BT loyalty is a one way thing

alan_henley

After 40 years with BT I have had to renew my contract for phone and broadband. BT wishes to put up the monthly bill by nearly 30%, and increase the contract to 24 months !! So I started looking around for another (better) deal.

One of the first one to pop up was from BT - Unlimited Fiber Broadband and calls and free sports channel - just what I want, and for the price of £36 per month, which, although not the cheapest, I could afford.

So I signed up - well nearly - got to the bit where I entered phone number and bang! the price magically jumped up £20 per month .
I cannot say I was surprised (more disappointed ) however this is the price of loyalty to a brand.
It does seem very short sited. Is there that much of a difference between gaining a new customer (and there revenue) and losing an old one ?

My motto from now on is to change suppliers at the end of every contract -

By BY Loyalty - you cost to much

[Deleted User]

Trying to use a new customer offer online when you're already a customer was always going to fail regardless of company, try phoning them and asking them to give you the same deal.

alan_henley

Yes it was the result I expected - however it does show up the difference in price, between a loyal and a new customer.

JJ_Egan

Best deals for loyal customers means no MSE no money saving for others .

If you have received the BT price rise email you can leave free of charge .
Follow the instructions on the email and they will more than likely make an offer .
Thats the way loyal customers get a deal by giving notice at the end of the contract .

borkid

alan_henley wrote: »

After 40 years with BT I have had to renew my contract for phone and broadband. BT wishes to put up the monthly bill by nearly 30%, and increase the contract to 24 months !! So I started looking around for another (better) deal.

One of the first one to pop up was from BT - Unlimited Fiber Broadband and calls and free sports channel - just what I want, and for the price of £36 per month, which, although not the cheapest, I could afford.

So I signed up - well nearly - got to the bit where I entered phone number and bang! the price magically jumped up £20 per month .
I cannot say I was surprised (more disappointed ) however this is the price of loyalty to a brand.
It does seem very short sited. Is there that much of a difference between gaining a new customer (and there revenue) and losing an old one ?

My motto from now on is to change suppliers at the end of every contract -

By BY Loyalty - you cost to much

Alan start the process of moving to another supplier then phone the number on the letter BT will send you checking you want to move. They'll offer you a much better deal, we got £23 per month off and they beat the offer we were looking at.

alan_henley

Alan start the process of moving to another supplier then phone the number on the letter BT will send you checking you want to move. They'll offer you a much better deal, we got £23 per month off and they beat the offer we were looking at.

yes tried that but they would not move from the £56 they quoted
- is this bartering on price a trend that we have picked from the east !! I expect that living in England if I am given a price , that is the price for that service - not that it is the opening offer of a long conversation.

[Deleted User]

alan_henley wrote: »

yes tried that but they would not move from the £56 they quoted
- is this bartering on price a trend that we have picked from the east !! I expect that living in England if I am given a price , that is the price for that service - not that it is the opening offer of a long conversation.

It's your right to continue paying full whack if you wish.

I'll skip the slightly racist & xenophobic nature of your post.

phillw

alan_henley wrote: »

I expect that living in England if I am given a price , that is the price for that service - not that it is the opening offer of a long conversation.

Haggling has been common in England for years, the idea that you should pay the asking price is a relatively new thing. Like showing off, "I don't need to haggle". I don't normally bother these days as they never offer good enough prices to stay. Haggling up front is harder, but can work.

I'm with BT for something like £5 a month for line rental, broadband, unlimited minutes mobile once you take into account the cash back I got for switching to them. The cashback deals on offer at the moment don't seem anywhere near as good though. I've been lucky as I've left the last two companies due to price increases and there has always been some really good deals available to switch to.

A lot of companies don't reward loyalty. If you're someone who is going to switch based on price then you'll leave them anyway. They just keep milking the cash cows.

alan_henley

It's your right to continue paying full whack if you wish.

I'll skip the slightly racist & xenophobic nature of your post.

firstly - you are correct I could pay full price - But I will not I - I will change to one of the competition

Secondly - no racism was intended, I was merely trying to point out haggling over the price is a fairly new procedure (at least for BT). It might be a "game " that we have to play to get an acceptable price, but remember there is a large number of people who are not in the position to play this "game".

The people on this forum are obviously computer and retail literate ,a large number of the older generation are not

Is it correct that some people can get a better price based on there haggling abilities ?
.

System

When was the loyalty both ways with BT? When it was the GPO?

• They put their prices up once or twice a year.
• They charge you the same or more than new customers.

Given that various competitors advertise on the TV, Newspapers and Radio - you don't need to be internet savvy (or young) to switch.

Every time I use my local Post Office they try to sell me their broadband internet too.

macman

OP, if you'd really rather stay with BT, then why not simply move to Plusnet? You'll get BT service (hah!), the same BT nerwork, but at PN new customer rates.
It's bizarre that you seem to think that negotiating a price with a provider is some sort of modern foreign phenomenon...