Alternatives to BT - 5 Tips to save money

Looking at tips for BT customers to save money in 2009. With 12 million BT customers bracing themselves for escalating bills, Lisa Bachelor from the Guardian Newspaper looks at alternative services and the savings to be made.

Frustrated customers of BT have been venting their anger after the telecoms giant announced it will be putting its prices up for the second time this year. Call costs rose in April 2009 and will do the same again on 1 October 2009, making calls 34% more expensive than they were in the first quarter of this year.

From October 2009, they will be charged at 5.25p per minute, up from 3.91p at the beginning of the year. The set-up fee - the cost of connecting a call - will rise to 9p, up from 6.85p in January. The move will hit 12 million of BT's 14 million customers. Only those on its £4.95-a-month Anytime package will not be affected. To compound the bad news, no official announcement was made; customers only read of the change in the magazine that BT sends out with its bills.

Internet users were the first to express their anger last week. "They've always been a rip-off. Compared with other country's phone charges, BT was usually double," said one disgruntled guardian.co.uk/money visitor. "My advice is, run away from BT while your legs can still carry you," said another contributor.

But is it possible to run away from BT? Absolutely. And even if you decide to stay, there are ways to cut your bills. Here's how.

OPTION 1: Switch to another provider

Gone are the days when you had to stick with BT as your landline provider. A number of other companies, including TalkTalk, the Post Office and Madasafish, will take it over.

As well as offering cheaper line rental, these companies are also cheaper for connecting a line in a new home.

Madasafish - whose parent company is owned by BT, so it's not a total escape - charges £115 for line installation compared with BT's £122.50.

• Line rental is £9.78 a month;
• BT charges £12.50 (or £11.25 by direct debit).
• It also offers free weekend and evening calls to UK landlines.

Homephonechoices.co.uk has what it claims is the cheapest stand-alone line rental deal in the UK.
The Primus Home Phone Saver package offers free evening and weekend calls to UK landlines and costs £9.49 per month for line rental. It is available until the end of August 2009.

New mother Helen Thomas, 33, switched from BT a few weeks ago. "I noticed the change in prices in April, but it took me a while to get round to switching," she says. The fundraising manager, mother to 14-month-old Luca, ended up moving her landline rental to YourCalls at £10 a month. "I only really use it for broadband so I just wanted cheap deal," she says.

Some readers have recommended The Phone Co-op, a member-owned ethical company. Line rental is £11.65 per month (direct debit £10.67) and it installs a new line for £113.85. Alternatively, you could switch to cable with Virgin Media. This won't be your cheapest bet if you just want a phone line, but it is much more cost-effective for those who also want broadband and/or TV.

If you want broadband on the cheapest deal, TalkTalk includes free evening and weekend national calls, plus anytime local calls, for just shy of £20 a month.

If you are moving, check your contract. You could be liable for cancellation fees.

OPTION 2: Ditch the landline

Who needs one? That's the opinion of a growing breed who just use their mobile. If you only make a few calls, a cheap sim-only deal (you buy a sim card to put into an existing mobile phone) will offer you plenty of free texts and talk minutes. O2's Simplicity deal is £14.69 a month, on a one-month contract, with 300 free call minutes and 600 free texts.

If you want broadband too, get a dongle to insert in your computer to allow you to surf the net. Packages start at about £15 a month, but will typically tie you in for 18 months to two years.

OPTION 3: Kick out those extras

Make sure you are not paying for things you don't use. BT will charge you for its 1571 voicemail if you don't make at least two calls a month. It is also cheaper to opt for paperless billing and to pay by direct debit. With BT, this reduces monthly line rental from £12.50 to £11.25.

OPTION 4: Stick with BT ... but avoid its costliest call charges

You might be perfectly happy with BT but unhappy at its call charges. One cunning way around this is to rent your line from BT but dial a prefix before making your most expensive calls. These work by cutting the cost of international and mobile calls.

There are more than 20 companies offering this service, all with different rates, and include: Dialwise.co.uk
Pennyphone.co.uk
Ratebuster.co.uk

OPTION 5: Move to BT ... but avoid its installation fee

OK, so you thought you were reading this article to find ways around paying BT. But, if you are about to move house or need a second phone line, it might actually be worth your while (at least financially) signing up - before the end of September, that is.

