BT won't give me a proper telephone line!!!!

Amanda

Hi

To cut a long story short, I have had a BT line for 5 years, and Broadband from Wanadoo for a year on that line. On occasions I have failed to pay the BT bill on time and have been disconnected, but it was always restored once I got to the post office and paid it.

However, I recently moved, and before I did, I didn't pay the BT bill since I was moving and I planned to sort it all out and pay the bill once I had moved. The line was then disconnected. (The broadband was unaffected although the line was ceased).

So, I moved house, Paid the outstanding bill so that I was up-to-date, and requested to BT to fit me a line in my new place. They told me I should have a 'pay as you go' line which is a bit like a mobile phone top-up where you credit a card. I had no objection to this, in fact I thought it was a good idea (at the time).

The date was set for the engineer to come and on the eve of this date I got a brochure explaining this type of phone line. I discovered that there are loads of restrictions on this line, you don't get a bill, you can't use star services and IT DOESN'T WORK WITH BROADBAND!!!!

The next day, when the engineer arrived, I told him that It was of no use to me as I require broadband. He suggested I have the line fitted anyway and argue it out with BT anyway.

I told BT that I didn't want a Mickey Mouse line, and that I wanted them to give me a normal line. I got them to immediately cease the line which I was mis-sold.

They disconnected this DURING MY PHONE CALL TO THEM!!!

I have contacted them on the phone and written letters, but all to no avail.

Can anybody please advise me what I can do about this. Since they have the monopoly on phone line provision, I am stuck with them, but they won't give me a line which works normally!

I really really want to publicise this. I am prepared to leaflet their shareholders to show how they are turning away business. They should be trying to attract customers like me, instead, I am forced to beg them to let me give them my business.

British Business! TYPICAL.

mountainofdebt

Might not be the answer you were looking for but can you blame BT for being reluctant ingiving you a proper telephone line?

On the assumption that you can't/don't want anyother provider (NTL etc) then can I suggest you contact BT again and offer them some sort of deposit against future bills - they make be more willing to trade with you again under those circumstances.

djohn2002uk

Amanda wrote:

Hi

They should be trying to attract customers like me, instead, I am forced to beg them to let me give them my business.

British Business! TYPICAL.

If I were running a buisness I certainly would not, "be trying to attract customers like me". People who can't or wont pay their bills, except when it suits them are no good to any buisness.

April2

If you have been disconnected, that implies you have not only been late paying your bill but have ignored red bills as well.

"I recently moved, and before I did, I didn't pay the BT bill since I was moving ...

And you wonder why they are reluctant to supply you with a standard line again?

Amanda

Thanks for your replies but:-

You all miss the point. I may have been late in paying on occasions but I have always paid my bill. On the last occasion, the process of moving meant that I was in upheaval and since they had disconnected the phone, I decided to do without for a few weeks and sort this out once I had moved. I can't really see BT going bust in waiting a few weeks for my payment!

I am a customer of 5 years, I have never had an outstanding bill over a week or two (except for the time I was moving), so why should BT assume that I am going to default on a line?

Secondly, I was quite happy with the concept of pay as you go, so why can't they make it work with broadband???? I pay my broadband by direct debit to a third-party, and have never missed a payment to them in 12 months of having the broadband service, so it is irrelevant to BT whether or not I have broadband on my line. Why do they have lines which are offered which do not work proprly? I thought they were supposed to be at the cutting-edge of technology.

Come on BT, If you like, give me a pay as you go line, I'm happy to go along with that, but MAKE IT SO THAT IT WORKS WITH BROADBAND and I'll go away happy. I'm sure it isn't impossible to do, and it's not a lot to ask.

andy88_2

See if you can offer them 3 months charges upfront or something like that. It doesn't help any notional complaint that you told them on the last occasion that you didn't want the line.

Edinburghlass_2

When I wanted a BT business line they requested a deposit of £150 which was held for six months I think. Seemed fair to me at the time that they didn't want people disappearing without paying their telephone bill, this was despite the fact that I had been a home BT customer for years.

