Cancellation Charges For BT phone and Broadband

Kels100

I called BT today to cancel my phone line and broadband as my husband died at the end of March and i now can't afford to pay for the phone and Broadband now as i am on my own. I called them and they are saying i have until October before my contract ends and i have to pay the £2.95 per month for the friends and family option i am on plus the £24.95 per month for the broadband, so i have to mulitply both of these figures by 6 (as that is how many months i have left of the contract) Just to cancel the phone line and broadband.

Also to have incoming calls which is what i would like i have to pay a one off fee of £25.00 a month to change over then plus £12.50 a month line rental.

Surely seeing as my husband has passed away and the phone line is in his name they would be able to do this for seeing as i have no means of paying this each month nor the cancellation fee it would cost.

Has anyone else been in this situation?

macman

Sorry to hear about your situation. If both the phone and broadband were in your husband's sole name then the bills should be settled by your husband's estate, not by you. You are not liable for past or future bills just because you live at the same address, unless you have had the account switched into your name. Whoever is dealing with the estate should deal with this, presumably your solicitor.
It's really not worth paying that much just to have incoming calls, you would be better off using a PAYG mobile. Given your financial situation, I suggest you look at the BT Basic service, which you may qualify for if you are in receipt of the relevant benefits.
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2008/10/bt-launches-low-cost-phone-service-bt-basic-158560.jsp
Did you explain the full circumstances to BT when you called them?

Kels100

Hi yes, i did explain everything to them, but my brother sorted alot of the things out when all of this happened as it was a sudden death so we was all shock by everything and he said he changed it over into my name, but when i called them for the 3rd time this morning she said it was still in my husbands name, but when i called them yesterday they said it was in my name ( so im very confused as to whos name its in) so could i call just to find out whos name it is in?? and could i get it cleared that way?

macman

Well whose name are the current bills coming in?
I don't see any way that a 3rd party could change the account into your name, you could only do that yourself.
I think you really need to clarify this with BT before you do anything else. There's no point in cancelling if you are going to have to buy out the contract anyway, you may as well have the use of the service you are paying for.

BT_company_representative

Hi Kels100,

I would like to offer my condolences to you at this difficult time. I am sorry for the information that you have received from BT in relation to receiving cancelation charges for ceasing this account, this information is incorrect. As the account is in your husbands name all held to term charges will be waived. I will be happy to help you resolve this matter. I have sent you a PM with my contact details. I look forward to your reply.

Cheers
Sean
BT Support