BT has an offer it doesn't publicise: you get a new line for free - saving you its £122.50 installation fee - if you sign up to an 18-month contract and make 30 chargeable calls in every three-month period.

Sourced from guardian Newspaper [Link]

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BT Free Broadband Fraudster

A worrying complaint here regarding a BT fraudster offering free broadband to a customer. If anyone else has had a similar experience, please comment below. This complaint along with all other BT complaints will be put into a report and sent for investigation. If you have a BT Complaint and want to share it and have it included in the report, please email us.

To whom it may concern,

Way back early spring this year I received a telephone from one of your delightful salesman. I explained that at the time I was with Talk Talk. Also so was my broadband with Talk Talk. We had a long depth conversation and concluded with the fact I would save money on my monthly bills by returning to BT.

He said that I would received 'free' broadband and that the 0845 numbers would be included in the 1 price package. He explained that it also would be cheaper for me when I make a phone call from b.t to mobile numbers. In all I was very pleased, but would need to discuss further with my husband. He phoned back in a few days time and I confirmed with him to make sure I had heard him correctly that I got all information correct. Unfortunately, he seemed so thorough that I mistakenly threw away the information I had written down with his name on.

However, after we received the first bill we expected payment to come out by direct debit. However, this did not happen and was sent a red bill. I telephoned your billing department and after spending ages on the automated system was told it was their mistake and apologised.

However, we later came home from holiday in May to find that we was 'cut off'. I was furious. Spent again ages on the telephone to find out again it was a mistake and would be connected 'free of charge' and compensated for the trouble.

Eventually, on 18th June 09 £22.00 was taken out of our account. However, to my misfortune I did not realise that at the time and a man claiming to be from BT telephoned me to say that I would be cut off unless I gave my bank card details. He really upset me, and as we had trouble with BT unfortunately I believed him. Being so upset my husband telephoned the billing department and would told otherwise as he knew money had been taken by direct debit from our account.

The next day we discovered from our bank that it was a fraudster. I assumed it was an either a b.t employer on the 'fiddle' or ex employer as he seemed to know certain details about our account!

Not long after we received a bill dated 8th July with a 'one-off charge' saying late payment of £7.50 and re-connection charge of £11.50. I was fuming and tried desperately to telephone your billing department.

When I finally got through to customer services, they said they couldn't comment as the system was down. I asked them to telephone me when her system was back in operation as I did not want to go through the long ordeal of 25 minutes getting through to another operator to no avail! especially as it was BT fault in the first place!!! She was most unhelpful and refused point blank to telephone me back or pass any message on.

I have spent 2 hours or more on and off the phone to your negligence. Also not to mention the fact that we still have not been given 'free' broadband as promised by your sales rep. way back in the spring time!!! At first I recommended your company back to b.t, but since have had to say otherwise. I feel really cheated and angry not to mention how upsetting the whole ordeal has been.

I hope all can possibly be resolved as soon as possible. I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards
MRS D.E WALTON

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Long and amusing BT broadband complaint

This BT broadband complaint was emailed us today and has to be the longest complaint received to date.

Dear Sir

After reading some of the other complaints on your site I don't feel so alone but will share my experience with you.

About 2 months ago I started to suffer from my router resetting itself every so often which was annoying me to say the least so I logged my first call to Broadband "support" I told them the router was faulty.

First thing they wanted to do was for me to change my micro filter which I did but to no avail so they wanted to do a line check to make sure everything was ok and they would call me back within 24 hours.

No call back so I called them. Strangely I had to explain the whole situation again and change the micro filter again and they said they would do a line check and call me back within 24 hours. They did! but there was nothing wrong with the line so they asked me to try changing the micro filter.

He asked if it worked and I told him that the net was on but would turn off very shortly and he told me that as it was working the problem was fixed and if it happened again I should call back. So i called back after 15 mins when it went wrong again. After explaining the situation again i was asked to change my micro filter.

I said "no we tried that" so I was told that they would need to do a line test to make sure everything was okay. I said "no, we did that as well" so I was asked to hold why she spoke to someone else. Line went dead!!!! Called back but after explaining myself again I was told they needed to do a line test!!!

I made 8 of these calls before I told them that I KNOW the router is faulty and this model (210) is well known for this problem and surprisingly he told me he knew all about the problems but there is nothing he could do as I would have to order a new one. He gave me a number but it was wrong so I had to go through to another department who knew nothing of my problems but would let me have a new router but it would cost me.

