BT WiFi disk non-return charge £50

eaustin

BT are threatening a £50 charge for not returning a disk. I’ve looked everywhere but can’t find it. Why would I have kept it? The charge seems unreasonable when they are probably going to dispose of it. 

Has anyone else received and paid this charge.

MyRealNameToo

eaustin said:

BT are threatening a £50 charge for not returning a disk. I’ve looked everywhere but can’t find it. Why would I have kept it? The charge seems unreasonable when they are probably going to dispose of it. 

Has anyone else received and paid this charge.

To use it with your new ISP and avoid having to pay for your own range extender or equivalent? No idea if it's possible with the BT Disks but certainly have used other ISPs kit with a new ISP in the past and saved myself money. 

Secondly, companies are now being fined unless they can evidence their recycling, having to write yours off rather than saying they had it back and either refurbished it for another customer or properly recycled it may have a direct cost plus there is the cost of having to write to you, chase you for return or payment etc which isnt free either. 

Browntoa

Equipment supplied is often heavily subsided as an enticement to sign up .

Sky TV follow a similar business model and requires return of equipment.

It is fair and reasonable, normally covered under the terms and conditions 

iniltous

eaustin said:

BT are threatening a £50 charge for not returning a disk. I’ve looked everywhere but can’t find it. Why would I have kept it? The charge seems unreasonable when they are probably going to dispose of it. 

Has anyone else received and paid this charge.

The  question ‘why  would I have kept it ?’ is irrelevant , you often see kit like this for  sale on auction sites for example, the fact is it was only loaned to you and is returned when you stop paying ‘rental’ for it , its value isn’t really relevant, as is if they recycle it or environmentally dispose of it …..as with all these things , they have the option to mark your credit file with a default if you don’t fulfil  the terms of the contract you had , you could presumably buy from an online action site (if they are valueless they shouldn’t cost much ) and return that one instead of the one you have mislaid 

eaustin

iniltous said:

eaustin said:

BT are threatening a £50 charge for not returning a disk. I’ve looked everywhere but can’t find it. Why would I have kept it? The charge seems unreasonable when they are probably going to dispose of it. 

Has anyone else received and paid this charge.

The  question ‘why  would I have kept it ?’ is irrelevant , you often see kit like this for  sale on auction sites for example, the fact is it was only loaned to you and is returned when you stop paying ‘rental’ for it , its value isn’t really relevant, as is if they recycle it or environmentally dispose of it …..as with all these things , they have the option to mark your credit file with a default if you don’t fulfil  the terms of the contract you had , you could presumably buy from an online action site (if they are valueless they shouldn’t cost much ) and return that one instead of the one you have mislaid 

Thanks, I’m sure it’s within their t&c’s, my badly made point is that I’ve been a customer for many years and I don’t remember a big warning telling me to keep a disc safe indefinitely.

Returning the router is fine but I think the charge related to the disc is unreasonable. Anyway I’ll give them a call and see if there’s any negotiation given how long i was a customer. 

matelodave

When I was with BT is was pretty clear in the T&C's that the router and discs were on loan and that they would make a charge (£50 per item if if remember) if they weren't returned. They did send a pre-paid bag to return their stuff.

SKY do it with their Q boxes, not sure about their routers as we aren't with them at the moment.

You may not agree, but you do need to check your T&C's and by signing up and using the service you then agreed to them, including either paying for or returning stuff that you "borrowed"

saajan_12

eaustin said:

iniltous said:

eaustin said:

BT are threatening a £50 charge for not returning a disk. I’ve looked everywhere but can’t find it. Why would I have kept it? The charge seems unreasonable when they are probably going to dispose of it. 

Has anyone else received and paid this charge.

The  question ‘why  would I have kept it ?’ is irrelevant , you often see kit like this for  sale on auction sites for example, the fact is it was only loaned to you and is returned when you stop paying ‘rental’ for it , its value isn’t really relevant, as is if they recycle it or environmentally dispose of it …..as with all these things , they have the option to mark your credit file with a default if you don’t fulfil  the terms of the contract you had , you could presumably buy from an online action site (if they are valueless they shouldn’t cost much ) and return that one instead of the one you have mislaid 

Thanks, I’m sure it’s within their t&c’s, my badly made point is that I’ve been a customer for many years and I don’t remember a big warning telling me to keep a disc safe indefinitely.

Returning the router is fine but I think the charge related to the disc is unreasonable. Anyway I’ll give them a call and see if there’s any negotiation given how long i was a customer. 

No harm in trying, but I imagine when you're leaving is when they least care about being nice to a customer, regardless of how long. so don't expect too much from this.. no one you speak to will be getting further profit or commission so has no reason to go off script. 

iniltous

saajan_12 said:

eaustin said:

iniltous said:

eaustin said:

BT are threatening a £50 charge for not returning a disk. I’ve looked everywhere but can’t find it. Why would I have kept it? The charge seems unreasonable when they are probably going to dispose of it. 

Has anyone else received and paid this charge.

The  question ‘why  would I have kept it ?’ is irrelevant , you often see kit like this for  sale on auction sites for example, the fact is it was only loaned to you and is returned when you stop paying ‘rental’ for it , its value isn’t really relevant, as is if they recycle it or environmentally dispose of it …..as with all these things , they have the option to mark your credit file with a default if you don’t fulfil  the terms of the contract you had , you could presumably buy from an online action site (if they are valueless they shouldn’t cost much ) and return that one instead of the one you have mislaid 

Thanks, I’m sure it’s within their t&c’s, my badly made point is that I’ve been a customer for many years and I don’t remember a big warning telling me to keep a disc safe indefinitely.

Returning the router is fine but I think the charge related to the disc is unreasonable. Anyway I’ll give them a call and see if there’s any negotiation given how long i was a customer. 

No harm in trying, but I imagine when you're leaving is when they least care about being nice to a customer, regardless of how long. so don't expect too much from this.. no one you speak to will be getting further profit or commission so has no reason to go off script. 

Exactly this , as an ex customer your have no negotiating power , your ‘killer’ card of ‘I’m leaving’ has already been played, there is no reason whatsoever for them to play nice , however anecdotally some seem to get goodwill gestures that seem unduly generous, so no harm in trying , just spare the outrage if you don’t get any concession.

TheNorthStar

It's nice to see that BT are acting responsibly for the landfill they create. Probably cheaper to buy some off eBay and return those.

savergrant

iniltous said:

eaustin said:

BT are threatening a £50 charge for not returning a disk. I’ve looked everywhere but can’t find it. Why would I have kept it? The charge seems unreasonable when they are probably going to dispose of it. 

Has anyone else received and paid this charge.

The  question ‘why  would I have kept it ?’ is irrelevant , you often see kit like this for  sale on auction sites for example, the fact is it was only loaned to you and is returned when you stop paying ‘rental’ for it , its value isn’t really relevant, as is if they recycle it or environmentally dispose of it …..as with all these things , they have the option to mark your credit file with a default if you don’t fulfil  the terms of the contract you had , you could presumably buy from an online action site (if they are valueless they shouldn’t cost much ) and return that one instead of the one you have mislaid 

If they are for sale on ebay aren't the sellers risking £50 fines when they're asked to return them too?
AFAIK the 'on loan to you and must be returned when you leave' principle is fairly recent. Partly due to increasing production costs and partly due to reducing the amount of waste electricals binned.

morhen

If it's the BT whole home disc, you could buy them outright from BT.  I currently have three which are mine.  It's not unreasonable for someone to try and sell them on ebay if they no longer need them.  Whether you would end up with one someone owned themselves, or an 'on loan' disc, that is another question