MSE News: BT hikes costs but cuts up-front package charges

molerat

I am on the basic weekend plan with calls via Primus and have never been charged for BT Privacy with caller display. I make almost all of my weekend calls with BT, usually around 50 per quarter, all at 0p. All weekday calls (except the odd couple of 0845 per year) are made on 18185 and evenings with Primus.

Baz_2

I just went online today to sign up for the £4.99 anytime plan due to the missus going on maternity leave and chatting during the day none stop and was offered the pay up front deal. £9.49 pm instead of £11.54 pm, the £4.99 for anytime is on top of this (free for 3 months though). However it definitely said there is no £1.25pm paper free billing discount if you take this up. So the saving is basically 80p per month until the increased charges come along and then £1.30 pm after that is it not?

Hardly worth it.

Heinz

Those, like me, on Monthly Whole Bill Direct Debit, give BT an interest-free loan of their line rental for a month, every month - but we still get £1.25/month paper-free discount.

Those on Quarterly Whole Bill Direct Debit, give BT an interest-free loan of their line rental for 3 months, every 3 months - but they still get £1.25/month paper-free discount.

Those taking up this new 'offer' will be giving BT an interest-free loan of their line rental for 12 months - and will not get £1.25/month paper-free discount.

Monthly Whole Bill Direct Debit still looks like the winner to me.

cocktail

molerat wrote: »

I am on the basic weekend plan with calls via Primus and have never been charged for BT Privacy with caller display. I make almost all of my weekend calls with BT, usually around 50 per quarter, all at 0p. All weekday calls (except the odd couple of 0845 per year) are made on 18185 and evenings with Primus.

molerat, could u doubly confirm that please.
i too am on the weekend basic plan but calls through AOL but have been charged for the caller display every month!
Heinz is this possible??

Ypaymore

cocktail wrote: »

molerat, could u doubly confirm that please.
i too am on the weekend basic plan but calls through AOL but have been charged for the caller display every month!
Heinz is this possible??

If you dont or cant make 2 calls a month via BT then you can expect to be charged.

moonshine

the bit I've highlighted in red in this Moneyweek article must surely be wrong!

It says "BT is offering a discount to any customer who signs up for a 12-month line rental contract before November, and pay the year’s line rental up front. If you can do that, then you’ll pay £113.88 for the year (the equivalent of £9.49 a month). That gives you free calls to other landlines and 0845/0870 numbers in the evenings and at weekends. And for a further £4.99 a month you get those free calls extended to all day everyday"

Sloppy journalism :mad:

Unless they are right of course but I've seen nothing on the BT website that confirms this, or even mentions free evening/weekend calls all in the Line Saver rental price!

JustPassingBy

Premier wrote: »

Do you have a link that confirms this definition please?

I don't quite know where to point you to on the web for a definition, apart from "invoice" on Wikipedia. The sole purpose of bills and invoices is to detail the services or goods provided and the charges made. If something is put on a bill or invoice with a positive, negative or zero value it has to be a charge. Things which have no charge have no place on a bill. Isn't this everyone's expectation?

If there are other valid meanings to "charge" and "invoice" I've not encountered them. The two are inextricably linked. For BT as company to have its own in-house definitions which breaks this link would, I suggest, be unbelievable. So when you were told

. . . . . . .that whilst they agree I made calls at the weekend, ones which they deemed to be inclusive (i.e. calls that are usually chargeable, but are not charged to those customers on and eligible for certain calling plans), under the calling plan I had not made any chargeable calls (i.e. calls I would be charged extra for under the terms of the calling plan)

you were being treated to a misrepresentation of the relationship between charging and billing and were being required to believe only calls made outside a Calling Plan are chargeable and 0p per minute is not a charge. But under "What you used" on my bill (and possibly on yours) I see

Phone usage £0.00

That's a charge. It doesn't matter whether the calls are described as free, inclusive, included, complimentary, long, short or interesting. There could have been 100 made. Or only 1. The critical criterion is the calls have been charged because they are on the bill. (VAT is also included, which would likely be illegal if there was no charge).

So you could challenge BT CS with the evidence on your bill. I wish you luck. (You could point out being charged "extra" for calls implies there has to be a charge in the first place, but that might be too subtle for them).

Incidentally, I know no more than you or anyone else. It can all be deduced from what is meant by invoicing or billing. Part of the problem lies in the numerous posts on forums devoted to telephone topics fostering the belief that chargeable means costing more than 0p. Nobody ever explains why. Likewise, it is widely promoted that calls costing 0p as part of a Calling Plan are not chargeable. Again, nobody ever gives an explanation and usually dismisses their appearence on a bill with a bit of hand waving. You are just expected to go along with it. It's no better than what BT CS dish out. Can I say "flat Earth" or "Elvis lives in Edinburgh"?

Premier_2

Premier wrote: »

...
Do you have a link that confirms this definition please?...

...

JustPassingBy wrote: »

I don't quite know where to point you to on the web for a definition, apart from "invoice" on Wikipedia....

OMG! Is that your source? :eek:

Think I'll give that one a miss, ta.

JustPassingBy

Premier wrote: »

OMG! Is that your source?

No. As is evident from the first part of the sentence you quoted:

I don't quite know where to point you to . . . . . .

Good primary sources are a BT bill and a decent understanding of invoicing/charging. I imagine you have one of those.:)

oldwiring

Is this a better source
http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0420000#m_en_gb0420000