I wrote and complained. Guy called to say I could have a free replacement and told me to call sales. I did but sales said they knew nothing and would speak to manager. No free router but as I was "out of contract" if I start as a new customer I can have faster internet a home hub and a reduction of £2.97 a month. Ok I said. Waited a week and nothing.

Called back and yet again there was no record of this. So we set it up all again. Start day would be last Wednesday. Waited in all day for hub but nothing happened so I called back. Was told the hub was not ordered and the nice lady apologized profusely for someone forgetting to order it and said it will be here Friday. Waited in most of the day but nothing so called back and this is a summary of our conversation.

Me: Hi my Hub didn't come
BT: Yes it did, our records show it was delivered at 11.30
Me: so where did the postie put it
BT: is it in an outhouse?
Me: no
BT: Hold on please

15 mins on hold

BT: hello sir, is there anywhere else it could have been delivered?
Me: surely only to the account holders address??
BT: No. have you lived anywhere else in the last year
Me: No, but if it has been delivered somewhere else please tell me and I will go pick it up.
BT: sorry sir we cannot tell you that but we will have one sent out again for Monday. Sorry.

Okay today is Monday but I still have no Hub but I did get an email saying it will be delivered tomorrow!!! You couldn't write this stuff.

And to make things worse I had a 4mg connection 2 weeks ago and I could watch anything online providing my router was ok but this week with my new 8mg connection I am downloading at 400k?? It took my 90mins to upload a 12mg clip to YouTube. Its just got silly.

Am I just having the world longest nightmare or is this real?? I just cant explain why it should be so hard just to say "yes sir these router are faulty after 2 years so we will send you a new one. Job done.

I could have brought a replacement for £5 on Ebay but there is no way I am letting them away with this humiliation.

Thanks for listening

Laura xx

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BT Poor Service Complaint

Thanks to all who have sent in BT customer service complaints to this website so far. As promised, these complaints will be complied into a report and sent for investigation. Here is the latest complaint I have received regarding poor BT customer service ...

Hello everyone,

Well I have to say that I am also leaving the BT service due to poor customer service...the long saga goes on..

12 months ago, I could not put my BT broadband and my phone plugged in together because as soon as both were plugged in together, the phone line went dead. I duly contacted the BT to tell them of this, bearing in mind that both the broadband and the telephone worked perfectly when plugged in separately and I followed all the advise etc but it still did not work.

I even bought myself a new adsl filter and tested different phones all in vain so I gave up because I just couldn't cope with BT customer service call centre. However I tried again and swapped my phone provider because of this but still kept the BT broadband. I spoke with my phone provider who said my phoneline is working and I needed to speak with BT engineers, re the exchange or filter...

I did so and they said that my phoneline is not provided by BT and you guessed it...they put the phone down on me having been passed around to various 'customer service representatives' and put on hold etc

So somehow I got an email through one the sites and emailed what turned out to be the BT CEO office detailing all of the above. I was then emailed by the assistant to the BT CEO who said that he will get on to it. However after much waiting and emails, I was told that the BT had to be notified of a fault by my phone provide.

So I did contact my phone provider who said that my line is working and that I will be charged because there is no fault on the line, and they said that BT need to sort this out via the exchange or the filter system or at the very least send out the engineer,which you would think they would offer to do?

So i'm still here, my last email to the assistant to the CEO was yesterday informing him of the above and notifying him of my departure from BT, I am completely exhausted by the pure arrogance of this company........it seems that that are determined to destroy what was many years ago a top notch company, and yes I'm willing to pay a little extra for good competent workers , who will not conspire to put me out of business!

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BT Telephone Line for New House Complaint

A BT Complaint regarding poor customer service when all that was required was a telephone line set up for a new house.

Dear Sir

All we wanted was a telephone line at our new home ! When I originally called the home move department to tell them I was moving I was told there would be no problem - I was even given the new number for the new house. Then, after moving and wondering how this two week transfer progress was progressing, I was told it had been canceled. I had to call them to find that out - they would have just left me wondering and waiting !

With no BT line I have no broadband (I'm with AOL broadband) and I work from home. Hours of calls later and goodness knows how much on mobile phone bills, and pay as you go mobile internet, I was told an engineer had to come out to switch the line on and that he couldn't come out for another 3 weeks and it would cost me £122 ! Sky came out within a week, fixed a new satellite dish to the roof of my house, drilled holes through walls and connected my TV service all for FREE !

