BT compensation query

silversaltire

I'm having a problem with BT.

I pay £30pm up front for unlimited phonecalls & broadband.
On March 6th both my internet & phone stopped working.
On March 9th I was issued a £30 bill which I paid that day.
On March 15th my internet started working again but the phone did not & just played a recorded message saying 'You cannot use this line please contact your provider'.
The phone was not working again until April 5th when I had an engineer visit.

BT have paid me £49 for the time my internet & phone were down at the same time & have said I'm not getting anything else as it wasn't a 'total loss of service'. They have also said as it wasn't a fault but was accidentally restricted by them due to an account issue and as it was not a classed as 'fault' I am not entitled to any automatic compensation. They have not refunded me for the £30 upfront bill I paid for unlimited phone calls either.

I am disabled & rely on my phone for regular contact with my doctor & hospital as I am also going through chemo at the moment, so not having a phoneline for a month was really difficult.

Are they right to say I'm not entitled to compensation for the extra 20 days without a phone? Surely it doesn't matter whether it was a 'fault' or not as they admitted it was their doing. I thought a loss of service was a loss of service regardless of whether the internet worked or not & regardless of the reason.

Any advice is welcome as they are refusing to compensate me more than £49, which is only £19 more than the bill I paid that month for unlimited everything.

TIA

Neil_Jones

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/automatic-compensation-need-know - "If your landline and broadband both lose service at the same time, you will only receive one compensation payment." (my bold)

MalMonroe

Hi, I'm a BT customer too and I find their treatment of you absolutely appalling.

They do have a policy statement about vulnerable customers and it seems that you fall into that category.

Have a read of the info in this link - 

https://www.bt.com/about/digital-impact-and-sustainability/our-approach/our-policies-and-report/bt-vulnerability-policy

They say -

"If you’re in a vulnerable situation and need extra help, tell us by calling 0800 919 591: Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm. Or if you prefer, next time you have a reason to call us, let our advisor know and they’ll make a note of it on your account so that we can consider your extra needs when you contact us next time."

If I were you I would phone them and explain your situation and the fact that you cannot afford to throw money away simply because they have let you down, big time.

I have been paid compensation by BT (as recently as last week) for an error they made. You just have to be firm (although I do realise that in your position, you really shouldn't have to be bothering with things like this). 

In spite of the link and info posted by Neil_Jones, above, I have been compensated for both landline and broadband failures in one payment for both failures in the past. If you ask, you mostly get with BT, in my own experience. In fact, on that occasion, they asked me how much I wanted. I said £60, they said they would usually give £15. I said that wasn't good enough. The person I was speaking with put me on hold while they 'went to speak to their supervisor'. We agreed on £30 on that occasion. Speaking with someone on the phone and not accepting their first offer is the best way, although I do realise it may not always be the best way for you.

In my opinion you're also entitled to compensation for the fact that you have been inconvenienced by having to have an engineer call. 

But you are definitely entitled to receive better customer service, anyway. 

I do hope that you manage to get some more compensation and a much better service in future out of them. Do try the vulnerable policy phone number, though. Hopefully you will be treated as we all deserve to be treated, with respect.

littleboo

The compensation scheme talks about "loss of service" not "faults" so you might need to remind BT of that. Did you have any landline service between 15th March and 5th April? ie incoming buy not outgoing or vice versa?

southsidergs

And here's the big "compensation culture" that exists, you got more than your monthly cost refunded for the service being down for less than a month, why is that not enough for you?