Warning if you’re on an old o2 package and move house

ruggedtoast

I’ve spent almost an hour on the phone this morning trying to get o2 to move my old home broadband standard package (which I was very happy with), to my new house.

Having been told multiple different things by different advisers in the past about whether I could move this package without penalty, I finally had the definitive word, apparently the other day that I could achieve the following:

• Move house
• Retain old, truly unlimited legacy product at £14.50 a month
• Re-sign a new 12 month contract
• Get a 3 month discount
• Very happy me.

All I had to do was call them when my BT line went active.

This is what actually happened when I tried to do this:

• Explained above to adviser who answered the phone.
• Was informed by him that this would now cost me £50 as I had moved house 11 months previously and this counted as a second house move.
• Was informed I could keep my old legacy product.
• Was then informed by him I couldn’t keep legacy product, and would be on new all rounder package.
• Was told I would have to contact retentions later on to try and haggle off the fee, but only if I signed for new 12 month contract.
• There was now no chance of any kind of discount.
• There was no record of any of the other conversations I had had.

Well this is pretty rubbish, I said. Not only have I been totally misadvised by everyone, I have to pay £50 to move to a product I don’t want, that costs more than the one I have and isn’t as good.

Yes he says.

Well I don’t want it I say, just cancel it and I’ll send you back my router and we’ll call it quits.

You cant, he says, I’ve already done it and it cant be reversed.

Cue another 40 minutes on the phone getting bumped back and forth, telling people my name and account details.

I am now, apparently an ex o2 customer as this was the only way the last adviser could stop me being transferred to the all rounder package. This was after she thought she could keep me on the legacy package after all.

O2 themselves seem hopelessly confused about what happens when a legacy customer moves house, and I would be very wary of accepting face value that you can move.

I have been promised that this aborted order on my BT line wont stop me ordering broadband elsewhere. I really hope this is the case, as I write this I have just received an email from them informing me of the good news that a £51.06p charge will be coming for my new house move...

macman

I think you are allowed one house move FOC within a 12m minimum contract, so charging you after 11m seems correct.
It wouldn't normally be possible to move your legacy package onto a new line at a new address.

shifty27

I think you can only move house once in a 12month minimum contract period. If this is the second time you have moved house in the 12month span then I think they can charge you.

However with regards to staying on the legacy package it is an absolute must, as the new ones are VERY POOR in compraison to the legacy packages and they want more more than the legacy packages for a worse off product!!

From now on I would:

- Take names of any advisors you speak to, if they won't give you a surname ask them what department they work in and if they have an employee number (for future reference)

- Take down the date and time of the call and the times you were connected to any different agents.

If you pay the £50 moving charge you still want to be on the legacy package by all means.

Hope this helps

ruggedtoast

I took all the names all the way through and it made no difference.

When it came to switch I still ended up with some spanner who agreed to everything I said I'd been told, then reneged on it all when he said it was too late to cancel it. I have no idea what they think they are doing now with my account, it is totally messed up and I keep getting contradictory emails and sms's all over the place.

I had a lot of goodwill for o2 as they went above and beyond sorting out my BT fault with Openreach when I signed up, but they are not the company they were a few years ago, and clearly cant get shot of legacy customers fast enough.

The cluelessness of their call centre staff is really disappointing, !!!!! from elbow doesnt cover it.