Two weeks ago, BT told me that I had a credit balance of £60 and that they would send this to me within 5 days. Upon calling them today, they tell me I wont get my money for 21 days ! AND after living in my new home for 4 weeks, I now discover that BT haven't even switched the line off at my old house !

Their customer service has, at best, been useless, they have lied and been rude to us and we have been customers for years, all I wanted was a phone line - is that too much to ask?

I'm writing them a complaint letter today although I doubt very much whether I'll even get a reply.

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BT Broadband Complaint Warning

A BT broadband complaint from a very unhappy customer!

Dear Sir,

I have just canceled my broadband service after paying BT over £70 per month for 20 months. This equates to over £1,400 and I have hardly used the service for the past 6 months.

BT have now told me that they intend to charge a £25 cancellation fee. I asked the operator what the charge was for and she replied that a BT engineer would need to go to the exchange to physically disconnect the line.. does anyone know if this is true?

The broadband department of BT appears to be entirely separate from the division that manages the physical infastructure of phone lines and rental. My understanding is that you just need a land line to run any broadband service and I would advise people to avoid these hidden costs by simply not choosing BT as their broadband provider in the first place.

In terms of this charge - it was not part of the T's and C's when I first signed up and I have no intention of paying it - I have canceled my monthly DD as a result.

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British Telecom, more like India Telecom

Many of you with BT Complaints have customer service complaints ranging from getting orders canceled to this particular complaint who is sick to death of phoning India when he wants to deal with someone who speaks English...

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to inform you of your appalling BT customer service programme you have. I find it difficult that you call yourself British Telecom, may I suggest you change your name to INDIA telecom, least as a customer I could choose not to use your service.

I am a BT share holder and am disgusted that a company I respected as being a beacon of good British values, respect for customers has gone to the “DOGS”. On 6th July and again on 16th july I had a problem with my BT internet service I was connected to a INDIAN call centre where I was treated with little empathy, lack of understanding about my culture, which I find discriminating.

What follows, was someone who followed a script without diverting away to my ACTUAL needs as a customer. I had little understanding of what they were asking, this making communication awful. I pay a premium to be with BRITISH Telecom and my family and friends are with you thanks to my praise of your service over the years. What has happened? You are now ranked in the bottom three companies for customer service in the UK. My internet was up and running for a total of one week before the same happend again. Would it be possible for BT to employ British people whom maybe able to help me. After my year contract has ended I will be moving to www.fast.co.uk where they only have British support for British customers.

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New BT Phoneline and Broadband Complaint

Yet another complaint sent in about BT Customer Services whilst setting up a new BT phoneline and broadband.

Dear Sir

I rang to order a new phone line and broadband; I've always been with BT and the service has always been good, so choose the one I knew.

First Call 28 June: "Yes, you can have a new line, it'll be xxx hundred pounds for connection and broadband will be added one week later."

Second Call : "Ah but sorry, you can't have broadband until your phone line is connected, so we'll have to cancel your broadband order. However we have a date for Openreach to intall, 14 July."

I asked if this could be earlier and was told it could, so the order was changed. Then it was cancelled and the original date of 14 July was quoted along with my new telephone number, which appeared on the tracking information on BT.com.

Got a text to say everything was confirmed for 14 July am. It's over two weeks from the original order, but I accepted that I'd have to wait.

14 July am came, then pem came so I rang. "It'll be connected at midnight" I was told.

Midnight came...Nothing! I called the next morning to ask what had happened was replied with "Oh there seems to be a problem, I'll get the engineer to call you today".

Today is now yesterday and this morning, still no engineer, no connection, no explanation. So I rang again. 'The order has been cancelled". I was told, again. After pushing and talking to the supervisor's supervisor, that the number BT allocated to me was given to someone else and that 'the back office' failed to contact Openreach to change the number, so Openreach cancelled the order.

At the first level of communication, I was just told the order had been cancelled. 'But I haven't cancelled anything", I explained. Two steps up the supervisor ladder we find the order and I'm told that this was an error in the BT back office.

I'm then told I have to place another order. Since I haven't been responsible for cancelling the order, I can't for the life of me see why!!

So now, I have a new date for my phone line to be connected, remember for xxx hundred pounds, is 24 July.

