BT Monthly Bill is too expensive!

Schiehallion_2

Hi

I think my monthly BT bills are getting out of hand. I tried to move my phone and broadband to Sky a few years ago, and although they promised me the earth, I was left without broadband for 3 months, so returned to BT.

My bill reads as follows:

Unlimited Weekend Plan £13.90

Broadband £27.60

Total line rental and other basic charges = £41.50

Phone usage£32.71

Internet usage £0.00

£32.71

Total including VAT = £74.21

I have Sky tv, and was thinking of moving to them as the exchange is apparently now up and running. Does anyone have any advice as to how to reduce my outgoings for phone and broadband?

Thanks

Schiehallion

ihateyes

Schiehallion wrote: »

Hi

I think my monthly BT bills are getting out of hand. I tried to move my phone and broadband to Sky a few years ago, and although they promised me the earth, I was left without broadband for 3 months, so returned to BT.

My bill reads as follows:

Unlimited Weekend Plan £13.90

Broadband £27.60

Total line rental and other basic charges = £41.50

Phone usage£32.71

Internet usage £0.00

£32.71

Total including VAT = £74.21

I have Sky tv, and was thinking of moving to them as the exchange is apparently now up and running. Does anyone have any advice as to how to reduce my outgoings for phone and broadband?

Thanks

Schiehallion

£41.50 is what i pay.... you want anytime calls.
You need try and cut down on calls to mobiles.... ie if they are at their home, rin their home rather than mobile, and benefit from free calls.

In terms of BB you wont get anything better of Sky, as they use the BT Exchange, and BT limit the speeds/service any other user can get.

Also price are will willing to get screwed by SKy for the broadband.....

Price isnt always the be all end all, a you have already experienced.


Is Virgin Fibre Optic in you area?

Heinz

£32.71/month for calls is ridiculous. If you're not on BT's £4.70/month Unlimited Anytime calls plan, change to it immediately. That'll mean all your 01, 02, 03, 0845 and 0870 calls will be inclusive.

Open a www.18185.co.uk account online too - many non-inclusive calls will be cheaper using the 18185 prefix.

And finally, avoid all 0871/2/3 and 09 calls.

iniltous

If you are out of contract then you an in a pretty good position to negotiate a better deal from BT, it also sounds as if you are on the wrong calling plan, the 'anytime' call plan is £4.70/month, if you pay line rental in advance for the year its about £10/month and looking at what various posters have got, you may get BTBB for about half what you are paying now, so you could look to get what you have now for £30ish/month, then only the non inclusive calls , to mobiles and the like would be extra on your bill, as with most companys dont expect them to give you the best deal, you have to call and ask, say you are considering moving to Sky (which is true) and see what they offer

James123_2

If you're out of contract, ring 0800 800 030 (BT) and press the button to cancel your account. You'll then get through to a real person. Ask for your MAC CODE. (Don't worry, they won't cancel without a 'fight') Explain you're unhappy with the costs. This is advice given to me by a BT rep.
BT have high headline costs, but will always reward loyalty. As I once posted before, I receive unlimited Option 3 Broadband, Unlimited 24/7 calls and Line rental for £23 a month. However, this was achieved by paying line rental upfront at £120 for 12 months. So, £120 upfront and £13 a month on a 12 month contract. I'm not even in an unbundled area, so there is no competition here. So, you can do way better than your own costs. As with all utilities these days, you do have to ask for a better deal which does tend to snare those who simply pay the 'going' rate year in year out. Hope this helps!

Schiehallion_2

Hi

Many thanks to those who have replied so far.

Unfortunately, the houses are too far apart where I stay, so the cable companies will not lay cable.

I had a feeling that Sky was not the answer, as I have had real horrible time trying to get through to their customer service in the past.

I am indeed out of contract, and James123 is correct in that I have been guilty of paying the going rate, without checking if I could do better.

