Bt payment processing fee

jackthecube

Hi, I recently moved house and to get broadband I was forced to get a bt phone line. I've nevr liked direct debits and I don't mind paying the processing fee. But surely if the processing fee is £1.50 a month, why am I being charged £4.50 every 3 months when they are only processing 1 payment a quarter? If I paid my bill every month they would have to process 3 payments for the same £4.50.

Rikki

jackthecube wrote: »

Hi, I recently moved house and to get broadband I was forced to get a bt phone line. I've nevr liked direct debits and I don't mind paying the processing fee. But surely if the processing fee is £1.50 a month, why am I being charged £4.50 every 3 months when they are only processing 1 payment a quarter? If I paid my bill every month they would have to process 3 payments for the same £4.50.

The charge is £1.50 a month so as you wrote it's £4.50 for three months, so the processing fee is £4.50 a quarter.

jackthecube

But how can they call it a charge for processing a non DD payment? Surely 1 quarterly payment should cost the same as 1 monthly payment, if the charge truly is to offset any charges bt incurs by accepting payment by non DD methods. I think ill have to see if I can pay my bill monthly so I'm paying £1.50 a payment, instead of triple.

brewerdave

But you will still be paying £4.50 every 3 months?

utilitybroker

As has already been pointed out whether you pay it monthly or quarterly you still have to pay £18 a year.

"What is a Payment Processing Fee?From 1 May 2007, BT Payment Services Ltd, a separate BT Group company, is introducing a payment processing fee for customers who do not pay their telephone bills by Direct Debit or Monthly Payment Plan as all other methods of payment cost BT more to process. Customers not on a Direct Debit or Monthly Payment Plan by the time of their next bill will be charged a discrete payment processing fee of £1.50 (for monthly billed customers) or £4.50 (for quarterly billed customers). You can avoid the new payment processing fee if you sign up to Direct Debit or Monthly Payment "


http://www2.bt.com/static/i/microsite/help_and_tips/payments/faq/about_payments.html#faq11

Mark_In_Hampshire

It's because the so called payment processing fee is wrongly described. The cost bears no relation to the method or frequency of payment. It's just a way of gaining control over your bank account by annoying you by charging an exhorbitant and silly fee.

Change to something like The Post Office for the line rental which doesn't carry that charge, but check the comparative overall cost first.

DVardysShadow

Change to the Post Office. You can still have broadband from any of the same suppliers.

jackthecube

Thanks, I never knew I could get line rental through the post office and as a royal mail employee I could even get a discount:) cheers guys, I knew someone would get my point eventually.

utilitybroker

jackthecube wrote: »

Thanks, I never knew I could get line rental through the post office and as a royal mail employee I could even get a discount:) cheers guys, I knew someone would get my point eventually.

You said i quote "I recently moved house and to get broadband I was forced to get a bt phone line" Hence me not recommending an alternative supplier at such an early stage.

The BT line will be subject to a cancellation fee for the remainder of the 12/18 month minimum term,if you move to Post Office Homephone. The cancellation fee will possibly be a lot more then the savings you make.;)

To work out what the cancellation fee will be see http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/dynamicmodules/pagecontentfooter/pageContentFooterPopup.jsp?pagecontentfooter_popupid=26746&s_cid=con_FURL_termcharges

communiverse

BT used to make horrendous mistakes on our broadband bill, such that we stopped paying by Direct Debit and pay by internet banking instead. The outcome of that is that they charge us the ubiquitous 'payment processing fee' of £9 per quarter, even though they don't have to process the payment because it goes straight into their account, giving the same result as paying by direct debit anyway.

We think BT have a cheek charging it in the first place. You don't go into a shop, or indeed online to buy something, and at the checkout get told that you're being charged an additional amount for a payment processing fee. Imagine the rucous! Surely the cost of administration is built into the cost of BT's products, just as it is anywhere else?

Buzby

OFCOM is supposedly looking at this - where the fee is actually used to coerce people to pay by DD and but the company in control. They were supposed to report on the issue 'shortly' but nothing has been heard from them yet, so it remains a 'live' issue.