And I have to ring the number already allocated to me and apologise to the people there, because I've already given the number out.

Complain to BT. "There are no complaints systems in place". I'm told. Thank god for this BT complaints website!

Thank you, I feel better....

What a disaster!

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BT Basics Complaint

This is a BT complaint regarding the customer services a disabled customer received when requesting to join BT Basics

Please find the e-mail drafted below. I called the 0800 800 150 number on BT.com and guess what they have NO e-mail complaint procedure!! It's all very shoddy indeed and I already wish I didn't have to rely on BT. So if you could forward this would be most greatful!

Dear Sirs

I am writing to complain about the service I received when requesting to joining BT as a new customer under BT basics. Initially all the help I received was positive and that I would be connected on my moving day 15th July.

When on the 14th I rang to request that the line be put on sooner if possible. I was told no and that I wouldn't be connected until my appointment Friday AM.

My response was . . ."what Appointment???"

Nobody saw fit to advise me of this appointment despite them having my mobile number or arranging this on application.

I am now going to be without my phone for a week and as a disabled person on the most minimum of benefits I can ill afford to rely on my PAYG mobile (plus I do not even know if I can get mobile coverage).

This is a very poor indeed and even before a service has even been installed.

I would appreciate your response on this matter.

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Mobile users should share broadband tax, says BT

BT has called for the government's proposed £6-a-year broadband tax to be extended to mobile phone users in a move that could reduce the size of the tax. In his Digital Britain report last month, the communications minister, Lord Carter, proposed a 50p-a-month levy on every fixed-line phone to meet the bill for getting the next generation of super-fast broadband networks to 90% of UK households by 2017.

But it is not only fixed-line companies that would be able to bid for some of the estimated £1.5bn that would be raised by the tax. Mobile phone operators would also be able to use the money. As a result, BT's director of industry policy and regulation, Emma Gilthorpe, said yesterday that if mobile, wireless-based operators did go through that bid process then "the government should consider the opportunity to widen the base for the tax and possibly reduce the amount that each individual household pays".

BT reckons it is incongruous that the levy only applies to fixed-line phones even though mobile phone companies and other businesses that want to use wireless solutions can bid for the cash for next-generation networks.

Carter proposed the new broadband tax because there is little chance of the market being able to make an economic case for pushing fibre-optic networks and other super-fast broadband services beyond about 60% of the population. With the Treasury unwilling to make any money available from general taxation, the telephone levy aims to plug the funding gap.

BT has already announced plans to invest £1.5bn over the next three years on a super-fast network but it will only reach four of every 10 homes. Virgin Media, meanwhile, is already offering broadband at 50Mb a second – the sort of speed expected from next-generation networks – but it covers only about half of the country.

Gilthorpe's comments, at a Westminster Media Forum debate on Digital Britain, came as BT announced that it is speeding up the rollout of its next-generation network.

Having originally planned to have about half a million homes connected by next March, it yesterday said it would have 1.5m homes connected by next summer. By the end of this summer Virgin Media will have completed its next-generation network plan, putting its 50Mb a second service within reach of 12.5m homes.

But there are fears within the industry that Carter's broadband tax could fail as it would require a new finance bill, which is unlikely to appear before next March. By then the government will be focused on a forthcoming general election and a new tax on consumers is unlikely to be a vote-winner.

Sourced from Guardian Newspaper [Link]

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BT Broadband Contact goes horribly wrong

This BT complaint regards a catalog of customer service errors resulting in incorrect broadband billing and this customers phone line being cut off. Like so many of you who have experienced this type of service from BT, contacting anyone senior enough to complain to is impossible so this website is putting all complaints into a report and sending not only to BT for investigation, but also Watchdog and other complaint organisations.

Dear Sir

I would like to add my name to the long list of people already disgusted with BT.
I am currently being pursued by Credit Solutions Ltd who have been appointed BT to recover a debt relating to a broadband contract that went wrong. I have a colleague who had previously fallen out with BT resulting in his phone line being cut off. This was another dispute where a neighboring farmer knocked over the telegraph pole and BT subsequently split the cost of repair between several neighboring houses. My colleague refused to pay and was cut off.

We wanted him to have a land-line for business purposes so that he could use broadband and be easier to contact, so I persuaded him to let me pay BT (through the company) to reconnect the phone and provide a broadband service. They were supposed to send all bills to me at the company address. They managed to send the first bill to this address and then returned to sending them to the old address or not at all (I'm not sure which).

