Can I leave BT when I have an unpaid debt

sherry_d

OK I am so angry with BT at the moment and I just want to leave them now after havin been a customer for zillion years. They just send me a bill with an Engineer Call Out Charge of £130 and there is no way I can afford to pay them that amount which has brought my bill to £300.

I have always thought about leaving BT to PLUSnet ( a subsidiary of BT I think) and I am just wondering if I will be able to do that asap. I will pay BT for my charges but not the £130 they want out of me.

I would appreciate feedback if this is possible and also any feedback on other package that may be suitable.

I work from home so I use the internet quite a lot, but thats mainly for general surfing with very occasional download or catch up on iplayer but that rare maybe twice a month.

At the moment I pay £18.60 for unlimited anytime and £21.50 for BT Broadband 2 = £40. I also use some access numbers to make international calls and I wonder if this would still be possible if I move to PLUSnet for examble? I am very limited what I can get here as I am in telephone exchange Market 1 area so there is no cable.

Edited to add, I took this contract maybe 4 years ago and I am assuming I am now on a rolling contract but reading old posts here it seems BT automatically renews contracts without even letting me know???

spike7451

Have a read of this thread below,using BT's own website,I was able to help Skintlass get her £130 charge overturned;

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2855286

Do I have to pay for a fault repair?

We can repair many line faults at the exchange or on the network. Others require a visit by a BT engineer. There is no charge for these repairs. We will only charge you when one of our engineers visits your property and finds that the fault could have been fixed by you. For example, if your phone is broken or has been left unplugged.

https://www2.bt.com/static/i/microsite/help_and_tips/faults/faq/faults_faq2.html

I moved from BT in January despite still having not paid the final bill,my understanding is they cannot stop you moving to another supplier for whatever reason,be it a debt,bad service ect.

Heinz

You don't say why you've been charged the £130. Did you call an engineer out and did he attend to a fault inside your house?

sherry_d

I called BT because my phone line was continuously engaged and when the Engineer came he said it was the SKY thing connected in the same socket that was causing this. I had not touched the box nor used the sky telephone service since they were installed many years ago. Do you think I can still successfully challenge BT?

I shall be calling BT in the morning to see if they can revoke it but I doubt they will.

DUTR

sherry_d wrote: »

I called BT because my phone line was continuously engaged and when the Engineer came he said it was the SKY thing connected in the same socket that was causing this. I had not touched the box nor used the sky telephone service since they were installed many years ago. Do you think I can still successfully challenge BT?

Not if it was proven that the fault was beyond the point of BT responsibility, electronic items can go faulty, if the skybox developed a bug or fault which kept the line in an engaged state, that cannot be Bt's fault surely?

sherry_d

I understand that but surely £130 is way too MUCH, where is the customer service? Its not like I have called them in the past for the same thing. I feel this is a rip off especially after having tried to be a loyal customer.