BT Cessation fee

lee111s

It's an Openreach levvied cessation charge which the ISP passes on to the customer.

You don't pay it if you change suppliers, but if you're cancelling, you do.

iniltous

Kellie123456 wrote: »

Hi

I just tried to renew my broadband for the same cost as the last twelve months (£5pm rising to £7 in April) to be told I could get it for £9pm. I argued that the service hasn't changed and there was a price hike in April and there will be one next April so what I am paying an extra £24 a year for? I was told that was the deal and that they are prepared to lose me as a customer for the sake of £24. I said fine, I'll terminate to be told I would have to pay a £31 termination fee, unless I move to another broadband provider. After I informed the adviser I hoped the call was being recorded because that is ridiculous that I have to pay to get out of the flipping broadband loop and that I've worked for BT and they are a useless company, she terminated the call. I didn't swear or raise my voice so her actions just proved my point really. Anyway I've googled and I know this charge is in the t's and c's and is something to do with Openreach so if I have to pay it to get out of the broadband trap and rely on my mobile connection, I will but has anyone successfully argued and got out of this charge?

Thanks :-) K

Basically , if you cease broadband from a WLR line completely ( as opposed to migrating to a different broadband provider ) then regardless if you think it's unfair , or value for money , or necessary, Openreach are tasked to go to the exchange and convert your broadband line back into an ordinary direct exchange line, and update records etc...the regulator is happy enough that the charge OR make ( around £30 ) is reasonable for the work involved, OR raise a task, engineer travels to exchange, does work, closes task, records updated
Obviously in these circumstances the provider is losing a customer so not likely to absorb the cost ( why would they ) but a provider 'winning' a new customer is more likely to absorb any one-off charges raised by Openreach, after all that 'new' company is going to be getting money every month of the minimum term

boatman

Am I right in thinking that if you go from BT or any other company using ADSL and move to a cable line from Virgin then you almost certainly will pay a cessation charge. I think the only time you won't pay is if a company increase prices and you leave.

akkers

O also left BT some years ago and I got clobbered with £30 fee. Funny thing was that I moved to Virgin so there was no trip to exchange was involved. I refused to pay and the threatened me with court action.
My position was that this charge had not been made apparent to me when I signed up; it was not in the contract. They referred me to a clause on their website buried deep down.
I guess I had a reasonable case to fight in a court but just paid the charge because I was going away and did not have time to fight it out.
However, when BT ring me up to offer me special deals etc I tell them where to go and tell them about this £30 hidden charge I had to pay last time.

mije1983

akkers wrote: »

Funny thing was that I moved to Virgin so there was no trip to exchange was involved.

Someone probably did, precisely because you DID move to Virgin, and not another BT based provider.

cajef

akkers wrote: »

I guess I had a reasonable case to fight in a court but just paid the charge because I was going away and did not have time to fight it out.

You left BT and went to Virgin which is a completely different network therefore according to the T & C there is a cease charge, why do you think you had a reasonable case to fight in court?