Anyway, they then cut the phone line off again because it had not been paid for even though they had not sent me any of the bills. They also failed to supply the necessary dial up information to be able to use the broadband service that we had agreed to pay for. Then they cut off the broadband service as well, which did not matter since we had never been able to use it.

They have now managed to send bills to me again for payment (including another reconnection charge) but they are also pursuing me for payment for the broadband service that we have never used. I have written letters to BT and to the debt collection firm and spent several dreadful hours on the phone to Mumbai without making any progress.

I am tempted to pay the outstanding debt just to be rid of the argument and to avoid bad credit rating for me, but I would also like to get hold of someone in BT to complain properly to. Do you know of any lines of communication with BT that actually work ?

Regards

Ben Wilcox

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BT Customer Services - Accent problems and difficult to understand

Here is a complaint regarding BT customer services and finding difficulty in understanding them.

Dear Sir

This morning I had cause to ring BT Customer Services. My reason for ringing was that some weeks ago my neighbour had an e-mail address for Sutton in the Elms Neighbourhoodwatch. This was set up so that two or three of us could access this. Unfortunately when I give my e-mail address to whoever requires it the return e-mails come with the To:-SUTTON IN THE ELMS NEIGHBOURHOODWATCH. My neighbour has since closed this account because of this problem but they still arrive to me as described above.

When I finally got through to Customer Services after waiting in a queue the person I was speaking to had an extremely strong accent, not an English or Scottish accent but maybe Asian or South African. I have had a hearing defect since the age of five; I am now 65 and wear a hearing aid, even so I have a difficult time with accents especially strong ones. After 10 minutes of trying to help me I had to cut the call short as I was getting particularly frustrated as I just could not understand what the lady was saying. Why do large companies employ people with strong accents when they have to deal with the general public and especially with people who have hearing problems; I even know people who have trouble with accents and they do not have hearing problems.

I think it would be a good idea to employ people with a clear English accent to deal with people such as me with hearing disabilities and there are many of us in the UK and I know this as fact after working for 16 years as secretary to 2 consultants in the Department on Ears, Nose & Throat at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

So after approximately 15 minutes on the phone my problem wasn't solved and I am reluctant to call again as I really don't want to go down the same route with another person with a strong accent.

I would welcome your advice please.

Yours sincerely
Mrs Penny Savage

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A long BT Internet complaint

This BT customer services complaint regards BT Internet and the lack of service received.

Dear Sir

I’ve been with BT (British Telecom) for years, 8 years in fact! And while most people tell me BT are:

a) Incompetent (see all the BT customer service complaints received) and

b) Essentially cost twice as much as everyone else

My internet service has actually been “up” for nearly eight of those years (that I can tell) so I’ve been (perhaps stupidly) happy to pay a premium. While there have been occasions when things have gone horribly wrong (like the last time they erroneously cancelled an order and disconnected me) I think the final straw has arrived.

Let me explain. Apparently sometime in June, while I was away on vacation and my house was completely empty, someone called BT and told them I was “moving”. From what I can tell and they can tell me, all that the person had to provide was my phone number and address (which I guess is available on some system somewhere), then suddenly, a few weeks later all my phone lines and broadband/internet access was cancelled. No notice. No SMS. No emails. No letters. No correspondence of any kind. Just disconnected.

While immensely frustrating (given the effort it sometimes take to get connections), the fact that it seems anyone can basically disconnect anyone’s BT phone in the UK without identification, confirmation or correspondence is frightening. Worse, for those using Sky, Virgin et al that also depend on BT landlines, they too can be disconnected, almost overnight.

Obviously there’s something wrong with the process for disconnecting and/or moving house, and sure, mistakes do happen, but the customer service (until I found someone in the UK that took the time to look into it thoroughly) was horrible.

After 4 hours on the phone (international calls in the middle of the night), going through a variety of call centers (mostly in non-English speaking countries), they successfully determined that it was in fact all my fault, the reasons being.

1. The account was not paid – even though it was on “direct payment from my bank account”. Pretty weird as they eventually had to admit that last paper and internet statement from the previous 10 days showed £0.00 balance owing (and the account has never been negative!)

2. It was definitely me who told them that I wanted to move – but then they couldn’t confirm my new address to me… funny since I apparently requested it!

