MSE News: BT to raise prices AGAIN - how to beat the hikes

[Deleted User]

make_the_change wrote: »

Why does it always take a battle to get anywhere.

Because they're a business and they want to (have to actually) make as much money as possible for their shareholders. You have to be persistent and actually mean it if you need to swap suppliers.

bxboards wrote: »

How are people receiving these letters? In the post, or via e-mail?

Both I believe, it'll depend on your marketing preferences.

make_the_change

Communication with BT is always via email for me

Mister_G

make_the_change wrote: »

I received yet another email from BT regarding cancellation but this time no mention of charges. So I called them up again, moaned about the lack of info from the first call, the confusing call last night and now the same email disregarding any note of charges and I got offered a new deal at £9 cheaper than what I was paying with no price increase! Happy days. Why does it always take a battle to get anywhere. All sorted! Anyone else confused with BT, keep pushing! It does work!!!!

Well done! Hopefully this will help others in a similar situation.

Hopelessly_Addicted

I received the BT e-mail two days ago, and gave them a call this morning. We've been with BT for yonks, phone line and broadband and have been putting up with these price rises for too long, whilst new customers get amazing deals.


I currently pay £48.49 for broadband and phone line rental, Fibre (76mb), which would rise to £52.48 a month in September with the price rise.


I also pay £16.50 for the BT Sport HD package which I'm aware is a discounted rate due to being a broadband customer, which would be rising to £18.50.



The only deal they could offer me was to join BT Fibre Plus which would take my package deal to a monthly £61.98. Or staying on Fibre 2 which I'm on right now would take my cost in September to £58.98.


They wouldn't budge even though I told them about the new customer prices. I didn't even expect new customer prices, just a discount for being a loyal customer for so long.



Virgin Media is offering me 200MB fibre, phone line with anytime calls to landlines and mobiles and TV for £42/month for 12 months! I have Sky, so I'm not going to get the TV installed, I'm just going to have it on my account, because without the TV it's £47/month. They're also going to give me a £50 credit on my bill, so the first month and a bit is free.


Outside of BT's crazy price increases, the service has been good. So I plan to start being a bit more of a savvy consumer and will re-join adter 12 months when my Virgin prices will no doubt be going up again!! I'm just going to flip flop between providers each year, I think.


EDIT: thanks for the info on these BT cancellation 'charges'. They told me on the phone that I can switch by August 4th, that's when my 30-day period ends. So if I receive any e-mails with charges, I'm aware I shouldn't be.

make_the_change

Hopelessly Addicted what number did you call? When I called this time I was put through to department who specifies in trying to offer a better deal to keep you. I told her the only deal BT had offered me so far (by two different people) was locking my price so that the price rise wouldn’t effect me and I declined that instantly. The lady today managed to find me a better deal in a matter of minutes.

make_the_change

BT seem to be giving out misleading info by different people....

Person 1 I spoke to said it’s fine to cancel penalty free, just switch to a new provider and all will be fine.

Email 1 said sorry you’re leaving and that I broke the contract and hav charges.

Person 2 I spoke to said that my new broadband had to be ‘live’ within 14 days of the email confirming the price hike otherwise I would have to wait 30 days until it was disconnected and only then could I join someone else.

Email 2 said sorry you’re leaving and did NOT outline any charges.

Person 3 I spoke to apologised for the miscommunication and gave me a better deal instantly.

Ken2000

Funny that I have to wait to receive a letter before swapping, despite me telling them that my reason for wanting to switch is due to the upcoming price increases. I did speak to someone there, who informed me that I would be receiving the letter in the next couple of days. I've also just had an email from BT stating that I'll owe them £112.42 if I go ahead with this switch.

Wondering whether I should 'Change my Mind' now, then wait for the letter, then go ahead with the switch.

JJ_Egan

Yes change your mind or potentially owe BT £112 +

mnbvcxz

When I left about a year ago the process went something like this;

wait for the notification of the price rise and then call the number to complain within 30 days.

You call and say you are leaving. They open a 30 day window from then in which you can sign up with another provider penalty free. You MUST have had the notice and have told the right people that you are leaving because of the price rise. You can't just leave.

You sign up with another provider and get a notice from BT saying you will be charged a penalty. You call up to dispute the penalty and this is their chance to give you the actual really good stop you from leaving, leaving offer, which is generally pretty good.

You either take their offer and cancel you migration or you carry on. Bt will then often "forget" to refund you line rental. So you call up to prompt them. You get an indian? who doesn't understand that 14 days notice means you have to wait at least 14 days notice for your migration to happen. NOT the other way around. They will have no power to do anything but try and come up with an excuse for why everything is OK based on their hazy abstract understanding of the system.

But if you stand firm and say you don't accept their ideas then they should escalate you to the next team.

The next team then eventually calls you back and apologises and refunds your line rental.

Then you carry on with your next provider (probably owned by BT) until they raise their prices and then the whole thing starts again under their own custom set of rules...

I can't swear this is all accurate but its how it worked for me. I hope its some help.

Ken2000

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Yes change your mind or potentially owe BT £112 +

I've changed my mind, I might change it again in a couple of days.