BT- lacking transparency!

born_again

Ftba.d said:

littleboo said:

You would have been told that you contract was coming to an end, and what the new price was. Its has been a requirement for over two years. (unless you have been out of contract for > 2 years)

Hi 

No I didn’t get told . However my contract came to an end 18 months ago . 

They are now saying they don’t have to tell people as it’s seen as cold calling , their words not mine 

So you have not checked your bank account in 18 months & never noticed the change in amount. 👀

Not very MSE. As Mr Lewis advice is to check DD etc to make sure you are not paying more than you need. 👍

The_Fat_Controller

@Ftba.d your ISP has to advise you in writing, they do not call you.

I'd bet my pension the notification was at the bottom of the bill the month before your reduced price contract ended or was in an email that either you discarded or went into your spam box.

Ftba.d

The_Fat_Controller said:

@Ftba.d your ISP has to advise you in writing, they do not call you.

I'd bet my pension the notification was at the bottom of the bill the month before your reduced price contract ended or was in an email that either you discarded or went into your spam box.

Hi

So a customer service  clerk  from BT actually phoned me back yesterday . Turns out I was off contract 42 months ago not 18 which is why they didn’t notify me as back then it wasn’t something they did or had to do . She the explained their legislation changed whereby they did give people 10 working days before end of their contract to instigate changing package etc however as I was already off contract I didn’t qualify for a call or a letter . She then explained however that they no longer do a ten day or any warning when a customer is coming to an end of a contract or advertising other deals and packages as they draw near to an end as she said it’s no longer in policy .

This is what she said verbatim .

longjohnjohnson

Ftba.d said:

The_Fat_Controller said:

@Ftba.d your ISP has to advise you in writing, they do not call you.

I'd bet my pension the notification was at the bottom of the bill the month before your reduced price contract ended or was in an email that either you discarded or went into your spam box.

Hi

So a customer service  clerk  from BT actually phoned me back yesterday . Turns out I was off contract 42 months ago not 18 which is why they didn’t notify me as back then it wasn’t something they did or had to do . She the explained their legislation changed whereby they did give people 10 working days before end of their contract to instigate changing package etc however as I was already off contract I didn’t qualify for a call or a letter . She then explained however that they no longer do a ten day or any warning when a customer is coming to an end of a contract or advertising other deals and packages as they draw near to an end as she said it’s no longer in policy .

This is what she said verbatim .

Clearly, she didn't say that verbatim as nobody would speak in the way you've just posted.

However, she is right.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2020/companies-must-tell-customers-about-their-best-deals

And I'd also point out that you always have to have a landline if you want wired broadband.  Otherwise, they can't provide you with the service.  In fact "broadband only" deals are typically more expensive than those "with a landline" as there's no chance of them earning revenue from phone calls.

Ftba.d

longjohnjohnson said:

Ftba.d said:

The_Fat_Controller said:

@Ftba.d your ISP has to advise you in writing, they do not call you.

I'd bet my pension the notification was at the bottom of the bill the month before your reduced price contract ended or was in an email that either you discarded or went into your spam box.

Hi

So a customer service  clerk  from BT actually phoned me back yesterday . Turns out I was off contract 42 months ago not 18 which is why they didn’t notify me as back then it wasn’t something they did or had to do . She the explained their legislation changed whereby they did give people 10 working days before end of their contract to instigate changing package etc however as I was already off contract I didn’t qualify for a call or a letter . She then explained however that they no longer do a ten day or any warning when a customer is coming to an end of a contract or advertising other deals and packages as they draw near to an end as she said it’s no longer in policy .

This is what she said verbatim .

Clearly, she didn't say that verbatim as nobody would speak in the way you've just posted.

However, she is right.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2020/companies-must-tell-customers-about-their-best-deals

And I'd also point out that you always have to have a landline if you want wired broadband.  Otherwise, they can't provide you with the service.  In fact "broadband only" deals are typically more expensive than those "with a landline" as there's no chance of them earning revenue from phone calls.

That link is very useful and gives it context, thank you  . It must be what she is referring to when she said legislation changed where they had to give people notice of better deals etc. I wonder when it changed back to them not having to do this.  

42 months brings me to before the 2020 date recorded in that article so that explains why there was no comms from BT regarding end of contract / other packages etc .

Not getting into your verbatim assertion , it is keyboard warrior-like and that’s not what I am here for .

With regards to the wired broadband and needing a landline, I’ll be honest , I haven’t got a clue . All I know is that BT are now saying that I don’t need one and haven’t needed one for a while now…

Thanks again for the link ! 

The_Fat_Controller

BT were wrong, ADSL/FTTC broadband that comes over the phone line always has access to a landline.

42 months on an out of contract price has probably cost you 30-45% more than calling your ISP to get a deal.

Ftba.d

The_Fat_Controller said:

BT were wrong, ADSL/FTTC broadband that comes over the phone line always has access to a landline.

42 months on an out of contract price has probably cost you 30-45% more than calling your ISP to get a deal.

Yes the lady on the phone worked out that over the 42 months the ‘excess’ I’d pay compared to what I’d have paid if I was on the broadband only deal was £621 . 

born_again

Ftba.d said:

Yes the lady on the phone worked out that over the 42 months the ‘excess’ I’d pay compared to what I’d have paid if I was on the broadband only deal was £621 . 

As M Lewis would say that is a expensive mistake. 
42 months without noticing you were paying more.

You really need to keep a check on your bank account and payments going out. 

Ftba.d

born_again said:

Ftba.d said:

Yes the lady on the phone worked out that over the 42 months the ‘excess’ I’d pay compared to what I’d have paid if I was on the broadband only deal was £621 . 

As M Lewis would say that is a expensive mistake. 
42 months without noticing you were paying more.

You really need to keep a check on your bank account and payments going out. 

Yep , that seems to be the moral of the story !

I would be interested to know when legislation returned o them not having to contact customers as stated in that ofcom article posted earlier by another forumer .

It seems , albeit for a brief period, BT fell below the expected standard as stated in that article in 2020 in not contacting me regardless if my contract came to an end prior to the 2020 date . 

The_Fat_Controller

ISPs are only obliged to contact you when a discounted contract period ends, if you stay on the full priced contract then there is no END.