bt late payment charges £40-£90

stacy9782

I have been late paying my bt bill a few times but they have put between £40 -£80 late payment charge on.  I have just gone to check my bill today, today is the day its due to be paid and they have already added a £40 charge, its not late yet

January late payment was £49.95

Feb £70

Sept £80.

Everytime i contact them to see why the charge is so high, they just tell me thats what it is, but if its a late payment charge then why is it different amount and they cant answer and i get passed around

My mental health hasnt been great hence being late to pay the bill and i know paying on time should stop these charges bit according to google bts late payment charge is £7.50

elsien

Why don’t you set up a direct debit, and then it gets paid anyway, regardless of your health/circumstances? 

£40 is excessive – have you checked your bill to make sure that they’re not charging for anything else as well?

If you’re not getting a proper answer from BT, and there’s nothing in their terms and conditions that clarifies it, make a complaint.

Mark_d

It does appear that BT's late payment charge is £7.50.  The amounts you quote are likely the overdue amount that you owe.

Why are you frequently late paying your bills?  Is there a reason you don't set up a direct debit to pay the entire outstanding amount each month?

matelodave

Its hard to know what you are being charged for without actually seeing your bills. I guess from the size of the charges that these are the bills for use as well as a possible late payment charge.
 
What sort of tariff are you one, is this your broadband charge and should it include phone calls - have you got included calls which usually only cover off-peak times or unlimited phone calls. Are you ramping up hours on the phone during peak times.

Even if you have an "unlimited" call package, you must hang up and redial before an hour is up otherwise the call costs per minute are horrendous - 28.81p a minute so just going ten minutes over the hour will cost you over £2. Some other numbers could cost even more so you need to understand who you are calling and how long you are on the phone

As others have said, if you set up a direct debit then you'll never be late and wont incur late payment charges but I guess its unlikely that the sort of charges you are quoting are actually just late payment charges (unless you aren't actually paying your bill every month when its due and you are accumulating charges). 

If you are really having a problem then perhaps the CAB could help you understand them (or a helpful trusted relative or friend)