BT broadband bill £202

thelawnet

T_T wrote: »

You cannot simply walk away from a debt because you don't feel inclined to pay for it.

Well yes I can. They have remedies of course, but the fact is that non-payment of a phone bill is no big deal.

You entered into a contract with BT and you should honour it. Before taking any drastic measures why don't you put a little more time and effort into finding out why you have been downloading so much over these months because it won't matter which internet provider you switch to, there is clearly a data usage issue at your house.

How many people live in your home and have access to the internet? 120GB in one month is far too high for casual surfing of the net. It is likely that a) someone is downloading large files which could include legal/illegal software, games, videos, albums and the rest or b) you have a virus. Walking away from your debt with BT won't resolve any of these issues, it simply creates another one.

I don't have an 'issue', I know exactly what goes through my internet connection. I have had two phone and broadband lines for the last 3 years, both of them on the cheapest package, one from Post Office, one from BT. I used the Post Office package as primary with no problems for several years and the BT as backup.

One day I switched the wires over when I had a problem with one of my modems, BT was crap with traffic shaping, etc. but I never bothered to go back to Post Office, and now I find they have sent me this huge bill and make no offer to charge me according to the 'unlimited' option, but just say it's tough.

So fine, line cancelled, direct debit cancelled, FIN.

Get your head out of the sand, get your finger out and get in touch with BT again. Defaults on contracts do your credit rating no good.

Eh? I have a copy of my credit report, BT are not on it, they can't do anything to me (well they can sue me, but I don't really care I have plenty of money to defend against them).

Fact is they are charging me £17/month for broadband, unlimited is £28 (only £11 more), the £150 charge is a nonsensical penalty, they could have made an offer to settle but nope they don't want to do that, well good luck to them pursuing me for the debt, and they've now lost my business for the rest of my life. Not my problem, theirs, they'll need to chase me, they won't see any more business from me, am I bovvered? Not in the slightest.

And here I am up and running with my other phone line and broadband connection saving £336/year paid to BT.

Great. Bye bye BT. :T:j:j:beer:

fairleads

Go to Think Broadband.com and download a free meter. It will provide all the info you need such as daily usage and the IP address of every download.

Gordon_Hose

You do realise that if you don't pay them they'll just cut off your broadband and leave a marker on your line that will prevent you from moving to another ISP, don't you?

So you have two choices 1. Pay what you owe and move to BT Option 3; 2. Never have broadband at your house again.

You should also check that your router is secured and not open for anyone to connect to, allowing them to leech your broadband.

EDIT: Just seen you have a Post Office line. That kinda deals with the broadband issue lol

However, BT won't appear on your credit report because they aren't providing you with any credit. They will just pass it to a debt collector who can issue a default for non-payment.

thelawnet

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

However, BT won't appear on your credit report because they aren't providing you with any credit. They will just pass it to a debt collector who can issue a default for non-payment.

Debt collectors write letters, they don't 'issue defaults'.

Gordon_Hose

thelawnet wrote: »

Debt collectors write letters, they don't 'issue defaults'.

What?

Of course they can issue a default. If they purchase the debt from BT then they are the legal owners and can process information with the credit reference agencies.

jhp

Seems like you made up your mind what your going to do before your op.:D

thelawnet

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

What?

Of course they can issue a default. If they purchase the debt from BT then they are the legal owners and can process information with the credit reference agencies.

Eh? If I say you owe me £100 and you deny it, I need to take you to court, get a CCJ, and if that is not paid the default will be noted on your credit record.

I don't have a credit account with BT, so there is nothing to default against.

thelawnet

jhp wrote: »

Seems like you made up your mind what your going to do before your op.:D

Well not really, I called them willing to negotiate, got through to someone possibly in India who was hopeless, he put me through to disconnections who were much better but said the first guy was the only one who could reduce the bill, so I said well in that case cancel my phone line too.

hello2007

thelawnet wrote: »

Well yes I can. They have remedies of course, but the fact is that non-payment of a phone bill is no big deal.

I don't have an 'issue', I know exactly what goes through my internet connection. I have had two phone and broadband lines for the last 3 years, both of them on the cheapest package, one from Post Office, one from BT. I used the Post Office package as primary with no problems for several years and the BT as backup.

One day I switched the wires over when I had a problem with one of my modems, BT was crap with traffic shaping, etc. but I never bothered to go back to Post Office, and now I find they have sent me this huge bill and make no offer to charge me according to the 'unlimited' option, but just say it's tough.

So fine, line cancelled, direct debit cancelled, FIN.

Eh? I have a copy of my credit report, BT are not on it, they can't do anything to me (well they can sue me, but I don't really care I have plenty of money to defend against them).

Fact is they are charging me £17/month for broadband, unlimited is £28 (only £11 more), the £150 charge is a nonsensical penalty, they could have made an offer to settle but nope they don't want to do that, well good luck to them pursuing me for the debt, and they've now lost my business for the rest of my life. Not my problem, theirs, they'll need to chase me, they won't see any more business from me, am I bovvered? Not in the slightest.

And here I am up and running with my other phone line and broadband connection saving £336/year paid to BT.

Great. Bye bye BT. :T:j:j:beer:

BT will appear on your credit files as a default when you do not pay them which will stop you from getting any futher credit for six years.

BT will at some point sell the debt to a debt collection agency for a small amount of money who will then pursue you for the debt and may add more charges the debt.

If you want to save your credit then make a payment arrangement with BT.

Gordon_Hose

thelawnet wrote: »

Eh? If I say you owe me £100 and you deny it, I need to take you to court, get a CCJ, and if that is not paid the default will be noted on your credit record.

I don't have a credit account with BT, so there is nothing to default against.

Again, what!? Sounds like you haven't got the first clue really.

The CCJ comes AFTER the default. You will get a default, then if you still fail to pay they'll go to court for a CCJ.

You owe money, you CAN be defaulted for it if they sell your account to a debt collector.