BT Total Broadband

leona.sheasby

Hi everyone,
Newbie here! So, sorry if this post is in the wrong place.
I have an on-going issue with BT, and its really starting to get me down.
On 21st January 2009 i began twelve month contracts with BT for my land line and broadband. At the time i was living with a friend, we were not intending to stay at the property more than a year and so only took out twelve month contracts.
Everything was fine, the internet was fast and we had no problems at all.
In October 2009 my flatmate decided she was going to move in with her boyfriend (leaving me with outstanding electric bill, gym membership for her and our internet and telephone) Anyway, i couldnt afford to live at the flat on my own and so i moved back in with my parents.
I contacted BT on 19 October 2009 to explain that i would not be living at the property any longer and to change my correspondance address. Whilst on the call i paid my current bill, which was paid in advance and took me up to the contract end date of 21st January 2010. I explained that i did not need the service at my parents house, as they already had it.
On 6th December 2009 i sent a letter to BT (recorded delivery) asking that both my telephone line and broadband be cancelled on 21st January 2010. i included both account numbers so there was no confusion.
On 2nd February 2010 i received a quarterly bill from BT for £79.86 for broadband up to April 2010.
I contacted them by telephone to ask them what the hell was going on. I was told that my letter had been misinterpreted and that only the telephone line had been cancelled. I was told that the broadband had now been cancelled and not to pay the bill.
A fortnight later i recieved a final reminder for £79.86! I again contacted them by telephone and was told (again) that i didnt need to pay the bill, because my contract had ended and BT were at fault.
So im happily plodding on through life, believing that everything outstanding from the flat had now been dealt with.
Today i arrive home from work to find a bill for £101.98 from BT. Which includes the money from the outstanding bill, a late payment charge, £53.00 early cancellation charges and £25.00 cancellation fee!
So i contacted BT again. I was transferred through four different departments, all of whom were extremely unhelpful, and have actually been on the phone for almost an hour and 30 minutes. I have explained my situation to four seperate people, four times.
I spoke with a guy who stated that my broadband contract was in fact an 18 months contract, not 12, which is where the early cancellation charges came in. i explained my position and was put on hold, he came back and said he was willing to waiver the £55.00 early cancellation charge. he stated that all i needed to pay was £25.00 charge because i hadnt requested a MAC.....a what??????? Never heard that before! So i asked him what it was and if i could have one...but no...i needed to request that when the line was cleared! I've never heard of this before, it hadnt been mentioned to me at the time i had the line cleared. He told me that a MAC was used when i transferred to another provider, i explained again that i did not need this service at my parents house and i had not in fact used the service since October.
I wouldnt mind paying the fee if i had not requested a MAC however i've never been given the option.
Im really really annoyed about the whole situation, it just seems to be one thing after another. i could understand the aggro if i had cancelled my contract early, but i didnt, i did everything i was supposed to do in the correct way.
Anyway, i refused to pay this and asked for the complaints address, as i refuse to deal with them over the telephone anymore, telephone calls seem to go missing.
Im considering writing a very strongly worded letter to them tomorrow.
Im just wondering if anyone has had any similar experiences and what the outcome was.
Hopefully someone can help and give me some advice. I'm a trainee solicitor, but i only deal with crime, which isnt so helpful in this situation
Thanks
Leona

mrtom21

You are lucky they removed the cancellation charges on your account without investigation quite often they may refuse. With regards to the £25 cease charge that still applies. Although you were not given the option to take a MAC code you couldn't have used one anyway. A MAC code only lets you move your broadband from one company to another at the same address. If you are moving and instead disconnecting your service you are charged £25 regardless. You 'could' have taken a MAC code and not used it... But that would not have stopped your service as it is nothing more than a code another company uses to move your internet over to them. If you had done that your BT service would have stayed active and you would continue to be billed. I would maybe push to get the late payment charges on your bill removed due to the incorrect information you were given over the phone but other than that you've already gotten the termination charges removed for the contract I would count yourself lucky.

BT_company_representative

Hi Leona.sheasby,

I can totally understand your frustration in trying to get your complaint dealt with. I would like to take a look at this for you. Please could you email me your BT account details? My email address can be found by clicking on my profile.

Thanks

Paddy