BT penalty charge for the contract we didn't ask for

Cuilean

Apologies for length - I'm not sure which details will be helpful, so I've just included them all.

My grandfather wanted to get online, at the ripe old age of 96. He had a landline with BT - a BT Basic line. We understood this to be because my grandparents had been on the Light User scheme, and when that ended, they'd been transferred across to BT Basic. While you could get BT Basic with internet, there were so many limits on it that it was easier and cheaper to transfer his phone service across to Plusnet, and get them to activate broadband.

With a BT Basic line, there's some sort of hold on it which has to be released before transfer can occur. I rang BT on my grandfather's behalf as his next of kin, and asked them to release the BT Basic hold, so that the line could be transferred. The transfer happened, and everything has been fine with Plusnet.

Then my grandfather got a letter in the post from BT, saying that because he'd terminated his "Home Phone Saver" contract inside of 12 months of its start date, he'd have to pay a £90 termination fee. We knew nothing of a "Home Phone Saver" contract, and looking at his bills online, it confirms he was on BT Basic.

At no point was there every any mention of a new contract for Home Phone Saver being made, and we would never have agreed to a new contract since we were transferring to Plusnet anyway.

I spoke to BT's cancellations and billing teams today, and they maintain that a posted letter confirmed a new contract (If there was a letter, it certainly didn't arrive), and that someone requested a new contract on the 19th of September. The only thing which happened on the 19th of September was me requesting the BT Basic hold be removed so that the transfer could occur. There was never any mention of the word "contract", because I'd have pointed out that we didn't want a new contract if we were leaving.

I've now got to wait for someone in their complaints department to listen to the phone call on the 19th of September and verify whether a new contract was or was not asked for. However, my theory is this:
I called BT on September 19th to ask for the BT Basic hold to be removed. Someone at BT moved the line to Home Phone Saver tariff temporarily as a holding stage, initiating a new contract, which was not asked for or needed.

If anyone with more knowledge of BT can help fill in some of the gaps and prepare me for what they might claim on Thursday, I'd be very grateful.

spyhunter

Changing the package to home phone saver is an 18 month contract however if you did not agree to this then BT will not hold you to it.

The call will have been recorded and once the complaints team have listened to that call, If there was no agreement of a new contract they will remove the charges.

POPPYOSCAR

Yes they will listen to the phone conversation.


I got a real shock one day when I saw my bill and there was a charge for changing my number and a new number showing on the account.

They said I had requested it when I did not.

They listened to the phone conversation and agreed that at no time did I ask for my number to be changed. They had no explanation for why it had been done.

Lucikly for me (and them!)my number had not been reassigned yet and so it was reinstated and they refunded the charge.

I was not happy and pointed out that I had not been receiving the service I had paid for as anyone trying to ring me would not have been able to get through to me.

They gave me the grand sum of £10 credited to my account!