3. My internet connection and phone was actually fine – even though when I/they called my phone it said it was disconnected!

4. I’d given my account number and/or permission for someone to cancel my account – errr. no.

In short… there was no coherent story as to what happened and no one could tell me why. The stories actually seemed to get more and more convoluted with each new person I spoke with – and more frustrating. Ultimately it soon became clear that they themselves where confused as well.

The Proposed Solution: Sign up for another 18 month contract, with a new phone number (as that is their current sales deal) – “it could take a few weeks to reconnect”. Once that was reconnected they could then reconnect my internet “in a few weeks/10 working days”. Right… someone, somewhere screwed up and I have to pay… errr… no way.

What amused me the most was that while “every phone conversation was recorded”, when I asked them to compare my voice to the caller that requested my disconnection their response was “it is going to take a while”. How long was a while? Well… “several months”. Of course “I could wait if I liked, or have a new connection/contract started immediately”.

After being disconnected three times and starting the conversation from scratch with each of the 8 or so people I talked with, I finally managed to find someone in the UK that could get things reconnected in a few days – probably won’t have the same phone number, but I could be reconnected.

To my friends that have told me time and time again that have switched from BT… I now completely agree with you – the BT customer service was simply beyond belief (until I found that one person… and spent over a $100 on phone calls).

If it was only possible to use a non-BT provider where I live (without also requiring a BT account), I too would switch.

Sourced from Brianoliver.wordpress.com [Link]

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BT Credit Card - Rate Changes

BT has rung the changes to its credit card but customers should be cautious. The card has some worthwhile features like discounts on BT bills, 0% on balance transfers for 13 months and 0% on purchases for three months.

But only those who use the card for one purpose only - either to pay off debt or to trim their BT bill - will benefit. Anyone taking advantage of all the offerings could end up stung with interest charges.

Andrew Hagger, of Moneynet.co.uk, says: "The discount on BT bills, at 1p for every £1.50 spent, is better than the cashback on most other cards, working out at 0.66%, compared to an average 0.5%. If someone spends £500 a month on the card and pays that off in full they will get £40 off their BT bill over a year.

"But that could be wiped out by interest charges of 16.9% after 90 days."

The order of repayments means the cheapest debt is paid off first, leaving more expensive transactions on the card until you've repaid the balance transfer in full.

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A lengthy BT Broadband complaint

A BT Broadband complaint sent in today which highlights customer service failings and service let down on a grand scale....

Dear Sir

I am writing to complain about the service received from BT. From day one, the service received has been awful. We waited 2 weeks longer than expected for our broadband service to be switched on, we were told there were faults on the line, we were promised times and dates that the service would be switched on, none of which were kept to.

In February of this year, we moved address. Initially we stopped the service as we were moving to a temporary address. We then called you at the beginning of April to get the phone line and broadband set up. We were told that you had never stopped the service at the previous address and that we had a large bill outstanding. Finally you admitted that you had made a mistake and that the bill was incorrect. At the end of April / beginning of May, we finally had the problem with our bill sorted out (or so we thought).

We still had the problem of having no broadband service, our phone line was connected as promised (congratulations, this is the only thing your useless organisation has managed to get right so far, you must be so proud). So we contacted your help(less) desk, who could not really understand English, let alone speak it. They explained that there was a problem with the line, then that there wasn't a problem on the line, then that we were too far from the exchange (we live less than 50 metres from the exchange), then again that there was a problem on the line, then, finally, that BT hadn't bothered to actually request the set up of the broadband! We eventually agreed that the broadband would be connected within a week.

Guess what, it wasn't (I'm sure you are as surprised as me!). So I called again around the 23rd April, went through the same 'reasons' (or lies, as I like to call them) for not being connected and was told that it would finally be connected on the 30th April. I was understandably not happy with this (approx 3 weeks after you originally 'lied') and complained that this was simply not good enough. I was assured that it was an error from BT that meant my broadband order hadn't been set up correctly and that due to some tests you had to carry out on the line there was no physical way it could be connected before the 30th. I was unhappy, but so fed up of arguing with someone who couldn't understand me or speak English properly that I resigned myself to defeat.

Now, imagine my surprise when I returned home on the 28th of April and my broadband was magically working. I checked everywhere for sprites, leprechauns, unicorns, wizards and witches, but in the absence of any magical beings I came to the conclusion that your 'no physical way it could be connected before the 30th' was in fact another reason (lie).

