BT Cancellation Charges

pennypincher61

I rang tonight to see if I am in a contract and explained that I want to change providers.
My line is awful, unusable as it squeals and crackles so badly, but they say there is no fault...

so I figured I might as well have a cheaper unusable line with another company

After 20 irritating minutes waiting for someone to answer the call they said they could reduce my monthly charge - when I asked why they hadnt told me this before they said they dont tell you unless you call.

This really annoys me!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I said this makes me want to leave more, what a horrible way to run a business!

Then I was told I would have to pay £76 if I leave before June next year.
I hate them!

Mark_In_Hampshire

SEASHELL wrote: »

I'm also in a similar position. I did actually receive the letter, rang them on the same day I received it and told them I didn't want to renew it. They person I spoke to tried to persuade me to continue telling me it would cost me more money but I still said no. I had so many problems with BT since I took out the contract that I just wanted to move on. Before I hung up I double checked I my contract wouldn't renew and was assurred it was all sorted.

Couple of months later I've signed up with another company and get a letter out from BT looking for £84.84 for cancelling my contract.:eek:
Got on the phone straight away and was told initially it was because my BB wasn't up until November and that was why I was being charged. Hung it the phone but knew the cost seemed too high for that so rang back and was told the charge was for the phone line and I'd have another charge for BB making it £124. I was then told they had no log of the call I'd made to stop the renewal and basically it was just tough . She then tried to sell me another package despite me really upset on the phone:eek::eek::eek:. I did ask if she could trace the call I'd made through my phonebill and was told I had to do this myself.

I'm so disgusted they can get away with this. I'd budgeted £45 for cancelling my BB contract but there's no way I can afford the rest. I feel sick

As the title of the thread is about cancellations, worth repeating (to all readers, not targetted at the above post):

Always cancel in writing.

Every time. No exceptions.

Otherwise, it is just your word against theirs.

Anything contractual is best done in writing with BT anyway, so you have an audit trail (email or recorded delivery slip). Just pretend they don't have a phone number at all and regard it as useless for all intents and purposes, and that you're dealing with a naughty child who pretends to do what you tell them and laughs at you behind your back.

In this case, they only get away with it if you let them by paying money you don't owe.

I'd suggest you just pay what you owe and write to them regarding the rest, explaining when you called, who you spoke to (if you remember), that you verified it would not renew, etc (your own call history should have a record of that call to them to back up the fact that a call took place), and leave them to whistle in the wind for the difference.

Mark_In_Hampshire

pennypincher61 wrote: »

I rang tonight to see if I am in a contract and explained that I want to change providers.
My line is awful, unusable as it squeals and crackles so badly, but they say there is no fault...

so I figured I might as well have a cheaper unusable line with another company

After 20 irritating minutes waiting for someone to answer the call they said they could reduce my monthly charge - when I asked why they hadnt told me this before they said they dont tell you unless you call.

This really annoys me!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I said this makes me want to leave more, what a horrible way to run a business!

Then I was told I would have to pay £76 if I leave before June next year.
I hate them!

Your reasoning for moving is sound - if the line is rubbish it will be the same rubbish with another supplier.

However if the fault is at the exchange, you may find joy by moving to a supplier which is unbundled altogether (such as Talk Talk) as you then bypass BT altogether. Depends on where the fault is. If it's on the line, then it'll remain.

However since you're contractually stuck with BT I'd press the fault until it's sorted. When you threatened to cancel, your leverage is not a discount but the line being repaired.

Then you can leave anyway later on - just make sure you're not on an auto-renewing contract.

Mark_In_Hampshire

notails wrote: »

I am also having this problem at the moment and can't seem to get through to anyone @ BT . They are asking for a £66 fee to cancel and said that they have sent the letter out to me , I have NEVER recieved this letter. ANy help would be great

I find it endearing that people trust BT to send these letters.

Unfortunately it's up to you to remember when the contract renews and cancel it yourself. Letters get lost in the post, presuming they are actually sent in the first place. Whether the letter arrives or not does not alter the contract.

Mark_In_Hampshire

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Regulators? They should be shot, they certainly don't earn their dinner. If they exist, that is.

"OFCOM - A BT Group Company"

SEASHELL

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

As the title of the thread is about cancellations, worth repeating (to all readers, not targetted at the above post):

Always cancel in writing.

Every time. No exceptions.

Otherwise, it is just your word against theirs.

Anything contractual is best done in writing with BT anyway, so you have an audit trail (email or recorded delivery slip). Just pretend they don't have a phone number at all and regard it as useless for all intents and purposes, and that you're dealing with a naughty child who pretends to do what you tell them and laughs at you behind your back.

In this case, they only get away with it if you let them by paying money you don't owe.

I'd suggest you just pay what you owe and write to them regarding the rest, explaining when you called, who you spoke to (if you remember), that you verified it would not renew, etc (your own call history should have a record of that call to them to back up the fact that a call took place), and leave them to whistle in the wind for the difference.

