BT - breaking advertising rules?

laneycakes

Hi all.

Bit of advice please. I'm in a ongoing argument with BT. We are standard broadband customers of BT. Fibre is now available and we'd like to take that option. BT want to charge us £26 + £18.99 line rental per month. This seems very expensive.

I've seen offers both on think broadband and nhs discounts website (partner works for NHS) that bring this cost down to less than £30 a month inc line rental for the same package. No where on either site does it say the offer is for new customers only. When you click the link to progress the order both websites take you to a web page (URL begins with http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/affiliate-packages-broadband?)
Which I assume is BT's own site. That page also does not say the offer is for new customers only, but when I put in my postcode and phone number the price suddenly hikes up to £44.99 inc of line rental.

To me both BT and the originating website are breaking advertising rules by not clearly stating these offers are only for new customers. I've complained to BT and they say the websites are third party ones, nothing to do with them, and although the original site for the offer isn't theirs, surely the ones that begin with the URL above are? Also am I wrong in believing that both BT and the originating sites are breaking advertising rules by not clearly stating who is and isn't eligible for the offers?

Thanks. :(

spyhunter

It says at the bottom of the website in the section titled "legal stuff" in the link titled "broadband offers" that the offers are for new BT Broadband customers only.

If you want a deal as an existing customer then you will have to call BT retention team on 0800 800 030 to haggle a deal.

oldagetraveller

I'd first look around to see what other providers are offering. Then 'phone their customer retentions to see if they can either match or beat the other providers' offers.
I not, then transfer your custom elsewhere.
I'm paying £26/month for Plusnet Unlimited Fibre, including line rental. That was after 'phoning, as an existing adsl customer, to see what they could offer for an upgrade. At the time they bettered new fibre customer offers from themselves and Sky, TalkTalk etc..

laneycakes

This is the actual link and even under legal stuff I can't see new customers only?

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/affiliate-packages-broadband?s_cid=con_cic_aff_affwin_vidAJM_broadband&vendorid=AJM&utm_source=Affwin&utm_medium=Ref&utm_campaign=Affiliate&awc=3041_1478940745_5ef8e43f2acfaaa7da1f1654008e23ea&dclid=CNuas87rotACFS2oUQod5X8HAg

JJ_Egan

You need the Advertising Standards Authority and complain to them .

The Line Rental at £18.99 is the same for all .

Have you gone through your member page to see the price of upgrades ?? for you .

The usual method of existing customers getting a deal is at contract end and tell the ISP you are thinking of leaving as xx will supply £zz cheaper .

spyhunter

laneycakes wrote: »

This is the actual link and even under legal stuff I can't see new customers only?

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/affiliate-packages-broadband?s_cid=con_cic_aff_affwin_vidAJM_broadband&vendorid=AJM&utm_source=Affwin&utm_medium=Ref&utm_campaign=Affiliate&awc=3041_1478940745_5ef8e43f2acfaaa7da1f1654008e23ea&dclid=CNuas87rotACFS2oUQod5X8HAg

Go right to the bottom of the page and at the right hand side you will see a link that is titled "Broadband offers" (its in pink writing)

Click that and it gives the terms of the offers as copied below. as you can see it says for new customers only more than once.

Broadband + Calls
For new BT Broadband customers that sign up for 12 months. Price from month 13 currently: £33.99 a month. 25% discount: Comparison vs. existing standard BT broadband customer price: £33.99 a month since 3rd July 2016. BT Broadband includes Unlimited Weekend Calls, a 12GB usage limit, BT Virus Protect, 5GB Cloud and a BT Home Hub (unless BT has already provided you with one). If you leave in the first year, we'll charge you up to £55 towards the cost of your new Hub. A compatible line required otherwise £30 connection charge may apply. Payment by Direct Debit. BT Virus Protect works on compatible PC/MACs. BT Cloud: You need to activate the service yourself. This service will be stopped and your back-up files deleted if you don't use it for 90 days. BT doesn't support activities which infringe the copyrights of the holder. Amount of free storage dependent on package. Your package comes with 5GB of free storage. Subject to availability. Terms apply.

Unlimited Broadband + Calls
For new BT Broadband customers that sign up for 12 months. Price from month 13 currently: £38.99 a month. Unlimited BT Broadband Extra includes Unlimited UK* Weekend Calls, BT Virus Protect, 100GB Cloud and a BT Home Hub (unless BT has already provided you with one). A compatible line required otherwise £30 connection charge may apply. If you leave in the first year, we'll charge you up to £55 towards the cost of your new Hub. You'll need to pay by Direct Debit. BT Virus Protect works on compatible PC/MACs. BT Cloud: You need to activate the service yourself. This service will be stopped and your back-up files deleted if you don't use it for 90 days. BT doesn't support activities which infringe the copyrights of the holder. Amount of free storage dependent on package. Your package comes with 100GB of free storage. Subject to availability. Terms apply.

