BT - Excessive and punitive leaving charges

jem16

bxboards wrote: »

So these 'leaving charges' are due to me being erroneously signed up to a new contract. The BT complaints handler has read my chat transcript and said and I quote: 'Sumathi placed a new order but didn't tell you there would be a contract. I'm truly sorry about this'

So that's it in a nutshell - because a new contract was set up without my knowledge, this effectively moved my BT contract expiry date from mid December 2015 to mid July 2016 - hence the charges as this moved my end date by 6 months without my knowledge.

And what are BT going to do about it?

bxboards

jem16 wrote: »

And what are BT going to do about it?

Well I've got a letter from their Customer Complaints Resolution Dept which will allow me to leave without penalty reseting my leaving date back to the correct mid-December 2015 date, or they've offered compensation should I stay. Or this can go to the Ombudsman Service should I decline this resolution. They are very keen to avoid a 'deadlock' situation where this goes to the Ombudsman from the tone of the letter.

jem16

bxboards wrote: »

Well I've got a letter from their Customer Complaints Resolution Dept which will allow me to leave without penalty reseting my leaving date back to the correct mid-December 2015 date, or they've offered compensation should I stay. Or this can go to the Ombudsman Service should I decline this resolution. They are very keen to avoid a 'deadlock' situation where this goes to the Ombudsman from the tone of the letter.

So what are you doing - leaving or staying?

bxboards

jem16 wrote: »

So what are you doing - leaving or staying?

I've not decided.

On a point of principle I'm very unhappy BT signed for up to a new 12 month contract without consent or my knowledge, and I think this business practice needs to be looked at. Realistically that needs to be their regulator.

I was due to move to TalkTalk on an excellent offer which is long gone. That failure to move seems unrelated to BT and is just coincidental and I'm not the only person this happened to (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5388285) so I may stick with BT for the time being.

iniltous

So when a Jem16 said 'unless the OP isn't telling us something' that was true, you never previously mentioned that you had made an adjustment to your contract that unbeknown to you had given you a new 12 month minimum term, wether that's sharp practice or not, it was pertinent , and obviously explains why ETC's were due, it doesn't explain why the changeover didn't take place
The reason they are keen to avoid a deadlock situation is because regardless of a ruling being in their favour, unlikely if the service rep didn't tell you that accepting 'free' caller display was in return for accepting a new minimum term,having said that you may have thought why are they giving me a chargeable service for nothing, there is no such thing as a free lunch...but just going to this arbitration costs OR hundreds of £££'s, probably many more times the amount in dispute, hence them being keen to resolve the dispute now

JohnM5206

Not entirely the case: message #3 states in part
"They are unclear what the fee is for, at first they claimed I signed a new contract when I took out 12 months privacy features, but backed down on that when I quoted the transcript back to the CS agent who set it up."
So the information was there.

iniltous

JohnM5206 wrote: »

Not entirely the case: message #3 states in part
"They are unclear what the fee is for, at first they claimed I signed a new contract when I took out 12 months privacy features, but backed down on that when I quoted the transcript back to the CS agent who set it up."
So the information was there.

Yes you are absolutely correct, I should have read the entire thing again