BT contract quandry

rachael1_2

Hi folks,

I signed up to a BT phone/broadband/Vision contract just under 12 months ago. I knew i was only going to be at the property for 12 months so stressed over and over again that i could only have a 12 month contract. i finally got a deal i was OK with (after about 8 different quotes with 8 different people). Nearly 12 months on, I'm moving house. I pay around £60 a month and feel i could get a better deal elsewhere so tried to cancel it at the end of the contract, only to be told i was in an 18-month contract. BT insist i wouldn't have been put on a 12-month contract as i got connection for free, but i'm absolutely sure i was told i was being put on a 12-month contract when i signed up.

Do i have a leg to stand on? I really want to get out of the contract at 12 months as i feel i've been treated very unfairly. My option was to transfer it to my new place and pull out at the end of the mystical 18 month contract, but have just been told that if i did transfer, i'd have to start ANOTHER 12-month rental line contract.

I'd really appreciate any advice/thoughts. I'm really angry as BT refuse to consider that I might have been misguided.

Thanks all

kwikbreaks

Your record shows an 18 month contract and as that is pretty much the norm for BT I doubt that it is incorrect. I also don't doubt that whoever sold it to you said it would be 12 months. So you've been stitched up.

Can you get out of it? I don't know but if it were me I'd stand my ground and insist that the verbal contract was for 12 months and insist they prove otherwise by producing something in writing or a recording of the sale. Check first though that you haven't signed a bit of paper for 18 months assuming you got something to sign and kept a copy.

You may do better with this question on one of the consumer rights boards han here which is mostly a tech section.

rachael1_2

Thanks Kwikbreaks! Your advice is much appreciated. I've kept all the papers so need to have a dig through them all. BT has said I'd need to pay a £350 fee to get out of the contract. I'm determined to stand my ground with this one as I dont think it's fair I was tricked into a longer contract. Thanks for your help!

macman

I think that the line rental is 12m but the BB is 18m? These are separate contracts.

gjs6385

Can't you take your services with you to your new property?

rachael1_2

Yes macman, apparently that is the case, which they failed to tell me when I signed up. BT say that for a 12-month contract i would have paid £150 connection fee, but I'm convinced I agreed to a £30 fee (for 18 months it would have been free connection). Again, i need to dig out all the paperwork.

Gazsharpe101 - i can do, but that means I have to start a new 12-month line rental contract (one of BT's rules when you transfer over to a new property). When the 18-month BB contract runs out in 6 months, i'll still have another six months' line rental, so presume i'd have to start ANOTHER BB contract with BT. And never be able to escape! My brother said I could start a new 12-month line rental contract then terminate the BB contract in six months, go elsewhere (somewhere cheaper hopefully) and continue to use my BT line with another BB provider. Is that posisble, does anyone know?
Thanks for all your help guys - this is great stuff.

kwikbreaks

You will be able to select just aboout any ISP for ADSL on a BT line - in fact just about all require one.

I think you'll find on moving house you'll have to take a new 12 month line contract. I don't know what happens with the broadband - it will either be the remaining 6 months or they may want a fresh 18 month contract. Either way at the end of that time it should revert to a rolling monthly contract although you certainly need to watch out for the "free" evening and weekend calls that comes by default with the line contract as that autorenews to a fresh 12 month contract on expiry unless you stop it. This imo is a cynical ploy to keep you contracted.

I've always steered well clear of BT broadband so don't know how those contracts operate other than the initial one is 18 months.

If your new propery isn't in a cable area you will need a phone line from someone to get ADSL broadband. It doesn't absolutely have to be via BT retail though as other companies can supply a line too (Post Office, PlusNet, and more)

JamesU

kwikbreaks wrote: »

I've always steered well clear of BT broadband

Any particular technical reasons (ignoring any costs and contractual issues)? After 10 years, time to upgrade from 2Mb BT to a higher spec.... been quite a few years now. :laugh:

Any reasons against 8Mb+ BT total broadband much appreciated!

JamesU

kwikbreaks

I've followed several forums covering broadband issues since I was first able to get it. From anecdotal evidence BT offer poor speeds and support. Of course they are the biggest ISP in the UK so there will be more complaints about them and a fair % of posts in such forums will be complaints.

This page from a site with an ADSL forum shows visitor comments and assessments of many ISPs. In is unscientific for sure so what anybody makes of it is up to them...

http://www.dslzoneuk.net/isp_ratings.php

As there is plenty of choice though I decided to avoid BT because of the complaints I've seen and their ranking there.