BT aggressive behaviour ?

squeek

hi, i think BT is maybe very expensive, b/c our bills are always too high, yet we hardly use it. we pay at least £10 a week off the card, but they done it again, but this time they cut us right off, couldnt even get through to BT, so does this mean we couldnt phone 999 ? b/c if it does then thats the final straw !

macman

OP, I'm curious as to why you say you 'hardly use the phone'? If you are paying £520 a year, that's £130 a quarter, or £43 a month. BT line rental and Anytime call package should cost you no more than £16.53 a month if you opt for DD and paper-free billing. To spend nearly 3 times that you must be making a huge number of exclusive calls-mobiles, overseas, premium nos?
Or does this £10 a week include paying off some older debt? How much do you actually owe them?

baldelectrician

I really don't rate B(ombay) Telecom

My mate wants to stay with BT (there is no reasoning with some people )

He has set up a whole bill direct debit and pays £8-£10 per week by standing order (not direct debit).
He has a direct debit set up, but it is never used as his line is in cerdit all the time (by a little)

This means he can enjoy the benefit (finacial discount) of having a direct debit, but without anything actually coming out.

I woud suggest Plusnet aty £16 per month for broadband, including line rental (ps they are actually owned by BT !)

Rev

When you say small payments, how much do you mean?

My mum has the anytime deal, she pays £10 a week using the bt payment card, uses the phone as and when she likes (and the woman could talk for England) and her bill is always in credit when it arrives. Last time she was in £90 credit.

macman

Rev wrote: »

When you say small payments, how much do you mean?

My mum has the anytime deal, she pays £10 a week using the bt payment card, uses the phone as and when she likes (and the woman could talk for England) and her bill is always in credit when it arrives. Last time she was in £90 credit.

Why give free loans to BT of that size? Much better to get her onto whole bill direct debit, then she will never owe them money (or vice versa).

Farway

macman wrote: »

Why give free loans to BT of that size? Much better to get her onto whole bill direct debit, then she will never owe them money (or vice versa).

Can't speak for poster, but some older folk just prefer cards, over the counter, sort of stuff, may not make sense to others, but old habits die hard

My mother would never ever move from BT, or Post Office as it once was, some things just are

Rev

macman wrote: »

Why give free loans to BT of that size? Much better to get her onto whole bill direct debit, then she will never owe them money (or vice versa).

It is on a direct debit. But she still pays by card so she doesn't end up with a whacking great bill that could possibly take her over her overdraft, depending on how much cash she has in the bank at the time of them taking the cash out.

She prefers the card as she's usually in credit, she can miss a week or two depending on cash. Works for her, and saves me the earache lol.

macman

But if she has £90 regularly in credit, she could have that in her bank and reduce her overdraft?
What she is doing is lending BT her money FOC while paying her bank for an overdraft.

Rev

macman wrote: »

But if she has £90 regularly in credit, she could have that in her bank and reduce her overdraft?
What she is doing is lending BT her money FOC while paying her bank for an overdraft.

But it also helps her out, over Christmas cash was tight so she didn't pay the usual weekly £10 to BT. If this were a normal bill she'd have been worried about not paying, but knowing that she's in credit let her relax. I wasn't aware you paid for having an over draft unless you went over it and incurred a charge.

Either way, it works for her, she's 70, stuck in her ways and not about to change.