BT payment processing fee?

johnny_kidd

Every bill my parents recieve advises of a £4.50 charge for processing the payment.

It states: -

'This charge has been made by BT Payment Services Ltd for processing your payment.
VAT is not applicable to this charge.

Now these charges have been ongoing for sometime.... why the hell is this charge appropiate?
So you get charged £4.50 for paying your bill!!!!
Is this lawful?
can anything be done??
Thanks for any helpful response in advance.

Browntoa

it's lawful , if you pay by direct debit there is no fee

generaloneill

Its to subsidise the cost of calls to india when you need to report a fault on the line.

KimYeovil

Many consumers receive a £26 to £70 'payment processing fee' every quarter if they do not want to use direct debits to pay for their gas and electricity. BT's £4.50 seems a bargain by comparison.

Check your parents' fuel bills!

Buzby

It may be 'legal' but it is totally immoral.

When , since the dawn of time - has a CUSTOMER been liable for the so-called costs incurred in a firm 'processing' a payment? It comes off their bottom line - not passed on as an additional charge.

BT and the other firms trying this on are laughing all the way to the bank.

I do hope customers remember this, and if BT have the temerity to believe there will be no come back in the future, I do hope they will be surprised. If I'm liable for their 'costs' (and these are unverified), then they should be liable for mine, too. My bank charges 40p for every electronic credit or debit made. All I need is a way to ensure they PROVE their costs, and I can easily prove mine.

IOr better still, just ONE MP who sees this scam for what it is, and puts a stop to it!

littleowl

Buzby wrote: »

It may be 'legal' but it is totally immoral.

When , since the dawn of time - has a CUSTOMER been liable for the so-called costs incurred in a firm 'processing' a payment? It comes off their bottom line - not passed on as an additional charge.

BT and the other firms trying this on are laughing all the way to the bank.

I do hope customers remember this, and if BT have the temerity to believe there will be no come back in the future, I do hope they will be surprised. If I'm liable for their 'costs' (and these are unverified), then they should be liable for mine, too. My bank charges 40p for every electronic credit or debit made. All I need is a way to ensure they PROVE their costs, and I can easily prove mine.

IOr better still, just ONE MP who sees this scam for what it is, and puts a stop to it!

I completely agree with you. Unfortunately there was a case last year arguing against this BT charge and it was lost. However, I do believe that this should be pursued and BT required to state exactly how these charges are incurred and how payment via direct debit in comparison has no cost.
In my cynical mode it is my supposition that dds are useful for companies because they, not the customer, are in control and can vary the amount. Oh yes - they do notify changes but just try arguing against them!

iniltous

Buzby wrote: »

It may be 'legal' but it is totally immoral.

When , since the dawn of time - has a CUSTOMER been liable for the so-called costs incurred in a firm 'processing' a payment? It comes off their bottom line - not passed on as an additional charge.

BT and the other firms trying this on are laughing all the way to the bank.

I do hope customers remember this, and if BT have the temerity to believe there will be no come back in the future, I do hope they will be surprised. If I'm liable for their 'costs' (and these are unverified), then they should be liable for mine, too. My bank charges 40p for every electronic credit or debit made. All I need is a way to ensure they PROVE their costs, and I can easily prove mine.

IOr better still, just ONE MP who sees this scam for what it is, and puts a stop to it!

Why are BT singled out ??, many Telcos levy a payment proccesing fee and
at least BT's £4.50 per quarter is not the most expensive, Virgin media ( i believe) charge £5 per month and some Telcos dont want your business unless you pay by direct debit, I'm not condoning BT here, but direct your attention at the worst offending Telco

macman

Or you can think of it as BT offering a discount of £4.50 per qtr to pay by DD. It's obviously cheaper for them to receive payment that way than have to process a cheque, and they get improved cashflow.

littleowl

macman wrote: »

Or you can think of it as BT offering a discount of £4.50 per qtr to pay by DD. It's obviously cheaper for them to receive payment that way than have to process a cheque, and they get improved cashflow.

BUT - BT makes the same charge for paying on line so I really don't see how it can be justified!

Heinz

I get this strange 'I must be in a time warp' feeling.

This was discussed to death when people suddenly started noticing it when the charge went up from £1/month to £1.50/month - two years ago - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=400053

littleowl

Heinz wrote: »

I get this strange 'I must be in a time warp' feeling.

This was discussed to death when people suddenly started noticing it when the charge went up from £1/month to £1.50/month - 2 years ago - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=400053

Indeed it was. However, that doesn't preclude the response to a disgraceful charge worth another airing.