BT homephone overcharging legal case

mda99das

I am helping my parents with their finances, they have had BT since 1980 and their broadband is via a dongle 4g. They have never had broadband through their landline.
I was intrigued they are paying £30 / month for the landline and I know there is some legal action, that could cause BT to compensate for overcharging.
Does anyone know much about it. How do I add their name to the list?
Thanks

Neil_Jones

You don't.  When the case is settled BT will have to go back through the records and compensate accordingly.

And it will only go back to 2015:

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2022/05/court-rejects-bt-appeal-against-uk-landline-overcharging-ruling.html

mda99das

found this too. Yes goes back to 2015, but its better than nothing...

https://www.callclaim.co.uk/news/

southsidergs

"Overcharging" is a bit of a loose term to be used for people not checking their on the best deal tbh

iniltous

You are assuming this is going to be settled in favour of the firm taking this class action against BT, and it isn’t certain, although they have avoided the initial attempt by BT to have the case thrown out, the fact is BT don’t in isolation set prices, they are in the main dictated by the regulator Ofcom, so any finding against BT could get interesting.
As far as paying £30 , that is more than line rental on its own , if they pay £20 and an extra £10 for inclusive calls ( for example ) that’s up to them , plus BT offer a £7 ish discount on line rental that doesn’t have broadband, so it’s ( AFAIR ) £13-15 .

Brie

southsidergs said:

"Overcharging" is a bit of a loose term to be used for people not checking their on the best deal tbh

Lots of people don't have the ability to check prices if they are not computer users or not aware that better deals are available.  that's why people like the OP help their parents.

Neil_Jones

Brie said:

southsidergs said:

"Overcharging" is a bit of a loose term to be used for people not checking their on the best deal tbh

Lots of people don't have the ability to check prices if they are not computer users or not aware that better deals are available.  that's why people like the OP help their parents.

That's all very well but every time the concept of "helping my parents" come up the problem is almost always presented as being a "rip off of elderly people that has been happening for months on end until I've just got involved", and its rarely the case (and always begs the question why are you starting now).

Anyway many parents can get online themselves to do their own deals, the OP's parents have internet for a start so its not like they've been living in a cave for months on end.  They could have found their own deals.  But seems to be a case of apathy.

Chibuzor

I have had an on going issue over the years with  BT about the creative accounting. I took my concern with BT to FOS. FOS response was that it is business decision to help BT recover from the effects of COVID. 
I asked the person at FOS to send me a paper copy so that I can forward it to the Select Committee but FOS have not complied. 
I am looking forward to the outcome of the class action.