Trying to Get out of BT Contract Digital Voice

SuicideWatch

Recently BT have informed me they are switching my phone line over to digital voice and I need reason to get out of my contract as basically I think £54 for broadband and pay 20p per min of talk is outrageous and I dont even use the phone side, so I basically need broadband only deal.
They are saying I'm still in contract for something like 2 years but they are changing the product so can I cancel without penalty? Asking BT retentions they said not but Im sure I have the right to cancel if a product gets changed within the contract period.

Any help on this matter I would be most grateful for 

ForumUser7

SuicideWatch said:

Recently BT have informed me they are switching my phone line over to digital voice and I need reason to get out of my contract as basically I think £54 for broadband and pay 20p per min of talk is outrageous and I dont even use the phone side, so I basically need broadband only deal.
They are saying I'm still in contract for something like 2 years but they are changing the product so can I cancel without penalty? Asking BT retentions they said not but Im sure I have the right to cancel if a product gets changed within the contract period.

Any help on this matter I would be most grateful for 

If you have a ts and cs document, refer to it rather than this, but here is a general document from them:

"10. When you can end the service and this agreement

b.      a.      Other than in respect of any increase to the core charges or the charges as a result of our annual price increase as described in clause 21b, or any increase to international charges as described in clause 21d, you can cancel the agreement at any time, by giving us 30 days' notice if:

                            i.       we've increased the core charges, or these terms and conditions (other than a change in respect of an additional service) or the terms and conditions for a service feature (other than a service feature that is an                                     additional service) in a way that is not exclusively to your benefit.

                            ii.       if we've changed the service or the charges (other than a core charge or the charge for an additional service or a one-off charge) in a way that significantly disadvantages you.

                           iii.       In these cases you won't have to pay a fee for leaving early.c.      You can cancel the agreement at any time by giving us:"

https://www.bt.com/terms/post1stsep2020voiceandbroadband

It depends if the change significantly disadvantages you, and if they agree. Maybe get the opinion of another advisor in a different department too, and if they say no and you are sure you should be able to leave without penalty, make a formal complaint - that way, someone should investigate and get back to you.

Also

"If you don’t use your landline and don’t need a home phone at all, you can move to one of our Broadband Only plans. If you call us within 7 days of receiving your letter about the move to Digital Voice, we’ll be able to get you onto a Broadband Only plan and cancel the move to Digital Voice. Call us on 0330 1234 150 to discuss available plans."

https://www.bt.com/help/landline/digital-voice-migration#:~:text=If%20you%20call%20us%20within,150%20to%20discuss%20available%20plans.

littleboo

They aren't changing the product, you can still make and receive calls with Digital Voice

iniltous

As stated , it may prove to be a waste of time trying to argue that being moved onto DV in anyway changes the terms of service , you still can make and receive calls in the same way as previously and at exactly the same cost as before , the only difference is that instead of plugging a phone into the socket on the wall , you plug the same phone into the phone socket on the hub , there is no change that warrants you being released from your contractual obligations 
If you were unhappy with the price ( which admittedly may be around 14% higher than when you signed up due to the CPI+3.9% increase in April ) why did you sign up in the first place  ?
‘caveat emptor’  as they say 

35har1old

iniltous said:

As stated , it may prove to be a waste of time trying to argue that being moved onto DV in anyway changes the terms of service , you still can make and receive calls in the same way as previously and at exactly the same cost as before , the only difference is that instead of plugging a phone into the socket on the wall , you plug the same phone into the phone socket on the hub , there is no change that warrants you being released from your contractual obligations 
If you were unhappy with the price ( which admittedly may be around 14% higher than when you signed up due to the CPI+3.9% increase in April ) why did you sign up in the first place  ?
‘caveat emptor’  as they say 

There is a difference between a land line and digital voice .
If you require excess to a phone for medical aid.
No phone in a power cut
Burglar alarm also needs a landline

ladruid

iniltous said:

As stated , it may prove to be a waste of time trying to argue that being moved onto DV in anyway changes the terms of service , you still can make and receive calls in the same way as previously and at exactly the same cost as before , the only difference is that instead of plugging a phone into the socket on the wall , you plug the same phone into the phone socket on the hub , there is no change that warrants you being released from your contractual obligations 
If you were unhappy with the price ( which admittedly may be around 14% higher than when you signed up due to the CPI+3.9% increase in April ) why did you sign up in the first place  ?
‘caveat emptor’  as they say 

This is in fact a change that would significantly disadvantage some people. For example, my land line is downstairs in the lounge, with a dedicated phone port and power socket, my router is in my workshop in the attic (3rd floor). I cant have the phone in my workshop as there are no spare power sockets, also I cant be running into the attic every time the phone rings, health and safety issue running up and down stairs... so if BT want a phone to be plugged in elsewhere than where it was before, it can disadvantage some people with location.

Also I turn my router of at night. Doesn't a digital voice line stop working if you turn off your router off? if so, that would be another significantly disadvantage as you are forced to keep a router on, costing both extra money, and hurting the environment...

On those grounds BT is in fact in breech of contract, and as I would deem the changes to be significantly disadvantage to me, its not up to BT to tell me if their change disadvantages me... If it went to the ombudsman, I am confident BT would lose.

littleboo

The providers responsibility ends at the master socket. The fact you have the router and the phone in different places means you are using your own internal wiring to achieve that, which is you choice and your responsibility. Likewise, switching off the router is your choice, they are designed to be left on. You say that you have a phones with a power outlet, so presumably you leave that powered on.If you re genuinely concerned about the environment,it is on balance advantaged by PSTN retirement, the power consumption is massively disproportionate. 

flaneurs_lobster

ladruid said:

For example, my land line is downstairs in the lounge, with a dedicated phone port and power socket, my router is in my workshop in the attic (3rd floor). I cant have the phone in my workshop as there are no spare power sockets, also I cant be running into the attic every time the phone rings, health and safety issue running up and down stairs... so if BT want a phone to be plugged in elsewhere than where it was before, it can disadvantage some people with location.

On conversion to Digital Voice BT can supply you with an adaptor that plugs into a power socket and allows your existing phone to link to your router for use as now. They can also provide a new handset that will do the same thing. 

Both options are free of cost.

iniltous

You can delve into the realms of fantasy and claim you switch your router off a night so DV won’t work  so that’s detrimental ( simply solution, don’t switch off or put DV onto divert to a mobile before hand  ) claim calling for medical help during a power outage ( so two highly improbable things at the same time ) is detrimental although it can be solved with a battery back up/uninterruptible power supply ( UPS) , burglar alarm suppliers are aware of DV and are mitigating against it ( most burglar alarms that make a call use mobile ,after all with a copper pair cut by the burglar your alarm isn’t making a call over PSTN anyway , and as stated the phone port of the SH2 can be interfaced with existing extension sockets , so they work, so all these detriments are not valid with regards to leaving a contract.
To be to your detriment in this case , and allowed to leave penalty free is if it costs you more that you were told , there is no difference in price , ergo no valid reason to be allowed to leave without ETC, thinking anything else is just nonsense 
Let the forum know how you get on with the regulator, I’m confident BT wouldn’t lose at all.

greyteam1959

In the event of a power cut Digital Voice will not work.
If you are like me & many others who have no mobile phone signal you are well stuffed.
BT's answer ?
Buy a UPS.

iniltous

So what  do you currently do if your copper pair line develops a fault that stops you making a call ?