BT Basic Equipment Charge

pocketslint

Hi folks, I currently have BT Basic phoneline and BB, as far as i know this cannot be under contract and can be cancelled at anytime, I also have a BT Sim only.

I have given BT notice to cancel the Line and BB, but I am contracted for the Sim until February therefore I intend to see this out. BT have sent me a bill of £55 for 'equipment', ie the Hub, they will not take it back. is this legit?

iniltous

AFAIK, if the deal you took was for a 'free' hub, in return for a minimum term , the hub was never free, they basically defer the payment for the hub for 12 months , and if you see out those 12 months, they then waive the charge for the hub, so if you see out the minimum term you don't have to pay for it, but if you quit early, then the deferred payment for the hub becomes due, they don't have to waive the charge because you didn't see out your part of the deal....so is it legit , yes, you didn't have to take the hub if you didn't want to, or you could have paid for it when you took out the 'contract'...offering to return it doesn't make any difference, they supplied you a new hub, you ( if they accepted it back instead of you paying for it ) would be returning a used item, not a 'new' one, so why would it have the same value ?
When they ask for routers to be returned its only so they can be recycled responsibly, it doesn't get you out of your contractual obligation, so even if you returned it you would still have to pay for it ( or see out the minimum term )

Owain_Moneysaver

If you've still got the boxes etc, the Smarthub 6 goes for £20 to £30 on ebay, so you may get some of your money back.

pocketslint

Iniltous, thanks for that, and i do get what you say, but the point I was trying to make, maybe not too clearly, is that the BT Basic Line and BB are not offered on a contract as a matter of course, otherwise it would defeat the very purpose for which they are offered. Maybe I am wrong here, but can BT Basic Line and BB not be cancelled 'at any time'?

ps Owain Moneysaver,

Thanks for that.

iniltous

pocketslint wrote: »

Iniltous, thanks for that, and i do get what you say, but the point I was trying to make, maybe not too clearly, is that the BT Basic Line and BB are not offered on a contract as a matter of course, otherwise it would defeat the very purpose for which they are offered. Maybe I am wrong here, but can BT Basic Line and BB not be cancelled 'at any time'?

ps Owain Moneysaver,

Thanks for that.

BT Basic is a social tarrif , no other provider apart from BT is compelled to offer a cheap deal for those on certain benefits , if the person applying for BT Basic qualifies , then it costs £5.10 a month including £1.50 worth of calls, no regular tarrif comes close to that , but obviously it's intended as a no frills, occasional keep in touch type service, if you intend to use the phone a lot , then it's not the service for you even if you qualify, BTB and basic broadband puts the price upto £9.95 a month (15Gb) so aimed at light users who qualify.
These products are aimed at those that cannot afford commercial products , I'm not sure Ofcom edict was to ensure the products be available on a month to month contract from the outset , more to ensure that no one is excluded from 'basic' service on the grounds of cost

pocketslint

Unpackaged Broadband Options.

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/static/terms/contracts-early-termination.html

The very small print. This does seem to be at odds with their claim that BT Basic can be cancelled 'at any time'.

On the bright side, it will be worth £55 just to be shot of them.