BT Home Move

mlawton40

Hi, I'm after some advice if possible

I am moving house next weekend. I rang BT to cancel phone/broadband as I got quoted a much better offer from Sky.

However BT told me there would be a £80 cancellation fee because there's still 6mths left on the contract.

Therefore I decided to stay with them for the remaining 6mths of my contract then I would cancel. The move house order is now placed but I have now found out that I am entering a new 12mth contract....

So it seems if you want to move house, the only option is either pay the cancellation fee or enter a new contract. Shouldn't our current contract be allowed to continue at the new home?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

looks like you're stuck.

From BT faqs:

• What happens to my existing phone, broadband or TV contract when I move?
  
  If you move home within the UK, call us early and we'll try to give you the same services you currently have, at your new address. If we're not able to do this and you are still within your minimum contract period for the services we can't provide, you'll be able to end the contract for those services and you won't have to pay a charge for doing that.
  Your existing service contracts can be transferred to your new address, but there are some important points that you need to remember:
  
  • When you move home, you will always start a new 12 month line rental contract even if you're just taking over a working line at your new address.
  • If you transfer your broadband to your new home, a new 3 month contract will apply unless you had longer than 3 months left on the broadband contract at your old address in which case you'll carry over the rest of that contract.
  • Any Calling Plan (e.g. Unlimited Anytime Plan) and BT Vision contracts will simply transfer to your new address and carry on as before.
  
  

mlawton40

Thanks Frugal.

I think I'll cancel my order tomorrow and pay the cancellation fee.

Worked out that we'll still be £150 better off in the first year even after paying the £80!!

Strange how BT are charging over £14 for line rental plus £4 evening and weekend calls. Sky are giving us line rental, evening and weekend calls and broadband for £12.25!!!

[Deleted User]

Hi,

maybe if you say you want to cancel they will offer you a sweetener.

macman

Not unreasonable to request you agree a new 12m contract, given that they are moving you over FOC-there is obviously a charge payable by them to OR for doing this, so they don't then want you leaving them in just 6m.
Standard practice with a home move.

dawnyp64

oh,be careful..
I moved house and was told i would have a new contract start from the day i moved in.Hadnt a problem with this as i was more than happy with BT.However,after waiting a while for all my services to begin,then having phone and Broadband for less than a week,my services were SUSPENDED.through no fault of my own.I rang to get an explanation and was met with Chantelle...rude and unhelpful.I was denied the oppportunity to speak to a manager as they were all busy,even though i said i would wait.She cut me off.
I cancelled my contract with BT for leaving me and my daughter without any services (a concern as we had moved to a rural location and my daughter was without a phone whilst i was on a nightshift 30 miles away) less than a week of having them.
They now say i owe £220 for the contract from my previous address!!!!...so in effect i had 2 contracts running with them,and not a re-newed contract as i had been told previous to my housemove???..This i will fight to the death if i have to...so sick of companies ripping us off!...please be careful!!

macman

Your contract is will start on a new 12m term when you migrate it to a new address. So if you had, say 6m left on it when you moved, and you subsequently cancel, then you will be charged the ETC for the remaining period.
Th reason why your service was suspended are unclear, but you have to give the supplier a reasonable period to remedy the fault before you can cancel without being in breach of contract.

dawnyp64

so does that mean that youre gonna be penalised for moving house? i have to pay the remainder of the old contract when all i want to do is have a continuous service with the same supplier?doesnt seem right,and i will fight it! Re the suspension,i think it was cos i owed £30.00 part payment from my previous bill that i had arranged WITH BT to pay the end of the month..they suspended it anyway. oh,and as informed by the lovely Chantelle,i was expected to pay a late payment fee PLUS a reconnection fee..just awful!!

macman

No, you are not penalised for moving house as long as you take the contract with you.
If you move and do not take the service with you, (or in your case, immediately cancel it) then yes, you are liable for an ETC.
Moving house does not void the original minimum term contract that you agreed.

dawnyp64

sorry,you misunderstand me..i DID want to take all the services with me,thats the point...i just thought it would be a simple case of a house move staying and keeping my BT services.I really was quite happy to do that.I cancelled after having the services for less than a week before THEY suspended my service even though id had an arrangement with them to pay the £30.00 at the end of the month(incidently which was a few days after the suspension)..that and along with the really unhelpful representative who cut me of before giving me the chance to speak to management.

macman

But rather than going through the complaints process (which of course with BT can be fairly excruciating) you cancelled your service and went elsewhere. So that is why they've billed you for an ETC at the old property.