BT line still working after end of contract !!

sam1970

I was supposed to move from BT (landline and ADSL broadband) to virgin yesterday. BT already wrote to me two weeks ago informing me that they have received the request from Virgin to take over on 23/3 and that they will charge me £31 (service cessation fee).

Yesterday, the Virgin staff could connect me due to technical problems and they are saying now that the earliest they can connect the service will be 11/4. I have two questions:

1- BT line is still working this morning with normal service of broadband and landline. Is that normal? How will BT charge me for the use of its broadband from today? Should I switch the router off and stop using internet?

2-BT sent me last night a bill for next month (In advance) and as the total line rental I paid in advance has ended, the bill is higher than normal. BT knows that they will stop service on 23/3 so why they are charging me liner rental for period 22/3-21/4?

Any ideas will be appreciated

lee111s

Pick up the phone, dial 150 and ask.

iniltous

Because Virgin have their own infrastructure your VM service and your BT service are not tied in any way, they don't 'takeover' the service but provide a totally new service, if you are porting the number from BT to Virgin , then the date VM ask for your 'BT' number to be ported may well become the date your BT service 'ends' , not the date you were originally given, useful in situations like yours where VM cannot meet the date they give you originally, but you don't lose all service completely.
If VM have changed the date, (provided they have made BT aware of the changed date) you will probably find you will pay BT upto whatever that new date is ( so you may as well use the BT service if you are going to be paying for it upto the new date anyway)
it's good that BT don't just say 'tough luck, not our problem VM let you down, we're switching you off on the date you said' , bad that you pay BT for longer than you thought you would have to...if you don't want this I suppose you could ask BT to cease their service immediately , but that could affect the number porting successfully .
Paying up front for a whole month , then getting a refund for the part month after the 'change' is common practice , otherwise you would get a bill, then another bill for the extra days you (VM) were 'late' leaving BT.
If you are not porting your number, then although your BT service may stil be working , it probably won't continue for long.

sam1970

Thank you very much for the explanation. Yes I am porting my number so that will explain it.