low useage charges by BT !

JustPassingBy

bargains83 wrote: »

. . . . . . . it quite clearly states that Chargecard and Operator connected calls DO COUNT towards the 6 required calls per quarter to recieve Privacy at home and 1571 free of charge.

A serious mistake on BT's part. The advice in the letter is completely incorrect.

. . . . . . Nowhere does it explain explicitly what does and doesn't count.

In the Price List it says you must make two calls a month with BT. You're with AOL so cannot make any calls which count.

bargains83

JustPassingBy wrote: »

A serious mistake on BT's part. The advice in the letter is completely incorrect.

In the Price List it says you must make two calls a month with BT. You're with AOL so cannot make any calls which count.

BT chargecard calls appear on a BT Bill under Usage charges these are chargeable calls and they are with BT, nobody else but BT!.

There should be explicit exclusions if there are any, it is unreasonable to expect the customer to work these out for themselves. It is also unreasonable to expect a customer to trawl a forum to find out what the exclusions are.

Regardless anyway, I have a physical paper later that tells me Chargecard calls COUNT towards the required allowance to avail of free caller display and until I am told otherwise by a notice of variation I shall continue to have free caller display by making chargecard calls.

JustPassingBy

bargains83 wrote: »

BT chargecard calls appear on a BT Bill under Usage charges these are chargeable calls and they are with BT, nobody else but BT!.

Chargecard calls from home are not chargeable calls. They do not originate from your phone line.

There should be explicit exclusions if there are any, it is unreasonable to expect the customer to work these out for themselves. It is also unreasonable to expect a customer to trawl a forum to find out what the exclusions are.

The exclusions are in the Price List. No calls with BT - no free caller display.

. . . . . . I shall continue to have free caller display by making chargecard calls.

Is that something BT have arranged for you? If not you'll be phoning CS every month to argue your corner.

lpgm

OldGreyFox wrote: »

If your making 6 or more chargeable/ inclusive calls a quarter you shouldnt be paying. PM a BT Company Rep and ask them to sort it.

Well, I contacted 'BT company rep' on this site. One person said 'six chargeable calls' and another said 'six chargeable or inclusive calls'. So there you go. Confusion all round. The simple truth is the billing system will automatically charge me £7.50 if I don't make six calls costing 60p. I suppose that's my answer.

mrtom21

Yeah this issue is pretty simple really... If you have calls with another provider... Make 2 calls (chargeable OR inclusive) each month THROUGH BT... or if you took your calls to a provider who blocks the 1280 remove caller display accepting that your package is cheaper for a reason... or just pay the £2.50 for the service and get on with your lives. You took your calls to another provider to get the lowest costing package therefore you should accept the lowest costing package's limitations. Am I alone on this???

lpgm

mrtom21 wrote: »

Yeah this issue is pretty simple really... If you have calls with another provider... Make 2 calls (chargeable OR inclusive) each month THROUGH BT... or if you took your calls to a provider who blocks the 1280 remove caller display accepting that your package is cheaper for a reason... or just pay the £2.50 for the service and get on with your lives. You took your calls to another provider to get the lowest costing package therefore you should accept the lowest costing package's limitations. Am I alone on this???

I don't have another provider. I make six or more calls with BT each quarter.

mrtom21

You are the exception. In your case I would request to get the full contracts worth of £7.50 charges up front as it is clearly still being charged in error. I would do that just for the peace of mind of not having to ring back again in 3 months.

bargains83

mrtom21 wrote: »

You are the exception. In your case I would request to get the full contracts worth of £7.50 charges up front as it is clearly still being charged in error. I would do that just for the peace of mind of not having to ring back again in 3 months.

He is not the only exception, if when you switched providers you had a letter from BT which states "If you are unable to use the 1280 override code then you will need to make BT chargecard or operator connected calls"

then you should not be paying £7.50 per quarter for Privacy at Home or any charges for 1571 providing you have made at least 6 of the above calls.

I will have to claim the £7.50 back every quarter no doubt but I intend on doing so until I recieve a written letter stating chargecard calls do not qualify as I have recieved nothing material to contradict the letter which states that chargecard calls DO count. When I do, I will move my line rental away from BT also.

Caller Display should have been a free service as part of line rental years ago anyway. It costs them NOTHING to provide, so £2.50 a month is not justified by any provider. The caller ID has been sent down the line automatically ever since 1471 was introduced, when you activate caller display an extra 'flag' is added to the ring signal which allows the number to be displayed. There is no reason for a surchage.

1571 I can understand being chargable as it will cost them to maintain/store voice messages on the network.

Obviously BT have the right to charge what they want but it is no wonder customers are moving away from them. Their billing is terrible, how many revisions of bills has there been in the last 10 years?, they ALWAYS change the billing dates and bring them forward when a revision happens to benefit themselves in the short-term.

They always say its to make them clearer and easier to understand. Whats to understand?, you pay line rental at £11.25 a month in advance then you pay for your calls. 2 sections on a piece of paper is all that is needed seperating them then a total balance. I don't see how it can be 'revised' so often.

Payment Processing charges unless you pay by direct debit is very poor. Monthly payment by debit card should NOT attract payment fees IMO. Though I agree cheque payments probably should have the fee and maybe credit cards.

JustPassingBy

lpgm wrote: »

The simple truth is the billing system will automatically charge me £7.50 if I don't make six calls costing 60p. I suppose that's my answer.

There is something seriously wrong somewhere. That is not the way it works.

Keep a record of six weekend calls and cross-check in your online Recent Calls. Contact BT CS if you incur a £7.50 charge. They will most likely maintain (incorrectly) the calls are not chargeable. You will get nowhere by arguing.

They may refund the money but this relies on their largesse rather than tackling the root cause - so take the problem to a higher level.

JustPassingBy

mrtom21 wrote: »

Yeah this issue is pretty simple really... If you have calls with another provider... Make 2 calls (chargeable OR inclusive) each month THROUGH BT... . . . . .

Is there any particular reason you have drawn attention to the word 'inclusive' by capitalising 'or'?