BT Bill now £40.00 per month more - for a plan I never signed up for !!

BlondeHeadOn

I know there are other threads on here about this, but I have a maybe slightly different situation in that I have apparently been swapped to an "Unlimited Weekend Plan" without my knowledge or consent.

The thing it, for the phone they have so kindly given me this new calling plan ..... I NEVER EVER EVER MAKE EVENING OR WEEKEND CALLS ON THIS PHONE !!!!

So how on earth can they claim that this was done in my interest? One glance at my phone usage would let them know that I never use this phone at evenings and weekends.

I am so cross I want to spit. I am now paying £30 to £40 extra per bill for a sodding useless call plan I didn't ask for and definitely don't want.

I have been a loyal customer of BT for about 20 years now, but after this I just want to dump all my BT lines altogether.

What's the best way to complain about this and cancel all my contracts? I don't want to get caught by some other [EMAIL="!!!!py"]!!!!py[/EMAIL] fine print I haven't signed up to!

HELP !!!

:mad:

macman

Which plan were you on before then? Weekend calls are included in the basic line rental package which is £11.54 per month, and they have been for ages.
Your bill can't be £40 more per month, as even the Unlimited Anytime package is only £4.99 per month.

brewerdave

You were presumably on some sort of Low User scheme?? BT did away with these some time ago and moved everyone onto the standard Unlimited Weekend plan UNLESS they applied to go on to BT Basic which requires you to be on a low wage/ benefits.
BT were supposed to have informed all those affected by the change but quite clearly haven't!! Trouble is, if you don't qualify for BT Basic you won't save very much (if anything) by switching to anyone else particularly if you make very few calls.

ACDeag

BlondeHeadOn wrote: »

I know there are other threads on here about this, but I have a maybe slightly different situation in that I have apparently been swapped to an "Unlimited Weekend Plan" without my knowledge or consent.

The thing it, for the phone they have so kindly given me this new calling plan ..... I NEVER EVER EVER MAKE EVENING OR WEEKEND CALLS ON THIS PHONE !!!!

So how on earth can they claim that this was done in my interest? One glance at my phone usage would let them know that I never use this phone at evenings and weekends.

I am so cross I want to spit. I am now paying £30 to £40 extra per bill for a sodding useless call plan I didn't ask for and definitely don't want.

I have been a loyal customer of BT for about 20 years now, but after this I just want to dump all my BT lines altogether.

What's the best way to complain about this and cancel all my contracts? I don't want to get caught by some other !!!!py fine print I haven't signed up to!

HELP !!!

:mad:

Quarterly or monthly bills?

BlondeHeadOn

No, I wasn't on a low user scheme, or basic scheme - I was just on a call plan which cost me £40 less for the same number and type of calls!

My line rental has rocketed, and it looks like the cost per call during the day has gone up too as I can't see any other reason for the increase. I am assuming that this 'free weekend and evening calls' wheeze must be paid for somehow. By the way there are no premium numbers or anything in there - I have checked my itemised bill - and the type and frequency of calls I made last quarter are the same as those I made for the previous bills.

I don't care which scheme I'm on, I just don't want to pay £120 per quarter instead of my usual old bill of around £80 per quarter. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me....

macman

BlondeHeadOn wrote: »

No, I wasn't on a low user scheme, or basic scheme - I was just on a call plan which cost me £40 less for the same number and type of calls!

My line rental has rocketed, and it looks like the cost per call during the day has gone up too as I can't see any other reason for the increase. I am assuming that this 'free weekend and evening calls' wheeze must be paid for somehow. By the way there are no premium numbers or anything in there - I have checked my itemised bill - and the type and frequency of calls I made last quarter are the same as those I made for the previous bills.

I don't care which scheme I'm on, I just don't want to pay £120 per quarter instead of my usual old bill of around £80 per quarter. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me....

You need to say exactly which tariff you were on before and which now, and gives the breakdown of your bill.
Line rental on BT residential is £11.54 a month, it can't rise by £40 a qtr! Your original post said your bill has risen by £40 a month?

Heinz

I'm afraid the OP demonstrates a common problem - people not understanding their bill and leaving it until the situation gets even worse.

In fact, my son called me last night about his own BT bill which, he said, had 'suddenly rocketed' to over £80 per quarter. A 10 minute conversation revealed he pays on receipt of a paper bill (£8.25/quarter extra immediately), sometimes pays a couple of days late (a £7.50 Late Payment Fee on the next bill), unnecessarily pays for some Calling Features and his wife uses the landline to call him on his mobile.

Needless to say, his next bill will be considerably lower now that I've recommended he changes to Monthly Whole Bill Direct Debit, opts for paper-free billing, cancels the unnecessary Calling Features and educates the GL in the use of mobile free minutes.

macman

I don't understand why the OP says that they have been put on a new tariff causing their bill to rocket by £40 a month (now £40 a quarter).
Is this just another case of billing period realignment causing people to think their monthly rental has gone up?

BlondeHeadOn

Heinz wrote: »

I'm afraid the OP demonstrates a common problem - people not understanding their bill and leaving it until the situation gets even worse.

In fact, my son called me last night about his own BT bill which, he said, had 'suddenly rocketed' to over £80 per quarter. A 10 minute conversation revealed he pays on receipt of a paper bill (£8.25/quarter extra immediately), sometimes pays a couple of days late (a £7.50 Late Payment Fee on the next bill), unnecessarily pays for some Calling Features and his wife uses the landline to call him on his mobile.

Needless to say, his next bill will be considerably lower now that I've recommended he changes to Monthly Whole Bill Direct Debit, opts for paper-free billing, cancels the unnecessary Calling Features and educates the GL in the use of mobile free minutes.

No late payment, I pay quarterly by direct debit, always on time, no late fees.

BlondeHeadOn

macman wrote: »

I don't understand why the OP says that they have been put on a new tariff causing their bill to rocket by £40 a month (now £40 a quarter).
Is this just another case of billing period realignment causing people to think their monthly rental has gone up?

Sorry, I meant £40 per quarter - my type in the title.

I still thing foing from £80 per month to £120 per month for the same number of calls and no change to service is unacceptable.

macman

You need to break down your bill and say what you are actually being charged for.
Which tariff (past and present)?
How much for line rental?
How much for call package?
If you are on standard line rental and Unlimited Anytime calls then the maximum you can be charged is £11.54 line rental and £4.99 calls, i.e. £16.53pm, or £49.59 per quarter.
So I don't understand how your bill can 'normally' be £80 per qtr, let alone £120. You must have other chargeable services or be making a large no. of exclusive calls, eg. mobiles, overseas, premium nos?