I am glad I asked here, as a couple of friends just suggested moving from BT.

Thanks

Schiehallion

Schiehallion_2

James123 wrote: »

If you're out of contract, ring 0800 800 030 (BT) and press the button to cancel your account. You'll then get through to a real person. Ask for your MAC CODE. (Don't worry, they won't cancel without a 'fight') Explain you're unhappy with the costs. This is advice given to me by a BT rep.
BT have high headline costs, but will always reward loyalty. As I once posted before, I receive unlimited Option 3 Broadband, Unlimited 24/7 calls and Line rental for £23 a month. However, this was achieved by paying line rental upfront at £120 for 12 months. So, £120 upfront and £13 a month on a 12 month contract. I'm not even in an unbundled area, so there is no competition here. So, you can do way better than your own costs. As with all utilities these days, you do have to ask for a better deal which does tend to snare those who simply pay the 'going' rate year in year out. Hope this helps!

Hi James123

I had printed out the replies and went through them with my wife tonight.

I hope I don't appear thick, but am I right in saying that when you called them you paid £120 upfront to reduce your line rental (ie. 12 months at £10) and you now get a bill of £13 a month for 24/7 calls and option 3 broadband?

I was trying to figure how that equated with the £4.70 a month unlimited Anytime calls that the other posters mentioned.

I hope to call BT tomorrow.

Regards

Schiehallion

James123_2

Schiehallion wrote: »

Hi James123

I had printed out the replies and went through them with my wife tonight.

I hope I don't appear thick, but am I right in saying that when you called them you paid £120 upfront to reduce your line rental (ie. 12 months at £10) and you now get a bill of £13 a month for 24/7 calls and option 3 broadband?

I was trying to figure how that equated with the £4.70 a month unlimited Anytime calls that the other posters mentioned.

I hope to call BT tomorrow.

Regards

Schiehallion

Hi there
No, you're not being thick here at all. Possibly I haven't explained myself clearly.
Yes, you're spot on. I paid £120 upfront and my monthly bill for Option 3 BB and unlimited calls (not just weekends) is £13.
BT's tariffs are notoriously difficult to comprehend, so I do understand the confusion regarding the £4.70 here. What BT essentially do (as far as I can fathom) is to quote the full price on your bill and then reduce the monthly figure by a discount. As well as the individual price structures, they also offer all-in-one packages - which is what I have, I guess. My bill states that my phone and BB is £28 with a £15 discount per month. Personally, I'd much prefer a more transparent billing structure. This is the confirmation I received from BT:
Here are the details of the new package we can offer you. (MAY 2011)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anytime calls + Unlimited broadband - £13 per month (£15 discount - usually £28 per month)

Line rental if carried on paying on monthly/quarterly basis - £13.60 (£13.90 after price increases on 28/04/11)

If you would like to take advantage of our 'Line Rental Saver' option, you can save a further £3.60 a month. With this option, we would take a payment of £120 up front, which would cover your 12 months line rental, leaving you with just £13 per month for your package.

The prices I have quoted all include VAT.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

However, DON'T get entangled with BT 'abroad' - the usual service centres. Go the route of the number I quoted. It's all a bit of a game and can be time-consuming. Ask them to email the deal to you so you have this in writing.

Shout if I've missed anything out.
James
PS ... YOUR LINE RENTAL needs to be paid manually to BT over the phone. They don't bill this on your account - no idea why. You can do this on the number above.

James123_2

PS ...
Although I 'tied-up' the deal using the number above, I was also offered the same deal by using the following BT LINK
http://bt.custhelp.com/app/contact/?s_cid=con_FURL_help/contactus

Schiehallion_2

Hi

I called them today and the best they could give me was £20 (discounted from £28) for a 12 month period. She said the deal you got was a managers special only available last February.

The line rental was £13.90 but I opted to reduce that by paying £120 upfront for a year.

Many thanks to all who answered!

Regards

Schiehallion