Are You Still Being Billed For Old BT Telephone Rental?

raphanius

I was chatting with a friend today and she mentioned she had seen a BT bill at her elderly mum's house for £3 something a month (her mum is no longer a BT customer for line rental and calls.) When she asked her mum what it was for she was met with a shrug. After chatting on the phone to BT it turns out its a bill for telephone rental, rental for a phone that had long since broke and been replaced with one purchased from the high street.

So heres a reminder to everyone to check their own bills and the bills of elderly friends and family for old telephone rentals no longer needed.

BT could be making a few hundred quid out of broken phones :eek:

Ady87

This happens all too regularly. Unfortunately, the onus is on the customer to say they would like to cease everything on the account. After all, some people renting bells for the hearing impaired or large button telephones for say £1 a month may be happy to pay for this service despite being with someone else. If you have ever rented anything from BT the term is 18months at which point you own the rental device. If you have been paying longer than this it is sadly your own fault as all the details are received when you get the rental agreement.

Heinz

Unfortunately, this continues to happen. Once again, can I urge all readers with elderly relatives to politely ask them to check (or if you can check) their BT bill.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=4608244#post4608244

elektra

I discovered this on my own parent bill several years back. I think I mentioned it on here and I even asked BBC Watchdog to alert people to it, but of course they wanted a 'film' to go with it, I declined.

However, it would be good if Martin could mention this on one of his many TV appearances.

macman

The good news is that they no longer require you to send the old handset back if you cancel the rental on it-so no need to buy a new one if the old folks are still using the original.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Heinz wrote: »

Unfortunately, this continues to happen. Once again, can I urge all readers with elderly relatives to politely ask them to check (or if you can check) their BT bill.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=4608244#post4608244

This is something I found my late mother had a few years ago and I cancelled it.

But there is something much more serious that I feel people should check up on with elderly people.

Several years ago, I was working on a Government survey and I met a delightful and very elderly lady in her own home. We got to talking and the conversation turned to telephone bills, and she mentioned what her bill was every three months.

I commented that it seemed very high, and would she mind if I looked at it. When I saw her bill she had everything from telephone rental to caller display to 1571 to anonymous caller reject - and all where being charged for.

I asked why she had these and she just shrugged and said "BT keep ringing and offering them to me." More investigation found that BT had been ringing, offering them on a month's free trial, and she never knew she had to cancel them. Over a period of time they all added up to a considerable sum. I rang BT whilst she was there and was able to cancel everyhting she didn't need and she got a refund.

There must be many thousands of elderly people out there who are still paying for all these unnecessary and unwanted extra. Check on all your elderly relatives bills.

savetilibleed

We have an old pulse dial button (at least they sound like pulse dialling as you hear a series of clicks with a button press (like the old rotary dials) phone rented from BT and another bought from BT - oh this would have been in about 1987 and we've been paying ever since - about £3 something a quarter. Ohh that mounts up doesn't it!

Would I be right in thinking pulse 'dial' phones are no use for when you need to enter info for, say, access to a bank account. One (the rented one) is a Viscount, whilst the other is a Statesman. This latter one is only in use in a bedroom, whilst the two other purchased tone dial phones are in use in the living room and by the pc which are fine for bank etc. use.

macman

Since it's cost you around £288 over that period, I would suggest that its time to ring BT and cancel the rental...you need a tone dial handset.