BT "Payment Processing Fee" !!!!!!?!?!

Chrysalis

Heinz any news of this meeting martin had with ofcom?

marleyboy

C_Ronaldo wrote: »

I still dont understand why people dont pay by direct debit, i give companies access to my bank account and they dont take what isnt theirs,

You obviously havent had to deal with Virgin Media, who do this regularly, blaming "clerical errors", putting your bank way into the red, and only able to offer you a refund via knocking it off your next bill.

fromthelodge

<H2 style="MARGIN: auto 0cm"><H2 style="MARGIN: auto 0cm">This is not strictly true. You CAN challenge the legality of the “processing fee” being charged by BT, as they (BT) has failed to provide the legislation under which they claim it are “legal” and HAVE been agreed with the customer.


There has been, it is claimed by James Coney for Daily Mail, around 5.5 Million unsatisfied customers being ripped of by such charges. BT argues that it is legal and that customers have been given a discount of £3.00 per quarter – reducing the cost in real terms to only £1.50 per quarter? RUBBISH. They are still charging an illegal fee of £4.50 per quarter, and needs to be challenged in the county court (as I’m about to do) based on the unfairness an unequal payment systems by BT. Why should I pay by direct debit? Why should I be charged £4.50 a quarter to pay for BT chasing those that do not pay their bills – by cheque and direct debit?

The Office of Fair Trading believes customers who were with the telecommunications giant before it implemented its £4.50 quarterly fee (1 May) for not paying by direct debit can argue a strong case against paying the charge. An OFT spokesman said: 'If you signed up and you knew upfront you were going to be charged, that is one thing. But if the charge is brought in when you are an existing customer and you have always paid by cheque or over the counter at the Post Office, then there is a very good argument to say that you should not have to pay it and should contest it. It is up to companies to prove how the charges are incurred.'

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom revealed concerns about how much companies could reasonably charge for this. It has since launched a probe.
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fromthelodge

This is not strictly true. You CAN challenge the legality of the “processing fee” being charged by BT, as they (BT) has failed to provide the legislation under which they claim it are “legal” and HAVE been agreed with the customer.

There has been, it is claimed by James Coney for Daily Mail, around 5.5 Million unsatisfied customers being ripped of by such charges. BT argues that it is legal and that customers have been given a discount of £3.00 per quarter – reducing the cost in real terms to only £1.50 per quarter? RUBBISH. They are still charging an illegal fee of £4.50 per quarter, and needs to be challenged in the county court (as I’m about to do) based on the unfairness an unequal payment systems by BT. Why should I pay by direct debit? Why should I be charged £4.50 a quarter to pay for BT chasing those that do not pay their bills – by cheque and direct debit?

The Office of Fair Trading believes customers who were with the telecommunications giant before it implemented its £4.50 quarterly fee (1 May) for not paying by direct debit can argue a strong case against paying the charge. An OFT spokesman said: 'If you signed up and you knew upfront you were going to be charged, that is one thing. But if the charge is brought in when you are an existing customer and you have always paid by cheque or over the counter at the Post Office, then there is a very good argument to say that you should not have to pay it and should contest it. It is up to companies to prove how the charges are incurred.'

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom revealed concerns about how much companies could reasonably charge for this. It has since launched a probe.

brownb2

Previously I was a prompt/immediate payer - now I take my sweet time too - I get my interest on that £4.50 charge before BT get it (although it may be a bit small now in the way of interest rates!)

iQueen wrote: »

Thanks for the tips, Benjamin! :beer:

I spit feathers with each of my BT bills. :mad:

Some people, like me, don't like to pay by DD, because they are on a tiny income and cannot take the risk of something going financially awry, which puts them into a tailspin with the bank. (I ended up with £350 charges for being £2 short of a £49 DD.) :eek:

Currently, I pay my bill online, immediately it arrives... and I pay £4.50 for the privilege. Similarly, I pay my electricity bill, but THEY pay me - I get a 5% prompt-payment discount on my next bill!

BT should recognise that carrots work better than sticks! (Mind you, I suppose they have to raise the money from somewhere to support the new company they have created to collect payments!)

frenjd

I have just received my bill this morning and it includes the ridiculous £4.50 processing charge. I am self-employed and if I charged my customers £4.50 every time I presented a bill I would quickly go out of business.

As for the people asking why others on this forum don't pay by D/D. Why should we, my bill this morning is £50 more than it should be thanks to BT not applying the international calling plan for the second quarter runnning.

Last time had to ring up to get the bill reduced by £60 and this quarter (despite them promising it would not happen again!!) we will have to call them to get the additional £50 in charges reduced again!!!!.

Believe me when I tell you that these people are more willing to help you before you pay when they want your money. If you have already paid by Direct Debit they are are lot less helpful and it is a lot harder to get your money back.

I do not have a direct debit set up with my supermarket for my monthly shopping and they do not charge me a payment processing fee when I visit each time.

I now have to waste my time chasing them up again due to their incompetence and inability to place me on the correct tarif.

Can I charge them for my time to correct their errors???

No, I can not. So here we go again with these companies and their one-sided charges.

Perhaps if these charges were a two-way thing they would be a lot fairer.

I am getting fed up with these big companies dictating what charges we will pay.

time to vote with our feet and move provider, but they are all as bad as each other.