BTbroadband: trojan charging for 'Talk'

perrybond

I have BT Broadband.
Just received an email saying they are going to start charging me £3.50 per month for BTbroadband talk (Using an internet phone)
It's not something I have, use, or have ever asked for.
Looking on my account it is currently given to me free as standard.

I have looked on myBT and can see no way of cancelling it. The email has a link for cancelling it, but using the link takes you to a second page that my browser states may be unsafe.

I have written to them, they replied answering some questions I didn't ask, but not mentioning this. I have asked again and await a response.

Does anyone else feel their being shafted, or are they just picking on me?

It seems immoral, to give someone something they haven't asked for, then say they are going to charge you for it unless you jump through the right hoops in the right order.

forgotmyname

Check the email headers. from live.com or yahoo ?

NEVER click links in emails. Goto the main site and search for youself.

perrybond

I think it's a real email, it comes from
bt.athome@comm.bt.com

I've forwarded it to abuse@bt.com to ask, as well as contacting them about the subject.

WTFH

I strongly suspect it is a spam email, not from BT, given that BT said they were discontinuing it after this year.
They aren't going to charge for it, they are just discontinuing it, because it doesn't (officially) work with any of the newer hubs (HH3, 4 etc). It has not been available for new customers since 2011.

perrybond

Got a call from BT

-Yes the email is from them.
-yes they are going to start charging people, unless they cancel it.
-No it's not everyone, just people with the older hubs (oh, that's alright then!)
-Yes, they have had other calls mentioning that the link takes one to a web page that kicks up a browser warning, even though it is their own page.

(yes WTFH, they did mention they are going to discontinue it, so they won't be scamming people for long )


ps
The trojan I mentioned in the title, was not referring to the email I received, but to the bundle BT gave me with a free product that I don't need or use, but then they start charging me for, part-way through my contract.

Any ideas how I can make more people aware of this scam which is actually perpetrated by BT?

WTFH

If that's what they are doing, then it only affects people with home hub 1, 1.1 and 2 who chose to get BT Talk when they got the hub.

Easiest solution is to change your contract with them and get them to send you a new hub.

perrybond

I'll have to disagree.

To my mind, the easiest solution for customers is not to say 'how high', when BT say jump, but for BT to sort out a situation that is at best cynically manipulative, at worst, illegal.

btw, I didn't choose to get BT talk. I was given it.

I'm sorted, but how many others are going to be charged an extra £3.50 a month from next February?

littleboo

perrybond wrote: »

I'll have to disagree.

To my mind, the easiest solution for customers is not to say 'how high', when BT say jump, but for BT to sort out a situation that is at best cynically manipulative, at worst, illegal.

btw, I didn't choose to get BT talk. I was given it.

I'm sorted, but how many others are going to be charged an extra £3.50 a month from next February?

If BT Talk was included with your package, then by choosing the package you chose BT Talk. But regardless, packages change, this used to be bundled, it's no longer going to be, you've been told, you have the choice to keep it or loose it.

perrybond

Fair enough.
-It's just me then

JulieM

We've had the email too, as we have BT Broadband Talk. Whilst it's been useful in the past for the one or two calls we make to Australia each year, it won't be worth paying £3.50 per month to continue with it after 1 February. The email says if you want to cancel, then do so straight away. Does this mean it will be cancelled immediately or from 1 February? As we usually phone Australia over Christmas, it would be useful to have it in place till then.

iniltous

Just had the email myself, if you don't want to pay for broadband talk there is a link to remove it from your account and although the link brought up a security warning, click thru on the 'continue anyway' and it will be removed...it also had a link to remove BBT and get a new type home hub but it probably would recontract you, if you take the online option to cancel I'm sure it processes the request right then so it would be removed within a day or two