE recognised " qualifications :


What if I am disabled or have a long-term illness?
If you’re registered as being disabled or having a long-term illness, some of these restrictions won’t apply to you. For example, you can still get BT Basic if you have more than one phone line, whether
these are at the same or different addresses.


Its amazing what a worker can do to a Queen Bee if they try

I still think BT/Ofcom needs to re-think Basic as its nearly there but its not, needs be this time I think am going to write to Ofcom, I challenged BT already & won !

diamonds

syko29793 wrote: »

This is the downside to having so much choice and cheap prices.
why should BT offer these reduced cost services? no other company does
BT has now lost the monoppoly so cant do stuff for free.
I remember when there was no LLu or WLR and BT would send an engineer out for free to connect a line.
We all may love our free or £5 broadband but costs have to be made up elsewhere and this is how its done.

£5 BB or not Telecom Wholesale should be a not for profit, we all paid for them exchanges/lines to start with remember through TAX, BT Retail yes but Ofcom should have split Wholesale away from BT Group PLC, BT Retail sure does not subsidise Wholesale

diamonds

normanmark wrote: »

Light User was only there to support those on a low income. Now they've finally got a means-tested system it'll not be open to the abuse it has been in the past.

Ofcom concluded that over 40% of the customers on there weren't appropriate for the scheme, a scheme which BT makes a loss on.

Obviously for those who still want the new scheme, then the application process will decide whether or not they're suitable for it. Otherwise you can just take out a normal service like the rest of the general public.

LOSS of what ? per month take 20 million BT landlines X £10.50 = £200 million +

are you suggesting it costs Wholesale that much plus all the charges laid to other Telcos/individuals through Openreach that much a month to operate ? if it does its a badly run division of BT - they'd have you believe either or both scenarios over the truth - Wholesale is so profitable it allows BT to subsidise other parts of its monopoly & post profit to BT Group PLC for the shareholders, so what was the point of its Universal boundries, a Ofcom sham as much the rest of Ofcon - THE PUBLIC BODY WE ALL PAY THROUGH TAX, I wonder since BT was privatised and telecom market opened up how many MP's & public service employees/partners would openly disclose having bought shares in such companies and how much profit they made on such shares

Labour, Conservatives, Libs...... whatever party is in government you pay for via TAX, its all a big con & Telecoms is just one genre of many many more, Brits are such suckers with their stiff upper lips

*informer*

PiggyP wrote: »

Contacted BT today to try and save money on two lines that we don't use much by going to light user only to be told they are withdrawing Light User and replacing with BT Basic but this will only be available to people on benefits. What a con!! Yet again BT rips the public off!!!

A condition of Light User was that you only have access to the one line. If you had more than one line, you are not entitled to the service. So all in all, even it wasnt going, you shouldnt be entitled anyways.

*informer*

diamonds wrote: »

BT Basic should reduce line rental with no free calls & usual rates...its a sham BT got to use Basic in its product name - its far from BASIC but then BT Extortion does quite have the same ring

The calls made within the BT Together packages are calls at a reduced rate. So the prices for calls on BT basic are the normal rates. BT Price list confirms this.

diamonds wrote: »

BT Basic activation awaiting customer myself, I never use the landline - its there for £5 Orange Broadband Unlimited with free calls to 100 Interntional Countries, 01, 02, 03 UK landlines & Orange mobiles, simply register my Orange second line number with 18185 etc for cheapo mobile calls

From my understanding, you are unable to have broadband with BT Basic. Dont take that as gospil but it was the way it was with Light User Scheme. Plus the reason for having it means tested is because of people taking it !!!! out of the packaging and spoiling it for the others that deserve it tbh.