High bill with BT

Blasie

I’m with BT. (Fibre with Halo) I’m currently paying £59.95 a month for my Broadband package, unlimited minutes calling plan to any UK landline number or UK mobile day or night for £17.98 a month. I remember telling a BT customer agent a few years ago that I didn’t want the unlimited calls, but this has somehow crept back onto my bill. I have to have a very reliable broadband, but I don’t really need the landline.

I’ve asked around and a few people tell me they don’t pay half this, so my question is: is this bill reasonable? What are my other better, cheaper options?

oldernonethewiser

You will need to check what other broadband suppliers are avialble at your address.

You could start here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/compare-broadband-deals/best-broadband-in-my-area/

iniltous

The call plan is self selected, although you can also ask BT to do select it for you , you can go into your online account and change from PAYG to Unlimited , and vice versa , it’s unlikely that BT just put you on Unlimited Calls ( it would be criminal )

Halo is an add on that comes in a few variants, but obviously if you don’t want or need its benefits it’s unwise to agree to take it , unfortunately it does seem difficult to remove once you have it , but if you are paying around £60 and the unlimited calls value is around £20 then £40 for broadband and Halo (depending on which exact Halo variant) isn’t terrible….but if all you want is broadband, no phone , no extras , then (depending on the speed you want or can get ) £25-£30 ish is the what you should expect be aiming to pay BT …if you are outside any minimum term that’s should be easily achievable.

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863500#Comment_81863500

I've just moved (well, next week) from £41/mth FTTC 54Mbps to £29/mth FTTP 500Mbps at BT, so that £30/mth for basic broadband seems a good number to aim at.

JSmithy45AD

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863500#Comment_81863500

I read that as £59.95 a month for the Broadband and then an additional £17.98 for the calls but they do say it's a package at £59.95 so perhaps that's right. In which case that's not disastrous by any means. Of course if they're out of minimum term then they're due a call at least.

iniltous

@JSmithy45AD, You may be correct , TBH , £60 for broadband and Halo3+ is probably around what some will pay , plus £20 ish for calls (the OP doesn’t make it clear what they pay in total or what Halo version they have ) but re reading the post I think it probably is £59.95+ £17.98 …..£80 ish

If that’s what they pay, it is poor value considering they say they don’t make many calls and who knows if the Halo benefits are actually of any use to them (probably not in my estimation) but the solution is obviously, renegotiate to get rid of Halo and reduce telephony to PAYG or get rid of the telephone service entirely …that could easily save 50-60%.

Supatramp

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863591#Comment_81863591

I thought all BT customers were being switched to EE?

iniltous

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81864412#Comment_81864412

Very odd one this , it was the corporate vision to have EE as the BT Group consumer brand , and BT as the business brand so Consumer Division were gently pushing BT Consumer customers towards EE (it was never compulsory but heavy persuasion) then ( the rumour is ) that a change of very senior management and possibly new large shareholders indicated that they thought this was a stupid idea so the corporate vision was dropped, yet at a low level EE is still the better value (cheaper) and BT Consumer staff still offer switching to EE as a way to benefit from cheaper prices etc .

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81864576#Comment_81864576

TBH, I treat both brands as the same company, I'm not aware yet that they are competing with each other, and if a deal is offered by BT I'm not looking to see if EE could "better" it.

My broadband account/router is branded BT, the TV Box and service add-on is labelled EE.

Blasie

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863598#Comment_81863598

Yes, sorry I wasn't clear, total bill is 236 rounded up.

saajan_12

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81867988#Comment_81867988

Eh? Still a bit unclear 😂

Do you mean 68?