Infinity 1 + Calls
There's a £50 activation charge and a £9.99 delivery charge for the Hub. Not all lines are fibre-enabled. To check if we can connect your home visit bt.com/infinity.

For new BT Broadband customers that sign up for 12 months. Price from month 13 currently: £39.99 a month. 25% discount: Comparison vs. existing BT broadband customer price: £39.99 a month since 3rd July 2016. BT Infinity 1 includes Unlimited Weekend Calls, a 25GB usage limit, BT Virus Protect, 5GB Cloud and a BT Home Hub (unless BT has already provided you with one). If you leave in the first year, we'll charge you up to £65 towards the cost of your new Hub. A compatible line required otherwise £30 connection charge may apply. Payment by Direct Debit. BT Virus Protect works on compatible PC/MACs. BT Cloud: You need to activate the service yourself. This service will be stopped and your back-up files deleted if you don't use it for 90 days. BT doesn't support activities which infringe the copyrights of the holder. Amount of free storage dependent on package. Your package comes with 5GB of free storage. Subject to availability, minimum line speed and computer specification. Terms apply.

Unlimited Infinity 1 + Calls
For new BT Broadband customers that sign up for 12 months. Price from month 13 currently: £44.99 a month. Unlimited BT Infinity 1 includes Unlimited UK* Weekend Calls, BT Virus Protect, 100GB Cloud and a BT Home Hub (unless BT has already provided you with one). A compatible line required otherwise £30 connection charge may apply. If you leave in the first year, we'll charge you up to £65 towards the cost of your new Hub. You'll need to pay by Direct Debit. BT Virus Protect works on compatible PC/MACs. BT Cloud: You need to activate the service yourself. This service will be stopped and your back-up files deleted if you don't use it for 90 days. BT doesn't support activities which infringe the copyrights of the holder. Amount of free storage dependent on package. Your package comes with 100GB of free storage. Subject to availability, minimum line speed and computer spec. Terms apply.

Unlimited Infinity 2 + Calls
For new to BT Broadband customers. You'll need to sign up for 12 months. Price from month 13 currently: £50.49 a month. Unlimited BT Infinity 2 includes Unlimited UK* Weekend Calls, 500GB Cloud and a BT Home Hub (unless BT has already provided you with one). BT Virus Protect works on compatible PC/MACs. You'll need to pay by Direct Debit. If you leave in the first year, we'll charge you up to £65 towards the cost of your new Hub. Subject to availability, Minimum line speed and computer specification. Terms apply.

£40 Next
For orders placed via selected partners only between 8/11/2016 – 14/11/2016. Orders outside of these dates and via any other site do not qualify for the promotion. To claim your Next voucher please click here. Available by invitation only to new customers ordering a BT Broadband or BT Infinity package on https://www.bt.com. You'll receive your giftcard within 45 days of making your claim. Terms apply.

£75 BT Reward Card (BT Broadband packages)
£75 BT Reward Card (BT Broadband packages) ends 21/11/2016 and is available online only to new BT Broadband customers ordering a broadband package on bt.com (£75 BT Reward Card). You must claim your BT Reward Card once your broadband is installed and you have 3 months from this date to claim. Claim your reward by visiting https://www.bt.com/claimmyreward and logging in with your BT ID. You must activate the card within 3 months of receipt. Following a successful claim, your card will be sent to the broadband installation address. Offer, BT Reward Card & BT terms apply (https://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/bt-reward-card). BT Reward Card is issued by R. Raphael & Sons plc, pursuant to license by MasterCard International Incorporated. MasterCard® and the MasterCard brand mark are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Inc. Raphaels Bank is a UK Bank authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (registration number 161302) and is permitted to issue e-money. Head office and registered office at 19-21 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 7ED, company registration number 01288938. Subject to availability.

£125 BT Reward Card (BT Infinity packages)
£125 BT Reward Card (BT Infinity packages) ends 21/11/2016 and is available online only to new BT Broadband customers ordering an Infinity package on bt.com (excludes existing BT Broadband customers upgrading to BT Infinity) (£125 BT Reward Card). You must claim your BT Reward Card once your broadband is installed and you have 3 months from this date to claim. Claim your reward by visiting https://www.bt.com/claimmyreward and logging in with your BT ID. You must activate the card within 3 months of receipt. Following a successful claim, your card will be sent to the broadband installation address. Offer, BT Reward Card & BT terms apply (https://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/bt-reward-card). BT Reward Card is issued by R. Raphael & Sons plc, pursuant to license by MasterCard.