BT to charge more if you don't pay by DD

Mike_S_8

If you are stuck with having to use BT (even if only for line rental) you may not be aware of this but, from May 2007, if you don't pay your BT bill by Direct Debit, they will hit you with a quarterly charge of £4.50 (or a monthly charge of £1.50 if you are billed monthly).

It seems notice of this charge was buried in the recent issue of the BT "Update" leaflet. I didn't know about this until I saw it in http://www.maturetimes.co.uk/node/1763

(Is it any wonder people who have a choice are switching to other providers?)

However - BT does offer a discount of £3 per quarter for paying by DD - but double-check to make sure you get the discount if you do sign up to their DD scheme.

hurrah

Already posted and discussed here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=342453


Your bill will actually increase by 50p month as BT already charge £1/month extra if you don't pay by direct debit/monthly payment plan and they have done for many years .

amazamum

Hi,we are with NTL and they have been doing this for a while,not sure of the exact amount,but they still do it.
Why do we have to pay this,I would rather go down the bank,take the money out then pay the bill,at least then I can make sure I'm not going to go overdrawn.:mad:
Does it cost more for companys when we pay the bill by cash at a bank or paypoint,I would have thought it costs more to set up direct debits and action them.

sorry about,that rant over .

hurrah

amazamum wrote:

Hi,we are with NTL and they have been doing this for a while,not sure of the exact amount,but they still do it.
Why do we have to pay this,I would rather go down the bank,take the money out then pay the bill,at least then I can make sure I'm not going to go overdrawn.:mad:
Does it cost more for companys when we pay the bill by cash at a bank or paypoint,I would have thought it costs more to set up direct debits and action them.

sorry about,that rant over .

NTL will be charging £5 a month from 1/2/O7. Makes BT,s £1.50p look
reasonable.:D

http://www.whycable.co.uk/pricechanges/faqs.html#7

"Why has my non-Direct Debit charge increased to £5.00?

There are large costs to manage non-Direct Debit payments each month and unfortunately, we cannot cover all of these costs. This is quite a standard charge for non-Direct Debit payment."

margaretclare

amazamum wrote:

I would rather go down the bank,take the money out then pay the bill,at least then I can make sure I'm not going to go overdrawn.

Well, that's your view. There are those of us who think the opposite. DH and I have a joint account that we both tip into, and this joint account is used solely for household bills - council tax, gas, electricity, water, TV licence etc and obviously, BT line rental.

The way we see it, we don't have to physically go out to the bank (especially on cold mornings like this!!), physically handle cash, taking it out of one place and putting it in another - waste of time, effort and energy when it can all be done electronically and all we need to do is to check our accounts online, which we do every morning. 5 minutes, no effort, peace of mind, time spent on more interesting things.

Does it cost more for companys when we pay the bill by cash?

Yes, it does. There's the security aspect for one thing - someone has to sit behind a glass screen and process these bits of paper, and the cash has to be kept safely then transferred to the bank by someone like Securicor. No longer is it safe for the most junior clerk in the office to trot along to the bank in the afternoons!

I am a great fan of DDs and we even pay our monthly milk bill now by DD to Dairy Crest!

I recall when I was in hospital early December 2005, the women in the ward around me were stressing about not being able to get out to draw their pensions and pay their bills....I just lay back in the secure knowledge that all the household bills had gone out on the first of the month and there was nothing at all to worry about! I was on crutches for weeks following that surgery and it was an absolute godsend.

Margaret

missile

Hope you are fit and well now Margaret? I would like to endorse your comments and add the following.

With DD you are protected by the bank guarantee and have a convenient record of your payments. I do not like carrying cash and it is easy to loose the till receipt, then you find the clerk has failed to update your account correctly?

achtunglady

Not to mention the long queues in the banks. Direct debit is alot safer. I have been in the bank on the first of the month when council tax is due and cannot believe the amount of "senior citizens" in the queue. My mum pays her bills by direct debit and she's 72, no more trotting out in the cold and rain, standing for up to half an hour to be served. I wonder if that would change if banks started charging to pay bills that could be paid by direct debit. HSBC were charging £5 to pay bills if you did not bank with them at one time.

isayoldchap

amazamum wrote:

Hi,we are with NTL and they have been doing this for a while,not sure of the exact amount,but they still do it.
Why do we have to pay this,I would rather go down the bank,take the money out then pay the bill,at least then I can make sure I'm not going to go overdrawn.:mad:
Does it cost more for companys when we pay the bill by cash at a bank or paypoint,I would have thought it costs more to set up direct debits and action them.

sorry about,that rant over .

Got to politely disagree.Direct debit is usually best.Not so good if you are chasing intrest on your account or want to pay by credit card providing you
are not being charged extra for the privilege........
Before I get stamped on an example of this in action
My council makes no charge for paying monthly by credit card.So as I earn
clubcard point towards my deals I pay that way.Why because as they don't remove cash from my bank account that earns intrest,at least for a few weeks.So if you can pay by credit card for your council tax do it.
This works only if you pay your balance in full each month without intrest added.

As for going overdrawn this is down to good budgeting and of course hoping your payments arrive.
Remember you are taking out more to pay NTL(Virgin Media) because of their charge this may cause you to go closer into the red.Consider DD and maybe ask to change your payment day when your cash balance is at it's highest.

I do hope my words do not offend.I hope I can help.

hurrah

At least BT allow you to pay for your calls by non d/d methods unlike some other suppliers eg Talk Talk who insist on d/d or continous credit card authority.