MarkyMarkD

BT have got to do some up-front work to provide broadband on a line, and they also require an ongoing payment to support this. I can certainly see why they don't want to supply you with a line.

I think the deposit solution is the only one - and if I was BT I would want a SUBSTANTIAL deposit like one year's rental in advance at the very minimum to bother installing a new line for a customer with a recurring history of non-payment.

Steve_xx

You've only got yourself to blame for this debacle. You seem to say that you always pay your bills eventually. You could have saved yourself lots of hassle by paying them in the first place. Why don't you learn from the error of your ways?

If you take a service from any provider, you know the terms and conditions of the supply of the service and you know you have to pay for it. Seems to me like you think that you can avoid paying for what you've had. The result of this is the situation you find yourself in now.

BT have a Universal Service Obligation, which means they have to supply lines to those who want them. However, the terms of supply may vary in accordance with their risk. BT will probably supply you with a normal exchange line, but they may ask you to pay an amount upfront which they will hold on deposit for about a year before returning it to you. I suggest that you accept that offer if it is available to you and stop whingeing when a company takes protective action when you don't pay their bills without giving them lots of hassle.

You may well have been a BT customer for some five years, but, customers like you, any company would probably seek to avoid.

Amanda wrote:

Hi

To cut a long story short, I have had a BT line for 5 years, and Broadband from Wanadoo for a year on that line. On occasions I have failed to pay the BT bill on time and have been disconnected, but it was always restored once I got to the post office and paid it.

However, I recently moved, and before I did, I didn't pay the BT bill since I was moving and I planned to sort it all out and pay the bill once I had moved. The line was then disconnected. (The broadband was unaffected although the line was ceased).

So, I moved house, Paid the outstanding bill so that I was up-to-date, and requested to BT to fit me a line in my new place. They told me I should have a 'pay as you go' line which is a bit like a mobile phone top-up where you credit a card. I had no objection to this, in fact I thought it was a good idea (at the time).

The date was set for the engineer to come and on the eve of this date I got a brochure explaining this type of phone line. I discovered that there are loads of restrictions on this line, you don't get a bill, you can't use star services and IT DOESN'T WORK WITH BROADBAND!!!!

The next day, when the engineer arrived, I told him that It was of no use to me as I require broadband. He suggested I have the line fitted anyway and argue it out with BT anyway.

I told BT that I didn't want a Mickey Mouse line, and that I wanted them to give me a normal line. I got them to immediately cease the line which I was mis-sold.

They disconnected this DURING MY PHONE CALL TO THEM!!!

I have contacted them on the phone and written letters, but all to no avail.

Can anybody please advise me what I can do about this. Since they have the monopoly on phone line provision, I am stuck with them, but they won't give me a line which works normally!

I really really want to publicise this. I am prepared to leaflet their shareholders to show how they are turning away business. They should be trying to attract customers like me, instead, I am forced to beg them to let me give them my business.

British Business! TYPICAL.

dave2986

IMO, bt should not be allowed to be a call operator as well as your line operator, it's just unfair

If the call operators like talktalk had to compete agains each other instead of bt things would be a lot cheaper

Steve_xx

dave2986 wrote:

IMO, bt should not be allowed to be a call operator as well as your line operator, it's just unfair

If the call operators like talktalk had to compete agains each other instead of bt things would be a lot cheaper

I disagree. BT has to allow other operators to use its exchange lines because it is the dominant operator in the UK. Other service providers do not have to allow other operators to use their exchange lines because they are not classed as "dominant" operators.

BT cannot move its prices up too much, and it must publish its proposals before it hikes its prices. BT cannot move its prices too low in case it puts other carriers out of busines, thus putting it in a stronger eventual position. Other oprtors do not have to abide by any such restrictions and they can, and often do, move their prices without notice.

In short, BT are heavily regulated, and rightly so because of their historical positon in the UK marketplace. Other service providers are not quite as tightly shackled as BT.