BT Anytime. Is it a rolling contract after 12 months?

KevinM

I am asking this on behalf of my parents, who have BT Anytime as part of their phone package.

They took out the BT Anytime plan on March 3rd 2010, and decided to go with Sky's telephone package, but waited until they had been with the BT Anytime plan for 12 months so as to not get any cancellation charges.

They have now initiated the change to Sky, and have just got a telephone call to say that they owe £62 as a cancellation of their Anytime contract, and BT refuse to accept that after 12 months my parents can cancel their Anytime plan whenever they want without penalty.

They refused to allow my parents to speak to a manager about it, and basically just kept telling them that they might as well just pay it now as they will have to pay it eventually.

Can I just confirm, that after 12 months, the BT Anytime plan is a rolling contract and that it doesn't start a new 12 month minimum term contract at the end of the old 12 month contract?

And that you can just cancel anytime (forgive the pun) after 12 months without penalty?

BT really are a shower, aren't they!

Many thanks,
Kevin

Ypaymore

Depends on what unlimited plan they were on.

Unlimited Anytime Plan – Standard Deal 12 Month non-renewable contract

Unlimited Anytime Plan for £5.00 per month with inclusive Friends & Family Mobile deal – 12 month renewable contract




http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/dynamicmodules/pagecontentfooter/pageContentFooterPopup.jsp?pagecontentfooter_popupid=24641

KevinM

So the way I read the different versions of the Anytime plan are:

If they have just normal Anytime (either with or without the free 3 months at the beginning), then it is not renewable, and can be cancelled anytime after 12 months.

If (and I don't see why they would) have Anytime with inclusive Friends and Family (Mobile or International), then it will automatically renew as a new 12 month contract.

Would that be your understanding?

I will ask them to ask what kind of Anytime plan they were on, but I see no reason why they would have gone for either of the F&F inclusive plans.

Thanks.

Ypaymore

Yes thats correct. But they may have taken / been given the F&F Mobile version to get cheaper calls to mobiles.

KevinM

Thanks. I have asked them to check with BT to see what Anytime plan they are on, but I very much doubt that they will have asked to be put on the F&F mobile/international plan as they are in their 70's and dont do all of this "mobile malarky".

But, if BT decided to put them on either of those two plans (presumably to allow auto renewing at the end of the initial 12 months), without either asking or telling them, then that is not on.

Cheers,
Kevin

Buzby

From what you say, they may be actually on the Free Off Peak Evening & Weekends deal, which has an auto-renewing minimum term (NOT contract).

If they had just the Free Weekends calls, this is provided as part of the tariff. and can be cancelled without pernalty. OFCOM is hoping to discourage BT from offering these auto-renewing deals, but currently, they are still in place.