BT payment plan

the_skint_minx

Hi All,

A couple of years ago, when I was much more foolish than I am now (thanks martin!) I signed up to a BT monthly payment plan of 49.99. This is because I'd just moved house and job and needed a landline installing and this seemed the cheapest option in the short term, when I had a longer than usual wait for a pay cheque.

I use the phone very rarely but am online a lot, so most of my phone bill consisted of local calls to my ISP.

When I started the long process (still ongoing) of sorting my finances out, I realised that I was being had. I immediately switched to a broadband package that covers my heavy internet usage. In theory that's wrapped 90% of my phone calls up into the broadband subscription of 17.99

However, over the summer (before I got broadband) I was the victim of an internet dialler virus, that ran up £180 worth of calls in less than an hour. BT have frozen that sum while the matter is being investigated by ICSTIS (still ongoing, since July). However, because of this, despite my phone usage being virtually nothing, I'm still paying 49.99 a month because I'm in a payment plan.

I've tried to speak to BT (when I can get through) but they won't change my payment amount because in theory I owe them money (because of the dialler, despite the fact that the sum is frozen). Is there any way I can get my phone bill down to what it should be - 17.99 for broadband + line rental + minimal calls?

Ideally I want to move to a cheaper phone provider but with the ICSTIS thing hanging over my BT account I think that will be difficult.

Thanks