Is BT ripping off elderly neighbour for phone and broadband?

Jonx999

I was just chatting to a neighbour - an elderly (80+) widow living on her own - and was shocked to learn that she's paying BT over £70/month for what sounds like a standard broadband and phone line package.  She isn't sure exactly which package she's on, but apparently she's been with BT for years and has never bothered to switch providers nor updated her contract so the price has simply crept up.

Looking at BT's prices online, she seems to be paying almost double what she ought to be paying!

I've offered to contact BT on her behalf to ask what's going on and try to get the price down.  Before I do, does anyone know what BT are like - are they likely to be sympathetic and offer her a significantly better contract?  (I should add that she doesn't want to switch to another provider because she uses the btinternet.com email address.)     

QrizB

Answering your headline question, no it's very unlikely that BT are ripping anyone off. Your neighbour is likely to be receiving the service they have contracted for, at the contracted price.

I think the key is:

Jonx999 said:

... she's been with BT for years and has never bothered to switch providers ...  she doesn't want to switch to another provider because she uses the btinternet.com email address.

If she is committed to BT, she should still be able to contact them and discuss options for a new contract. Once she has prices, she can decide which option to take.

Jonx999 said:

I've offered to contact BT on her behalf to ask what's going on and try to get the price down.

BT may decline to discuss her contract with you, for good data protection reasons. Your best bet might be for her to phone, than pass the handset over to you.

la531983

By all means they will put on something cheaper but I suspect you are whistling in the wind when it comes to a retrospective refund. Apathy isnt usually a genuine reason to do so.

And before you think her age is a good reason - I visited my grandad last night, mid 80s, recently widowed. Whilst in conversation I asked him how much he was paying BT for his internet. "A tenner a month" was the answer. So the elderly can certainly be savvy.

Veteransaver

Probably sold her the fastest package too which she is unlikely to fully utilise

bluelad1927

If she has an online BT account then you could assist in looking  at the options available to her. The user ID will be her email address

BoGoF

Does she qualify for the social tarrif - https://www.bt.com/broadband/home-essentials

Jonx999

la531983 said:

By all means they will put on something cheaper but I suspect you are whistling in the wind when it comes to a retrospective refund. 

I wasn't expecting a retrospective refund, I just wondered if they are likely to offer an existing customer a similar deal to what they offer new customers.

elsien

Does she want to stay with BT? Or would she be willing to look elsewhere?
Even if she doesn’t want to move it, finding an cheaper tariff and asking if they will match it sometimes works

Rob5342

Find out which package she is on. Full fibre and unlimited calls is £65 so she should be able to get a basic package for far less than that. If she drops the landline and switches to just having a mobile she could save quite a bit more too.

Have a look on uSwitch to see what she could save by moving elsewhere and use that as a bargaining tool.

It's a bad idea to use an ISP email address for this very reason. I'd suggest that she gets an outlook onez and then gradually switches over to it so she can move to another provider when her new contract expires.

M25

As you don't really know your neighbour's business it's better not to get involved. If she asks for help that might be different. I say might because does she have any family visitors? They may not be impressed.

If things go wrong you'll have to sort it.

brook_heather

BT will want to move her to Digital Voice if you sign up for a new contract - this may be fine if she has a single phone or DECT base station which can be plugged into the back of the SmartHub 2 which BT will send her (assuming she has an older router).  If she has phone extensions or a fall alarm etc. then you would need to look into how that would work with Digital Voice as well.