BT Cessation fee

Buzby

So many misconceptions! Your contract hadn't expired, only your minimum term commitment - your contract ends when you give due notice and the service ceased or is removed by the supplier.

Next, the cease fee of £30 is standard, and is in the small print - BUT it is fully disclosed, as so many folk cannot be bothered to find out what the exit costs are, (BT are charged by Openreach to 'recover' - a quaint term for tearing down your BB connection, as this can only be done at the exchange local to you.

Nobody is penalising you - you are only being asked to pay what you agreed.

d9705996

Hi,

Hope someone can help. I have recently moved property and in my previous property I was using BT Infinity for the fast speeds as my family usage is quite high and ADSL services were not reliable enough.

I have been happy with the product and wanted to use BT's moving service to move the same service to my new property. However BT can not supply Infinity to my new postcode (estimated download 8Mb) and therefore I could not use the moving service.

I contacted BT over the phone and cancelled the contract and confirmed that under cease charge url (I cant post the link) the charge would not be applied because

2. Move home and we are unable to provide the service at your new UK address

However 2 weeks after I had moved OI received a letter with the cancellation fee of £30 included.

I have called to ask them to remove this charge but I have spoken with one of the worst customer service agents I have ever dealt with and working for a provider of major telephony services there have been quite a few to choose from who could only say that the charge was valid as I had ceased my contract and to read the webpage above (which I had on-screen at the time and was quoting from)

When I asked about his colleagues previous statements when I had officially asked to cancel he denied there was anything in the notes.

I am awaiting a call back from a supervisor who is going to tell me the same thing (not really sure the point of that but Ill look forward ot speaking to them)

Does anyone have any ideas about what approach to take to resolve this matter as I believe I am contractually correct in requesting the money back.

Any help greatly appreciated

David

d9705996

Well that was a turn up for the books with BT. The Manager has called me back and I explained the situation again to him expecting the"its policy we cannot refund the charge" to be told that he has issued a refund (with an SMS confirming too which was nice).

I will wait until the money has hit my bank account before fully relaxing as looking at other BT threads that was too simple!

A well done to the Manager for his assitance.

macman

The £30 is a cease charge from BT OR, it's got nothing to do with Infinity or it's availability or unavailability.
It's charged when you cease your broadband and do not migrate using a MAC.
Have you not taken an ADSL service in the absence of Infinity?

d9705996

Macman,

I have not taken up ADSL as the quoted speeds do not suit my personal requirements.

BT have agreed that they will refund the charge as they are the reason I was not and could not migrate my existing setup

Regards

Buzby

What you've experienced is what's known as a 'goodwill gesture' - under the terms of service the cease fee is correctly billed, but BT appreciate you don't wish an inferior service (but then nobody else can either)! The fact they did see sense is common sense, but not a policy anyone can rely on sadly.

d9705996

The wording of the cessation policy doesn't suggest this is a goodwill gesture (I am no lawyer so maybe wrong) as the use of "the service" rather than "a service" would I imply a like for like or similar product.

Also the verbal confirmation that there would be no charge from their representative on the initial call should be enough (the second advisor did seem more keen for me to speak with a manager when I suggested that we listen to the original call and under DPA was entitled to copy for an admin fee)

Seems more of a case of we are BT and will do as we please and hope no one comments.

pops5588

Just wanted to say before I start that I have never had anything against PlusNet, they have been a great service provider. The only reason we are leaving to join Virgin Media (which I am aware could be a mistake but rather them than Sky) is because we live next to a train line and as such the TV signal is quite poor. Sky or Virgin have been our only options really in order to improve our TV situation.

I was always made aware from day 1 that if you leave before your contract that you will pay for any outstanding charges within that period. That's fine. I even called over the weekend and spoke to Customer Services to check in what region the notice period fee would be, and they very helpfully told me.

However when I just called up to give the 14 working days notice, I was told that there is also a £30 charge applied by BT for ceasing the broadband on the line! I was never made aware of this charge, not even when I called over the weekend, and I was told that I have no option but to pay this fee and that it will have been detailed in the Terms and Conditions that I agreed to. I have gone back and read the terms and conditions with a fine tooth comb and all it says is:

Ceasing a Broadband Line

Where customers wish to fully close their broadband line, instead of migrating, they simply need to request a 'Cease' order when calling the Customer Options Team. The policies stated in the notice period and final payment sections of this document will apply.

I also read the notice period and final payment sections and it doesn't mention any charge or than the notice period fee there either. I also checked the price guide and charges page. The only way that I have been able to find out about this charge is by specifically googling "plusnet £30 cancellation fee". But how would I know to google that if I don't know that it exists!

I just wanted to know if anyone has come across this before or has successfully contested this charge? I am always happy to pay if I am made aware and know what the situation is but I cannot stand it when these companies pull out hidden charges to whack you with when it suits them.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

This is standard I'm afraid. BT Wholesale apply this to any ISP using BT infrastructure.

As most people migrate with a MAC, this charge isn't applied.

The Plusnet cessation charge page is here.

pops5588

Thanks for the response. I am glad that I now know that this is standard. Had no clue since this is the first time we have had our own home, arranged our own bills and switched providers for the first time.

Plusnet have subsequently gone back and listened to the previous telephone conversations that I have had with them, heard that I wasn't informed of this charge and have very kindly waived it, which is appreciated. I would still recommend them as a provider, and can only hope that my experience with Virgin Media will be similar. Eek...