MSE News: BT reveals price rises - but you can escape the hikes

steven_cardwell

lockeman wrote: »

Sergent Cookie

In my experience such things are a matter of random chance and take up too much energy and time.

You might get someone who understands your complaint and do something about it.

I find about 80% of the time, (almost 99% in previous BT contacts) one of the following happens -

1 - They can't understand the issue at all (the computer says no thing, so what you are saying can't be happening)

2 - They can understand you but have no ability or authority to do anything (nicer but unproductive)

3 - Either of the above but say they will sort it to keep you happy and then do nothing, meaning you get nothing done and have to repeat it all a couple of weeks later.

It might be good for a Monty Python style argument but i'm too old and tired for that now, I just want the matter quickly and fairly sorted. I think most others do too.

I used the CEO as this thread and on the BT forum, it is full of people all with questions, all phoning BT and all being given different answers, in many cases BT were being extremely difficult to deal with over the phone.

I just wanted to put my point across and get back an answer that would be correct and not what a phone CS agent wants to make up, i've had a few issues since adding broadband & tv to my phone account back in May, i've not even got past 12 months, without them trying to change things to what i agreed to when i signed up, all i see with BT is what can we increase priced off, start charging for, put behind needing a 12 month contract for.

Since getting the "i can leave" from the CEO Office, i've had a letter with £240 charges on it, various text messages, emails all with different numbers to call if i want more info, they just don't have a clue.

Even talking to them on the phone with the notes on my account, they can all see the no penalties, yet i'm still getting different answers about the last bill, how the cancellation charges are applied to the account etc etc

After the CEO Office, the final bill should be correct full stop, without any interaction from myself.

My bill gets generated around the 6th, so this won't be the final one, but once that one is past, i'm thinking the same way as others and will probably shut direct debit and pay them manually, especially if they go the way of bill being wrong and i've to phone up to get the "notes" applied to my account, i just don't trust BT to take out the correct amount out my bank and considering the bill is advance then when i come to move to Sky on the 11th November, my BT bill issued on the 6th November will actually pay the account usage up to the 5th December so there is no reason for me to leave my direct debit open.

athomick

I called to cancel my fibre optic broadband this evening after getting my price rise email a day or two ago. They admitted that I should have no cancellation fees but insisted that they would need to cancel within 10 days for me to avoid fees and that it would take 11 days to transfer to another provider. So my choice was:

1. Cancel with no fees but almost certainly lose my phone number
2. Transfer to another provider which would take longer than 10 days thus I would have to pay cancellation fees

I spoke to a manager and pointed out that the T&Cs in the email stated that I only needed to "tell" them within 10 days of receiving the email that I wanted to cancel and not actually cancel within 10 days. After some insistence on my part he agreed to put a note on my account stating that there would be no fees to transfer the contract "in this case" as the T&Cs were not clear but that I would have to call accounts to get the cancellation fee removed once I received the bill. I also insisted that he email me confirmation of our conversation (holding my breath..........).

He has emailed me to confirm!

teddysmum

I understand it to mean that you or your new provider have to inform them that you are leaving, within 10 days, but that the actual transfer need not be within this time scale.

I agreed to move to Sky on October 6th and they informed BT either on that day or the next. Sky took over my line on October 22nd, 16 or 17 days later. I received my final BT bill today and have not been charged any penalty except for the prepaid line rental saver. They did bill me, around 18th, for 30 days' line rental, less some line rental saver (paid to beyond my leaving date), but this is listed as a full refund.

fox2319

Worryingly, my request to leave seems to have gone relatively smoothly. I phoned and spoke to someone this morning who immediately offered BT privacy for free for 12 months but wouldn't budge on line rental. After going round the talking points of Bt's "quality of service" they eventually agreed that I could leave without penalty and gave me a MAC code.

Now I just need to find an alternate fibre broadband provider, currently looking at TalkTalk...

SallyG

Is there any reason at all for any residential customer to stay with BT?

fox2319

fox2319 wrote: »

Worryingly, my request to leave seems to have gone relatively smoothly. I phoned and spoke to someone this morning who immediately offered BT privacy for free for 12 months but wouldn't budge on line rental. After going round the talking points of Bt's "quality of service" they eventually agreed that I could leave without penalty and gave me a MAC code.

Now I just need to find an alternate fibre broadband provider, currently looking at TalkTalk...

I knew it was too good to be true, the MAC they gave me is incorrect.

teddysmum

Ask your new provider to sort things for you. Then you won't need to ask for a MAC .

fox2319

Thanks, have submitted an order to plusnet and sent a request to BT to reconfirm the MAC.

sandbrain

fox2319 wrote: »

Thanks, have submitted an order to plusnet and sent a request to BT to reconfirm the MAC.

Would you like to hazard a guess as to who owns Plusnet? That aside, I have used Plusnet in the past and found them to be pretty good.

Tharweb

sandbrain wrote: »

Would you like to hazard a guess as to who owns Plusnet? That aside, I have used Plusnet in the past and found them to be pretty good.

I too am leaving to go to Plusnet. I realise they are owned by BT, but I am getting the same service for £13 cheaper, no brainer!