Moving Home Contract Question

tajasti1

Hello All,

I took out BT broadband May last year & I am in rented accommodation, there are no other services except Bt. I am now moving out of the area to a new home.

The new location has BT but only broadband & I don't want to carry on getting low speeds when I can get Virgin at the new area (no BT infinity or plans to install).

The problem I have is that I am happy to move the service & see out the remainder of my contract & then cancel however when speaking to BT they said if I move the service it creates a new 18 month contract & they are now wanting £111.81 to cancel, £55 of which is for the hub which they won't accept the return of.

Where do I stand with this? Am I stuffed & have to pay the fee or is the operator having me on. I got the feeling he was trying to scare monger me into paying the more expensive option of cancelling now rather than letting the account end, saying things like if the new tennants move in & use the phone line it'd be mine responsibility etc.

onomatopoeia99

You agreed a contract for the supply of internet and phone at a specific location for a set time and you are now breaking the contract. Expect to pay off the contract as a consequence.

For the future, if you intend to continue to do short term rentals, go to a supplier with a short minimum term. You won't get "deals" / cashback / shopping vouchers / free kitchen sink etc, but you also won't have to pay exit fees if you can't stay in one place for at least a year.

System

saying things like if the new tennants move in & use the phone line it'd be mine responsibility etc.

That bit is definitely correct if you don't cancel the contract


If you move the service to your new place then you will have to take out a new contract

On cancellation of a contract then there will be a cancellation fee which can be up to the amount to cover the cost of the remaining contract and also as part of your contract BT can and do charge for the Homehub (its in the T&Cs)

tajasti1

onomatopoeia99 wrote: »

You agreed a contract for the supply of internet and phone at a specific location for a set time and you are now breaking the contract. Expect to pay off the contract as a consequence.

For the future, if you intend to continue to do short term rentals, go to a supplier with a short minimum term. You won't get "deals" / cashback / shopping vouchers / free kitchen sink etc, but you also won't have to pay exit fees if you can't stay in one place for at least a year.

I had the intention of staying here for over a year & carry on the contract to a rolling 30 day after that however because of work changes I'm having to leave.

The thing which is getting me is that I am happy to take the broadband with me & see out the remaining contract but not extend it for 18 months.

When I signed up I did get the transcript from the lady who said "If you move home before the end of the contract , we will move your connection to your new address for you free of charge" with no mention of having to extend the contract.

System

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7095/related/1

iniltous

you are breaking the terms of the contract by wanting to cease the service early, so BT are quite within their rights to charge early termination fees, so you could just pay this and move on....BT offer the option , for people in this situation , to avoid the ETC's by using BT at whatever new address they are moving to, BT can offer this as they have a universal service obligation, so ( within reason ) wherever you move to, BT can supply service, something other providers can't guarantee, but the pay off , is you start a new minimum term at that new address, you cannot have your cake and eat it, by saying you only want whatever is left on your old contract , at your new address, why would they agree to that ?
In short , you either pay BT the ETC's ( and you shouldn't really be upset about that, it's you breaking the deal not them ) or you avoid the ETC's by accepting a new miminum term at the new address
As far as just paying for a service you cannot use at the old address, it's a dangerous thing to consider , because any usage the new occupant made, either on line or phone charges would be down to you, plus if they applied to takeover the line, it would generate a cease for your account, and not having anywhere to sent the final bill to , they would probably sell your debt on, and trash your credit rating

JJ_Egan

One point to note if you pay off your BT contract then you are free to choose a new provider at the new address this provider may of course want an 18 month contract .