Did you sign up for a BT contract last April?

Former_MSE_Archna

Did you sign up for a BT contract last April?

Last April BT launched its new free evening & weekend calls scheme. If you signed up, you were locked in to a rolling 12 month contract, meaning unless you tell it otherwise it'll automatically renew your contract for another 12 months & charge if you try to leave early. If this is you, you're nearly at the end of the 12 months so make sure you actively decide to stay, rather than stay by default. For alternatives read the Guide: Cheap Home Phones


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digp

That's if they let you cancel. They are making it quite difficult to cancel, e.g. by giving you different contract expiry dates!

liz_bartun

Hmmmm. I signed up last April, then moved house in October. When I called BT to transfer to new house I had to sign up for a brand new 12 month contract :mad:. So I'm now locked in til October '09 (providing I don't move again, of course). Oh the perils of renting :rolleyes:

jhp

liz_bartun wrote: »

Hmmmm. I signed up last April, then moved house in October. When I called BT to transfer to new house I had to sign up for a brand new 12 month contract :mad:. So I'm now locked in til October '09 (providing I don't move again, of course). Oh the perils of renting :rolleyes:

You would have had to have agreed a 12 month (non-rolling) contract for your line rental,but you would have not had to agree to a 12 month rolling contact for your evening and weekend calls . You could have paid for them and had the ability to move your calls to a new supplier without penalty when you wished.

If you move regularly consider Post Office Homephone who dont have a minimum contract term for line rental etc.

shazza52

hi, i also went on to bt friends and family last april, i did,nt know it was on a contract, i left bt in dec, for what i thought was a better deal at talktalk, i paid my last bill, then got a cancellation bill of 80 pound something, so i rang them saying how i thought it was unfair, i spoke to a lady who told me to wait while she spoke to someone else, i was then told they would waiver the 50 51p fee, so i paid the difference, i have now received a summons for the waiver fee, i have phoned three times, they now say ,they have no record of the phone call,, i am very upset, as i do not lie,, i suffer with bipolar and it,s very upsetting, sorry to go on,, im new to this :mad:

digp

suggest you email ian dot livingstone at bt dot com

jmprop

Did this require you to physically "sign" something?? I am onthis plan but do not recall ever being sent any paperwork.

[Deleted User]

digp wrote: »

suggest you email ian dot livingstone at bt dot com

hi digip

who is ian livingstone is he a boss or someone high up?

Thanks

utilitybroker

Mr Livingstone is the CEO of BT.

If you take out a new BT Contract for a phone line it comes with a 12 month contract this does not roll on.

If you take a free or cheaper call contract this comes with a 12 month rolling contract. As has been pointed out you dont have to take a rolling contract if you dont want to.

You dont have to sign a written contract . A verbal acceptance is good enough.

If you cancel either contract early you will be subject to a cancellation fee.

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=25497

Phone Line "No minimum term, unless you order a new phone line or switch your phone line to BT from another provider, where a 12 month minimum term applies to line rental."

Calls with a rolling contract "Contract subject to a 12 month minimum renewable period. So, after 12 months, your contract will be automatically renewed for another 12 month minimum renewable period unless you tell us otherwise. We will write to remind you when your contract is nearing the end of a renewable period."

utilitybroker

Ofcom recently took this view on renewable/rolling contracts.

"In our view, it is important that consumers should choose to enter contracts freely rather than finding themselves bound as a result of doing nothing.
Our concern about automatic renewal terms is that they may be used to exploit a consumer’s ignorance or inertia to tie them in and prevent them having the option of switching to another supplier.
We consider that such renewal terms are more likely to be unfair where one or more of the following applies:

• the renewal term itself is not transparent in the contract at the point of sale;
• the supplier doesn’t promise to send a reminder notice at a reasonable time before the renewal term is to take effect;
• the terms do not provide for a clear and easy to use opt-out mechanism, without unnecessary formal or procedural requirements;
• there is no cost to the supplier and no benefit to the consumer from the renewed obligation the consumer takes on;
• there are other terms which seek to restrict the chance to opt-out or require too long a notice period; and/or
• the charge for terminating the contract early is unfair (or so high that the consumer doesn’t effectively have the right to end the contract).

We also think it is important any reminder notice relating to automatic renewal is genuinely aimed at informing the consumer and prompting them actively to consider whether they wish to commit to a renewed contract. For example, we think the reminder should:

• be sent at an appropriate point in time (neither too close nor too far away from the renewal date);
• be written in plain, intelligible language;
• should have the explanation about the automatic renewal as the only (or main) subject of the letter; and
• should make clear what the consumer needs to do to prevent the automatic renewal (which opt-out mechanism should be clear and easy to use).

Ofcom also considers that it is possible that there are broader policy concerns relating to automatic renewal terms and their possible impact on the market. It is possible that a term is fair under the Regulations, but nonetheless has adverse consequences for competition. These concerns are outside the scope of our guidance but they may be the subject of further Ofcom consideration."

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/addcharges/faq/

daz9643

I got to the end of my 12 month contract and decided to switch phone and broadband to tiscali. Thought I would just phone BT on the offchance I could get a better deal and was astonished that they offered my same broadband package for £7.61 per month, was £14.99 which had already been reduced from £17.99 when I first signed up. One of the problems though, which I didn't really consider when I agreed was that for some unknown reason (I'm sure BT know why), the phone contract they could set up immediately but the broadband contract would take a week to be set up. This means in 12 onths time when the contracts will automatically renew and go back up to the higher price if I decide to switch I won't be able to switch both packages at the same time or I'll have to cancel the phone package first and be without a phone for a week.