I know now I should have written:o Usually if I was cancelling a contract I'd write but because I was just saying I'd didn't actually want one I thought phoning would do the job. I know, I know , that doesn't sound logical even to me now. But it made sense at the time. Although somewhere at the back of my sleep deprived mind I did know it was wrong because I double and triple checked with the girl I spoke to. In my ignorance presuming my call was being recorded so if I ever needed to have it clarified they could check the recording. :o:o:o:o

BT_company_representative

Hi Guys

If anyone would like there problems looked into I will gladly look into each case on an individual basis. If you send me an email to the address in my public profile and include your forum username, a link to your post and your account details I will gladly look into any queries you may have.

Regards David

MarkOHT

Looks like I'm not the only one getting conflicting information from BT every single time I call. I've been with BT for 18 months, and when I called them back in February to cancel (I had just gotten Sky+ and wanted to get phone and broadband with them too), I was advised that, yes, my phone contract was 12 months, but my broadband contract was 18 months. I was never advised this at the time of sign up (and if I was, I wouldn't have signed up), and when I advised them of this, I was told, unsurprisingly, that there was no record of me having signed up for 12 months on each. Not to worry, said the advisor, we'll put your phone bill on to a rolling month to month contract, so that when your broadband is up for renewal in August, if you still want to cancel there will be no charge.

Fast forward to tonight, where I am advised by a young lady called Kate that, quelle surprise, there is no note of that conversation having taken place, and as a result there would in fact be a cancellation charge. She also advised that there would have been a renewal letter sent to us back in January/February (despite my insistence that no such letter arrived). As it stands I have a quarterly bill for £235.32 (yes, £235.32). Kate's very helpful suggestion to combat this was to pay the bill, then take a new package of free landline, 0845 and 0870 calls and 40Gb broadband for £28.77 per month and anything I've overpaid will be credited back on to forthcoming bills. This doesn't seem to be in any way, helpful, or constructive. I didn't ask how much the cancellation charge is, but I'm considering taking the hit on it, given that there are countless other service providers offering better packages with unlimited broadband.

I'd appreciate any guidance and advice you can give me.

Mark_In_Hampshire

MarkOHT wrote: »

Looks like I'm not the only one getting conflicting information from BT every single time I call. I've been with BT for 18 months, and when I called them back in February to cancel (I had just gotten Sky+ and wanted to get phone and broadband with them too), I was advised that, yes, my phone contract was 12 months, but my broadband contract was 18 months. I was never advised this at the time of sign up (and if I was, I wouldn't have signed up), and when I advised them of this, I was told, unsurprisingly, that there was no record of me having signed up for 12 months on each. Not to worry, said the advisor, we'll put your phone bill on to a rolling month to month contract, so that when your broadband is up for renewal in August, if you still want to cancel there will be no charge.

Fast forward to tonight, where I am advised by a young lady called Kate that, quelle surprise, there is no note of that conversation having taken place, and as a result there would in fact be a cancellation charge. She also advised that there would have been a renewal letter sent to us back in January/February (despite my insistence that no such letter arrived). As it stands I have a quarterly bill for £235.32 (yes, £235.32). Kate's very helpful suggestion to combat this was to pay the bill, then take a new package of free landline, 0845 and 0870 calls and 40Gb broadband for £28.77 per month and anything I've overpaid will be credited back on to forthcoming bills. This doesn't seem to be in any way, helpful, or constructive. I didn't ask how much the cancellation charge is, but I'm considering taking the hit on it, given that there are countless other service providers offering better packages with unlimited broadband.

I'd appreciate any guidance and advice you can give me.

A couple of things:

There is very nearly no such thing as unlimited broadband. The ASA allowed the word unlimited to be used with a "Fair Usage Policy" which in itself allows the ISP to vary the actual limit (not disclosed to you) at will and either warn you, close your account or cap your speed should you exceed the undisclosed limit.

The ASA are re-examining this now (at last) so in a year or so, the word "unlimited" will probably disappear in favour of honestly marketed products.

Moving on..

You must use the phone a lot

I'm assuming that bill doesn't include the cancellation charges as you haven't cancelled yet.

The issue is your word against theirs e.g. when you first signed up, did they tell you you'd be on a contract which renews annually (most people might not actually interpret that as it actually is e.g. another 12 months, then another..) however in your more recent call you changed the package anyway. Again, though, that's your word against theirs.

All I can suggest is: if you do indeed want to move (you wanted to move to Sky anyway, and this experience may have pushed you further in that direction) that you put the first para of your post in a letter or email to BT and flesh it out with your understanding of the contract end dates, as advised by BT themselves previously, that you are instructing cancellation, and how much you expect to be paying, making it clear that you will not tolerate cancellation charges as suggested in the call, and you expect a correct final bill to be sent taking this into account.

mobile48

I understand it may be possible to end a contract with BT early at no cost in the following circumstances. This was quoted at me by BT only after I repeatly complained about changes.

"If we have made a change which is to your material disadvantage, you will not have to pay a charge if you decide to end your agreement early, unless the Tariff Guide says otherwise. However, once we have told you about such a change, you must let us know that you want to end the agreement within 10 days."

Ofcom informed me of the same fact on the phone without the exceptions when I complained to them about the changes to my contract. If I was unhappy about any change to my material disadvantage I could leave my provider to one of the hundreds of alternative suppliers at no cost.

When you cancel if BT informs you of any cancellation fees you were not expecting and have not previously been informed of to your material disadvantage then ironically it looks like you can cancel and pay no fees at all.

You can always talk to OFCOM first to find out where you stand.