I didn't phone up to complain about this, it seemed a waste of my life and at the end of the day I was finally a happy (in comparison with someone who has a life threatening disease AND problems with BT) customer.

Sadly, you were back to your old tricks soon enough. Despite my giving you DD details on at least 2 previous occasions, you persisted on sending me quarterly bills, again backdating them and trying to charge me for the period in which you were not actually providing me with any kind of service whatsoever (other than a very poor one!). I was quite rude to one of your staff and demanded to speak to someone in Britain.

I was told this wasn't possible, but finally I passed to someone called Vince, from Glasgow (although I did notice his accent was more Punjab than Paisley), he was very helpful, and in fairness had a grasp of English about as comprehensive as the average Scot, so I wasn't overly upset that BT had reasoned (lied) to me once again. 'Vince' eventually gave up arguing, once he realised he was wrong and agreed to wipe around £60 off the bill to make up for the period you were charging me when I received no service anyway - how kind! I gladly paid the money I owed and again gave my DD details.

This time, it appeared that BT weren't reasoning (lying) to me, I did indeed receive a new bill - paid as agreed and a letter stating that a DD had been set up. On later investigation, my bank corroborated the story, so definitely no reasoning (lying).

I was happy, again!

Until the evening of 5th July, when my broadband service vanished. I couldn't summon the energy to teach someone English that evening so I hoped the magical creatures might return overnight and fix any problem that had occurred. Sadly, it didn't happen this time.

So on the evening of the 7th July I called BT, using the number that was displayed on my forlorn looking laptop when I tried to access the internet. First reason (lie) from BT... the bloody number is wrong! The auto woman (who sounded refreshingly English) informed me that I could now call BT freephone, wonderful I thought! On reflection, this amounts to nothing but fraud, indeed I am now seeking legal advice to see if I can sue BT.

How many people call the technical helpdesk from the incorrect number displayed on your 'sorry our service is shit' message? I bet a fair few, (in fact, could you provide me with the numbers please?) every one of those people is charged for listening to a message which gives you a freephone number... why not just change the number I thought... of course, BT wouldn't make any money out of their service being down! So, please forward myself (and every other BT customer who has ever called this number) a cheque to repay the money charged due to your not being bothered to update a number. I am not joking. This is fraud.

Anyway, I digress. I called the aforementioned freephone number and after eternity someone answered and promptly asked for my telephone number (i had already confirmed on the IVR system that I wanted to talk about the number from which I was calling). I explained what the problem with and the lady on the 'phone kindly read through all her pre-prepared scripts in pigeon English.

Unsurprisingly after an hour of this, my connection was still not working. I had tried everything from turning it on and off (I knew at this point I was talking to a professionally trained and highly skilled technical operative) to unscrewing the socket from the wall and discovering much to the surprise of Miss Helpful, that I definitely don't have a test socket. (I knew this, but she insisted that I move my sofa, TV unit and entire bookcase half way across my living room to I could check anyway).

She then proudly declared that there must be a problem with my broadband connection (no shit, really?), not since Newton was struck by an apple has anyone had such an epiphany. She then asked me to replace my ADSL filter as these often break. Sadly on this occasion I didn't have one lying around (so annoying, they're normally everywhere, I must have thrown at least 20 away just yesterday). She did point out that I may have one in the original packaging, as BT realise their products are crap so send a spare for when the first invariably ceases to work. I pointed out that I had moved home twice since then (which BT know, see above) and had about as much chance of finding it as BT will have finding a reason (lie) to explain my problems so far.

I then enquired whether BT would kindly send me another ADSL filter. Miss Helpful placed me on hold and then confirmed that no, my ADSL filter which was expected to break, was out of it's warranty. She suggested I buy another one to see if this was the problem.

At this point I lost it, I went mad. I ranted for about ten minutes about how crap BT are and then demanded that my broadband was canceled. She seemed taken aback, and persisted on trying to fix the problem. I kindly explained that it didn't matter if she did fix the problem, I still wanted my broadband canceled. This culminated in verbal tennis to rival the 5th set of Federer Vs Roddick at Wimbledon 2009. I would say I didn't want it fixed, just canceled and she would reply with, 'I appreciate you frustration, I will try to find the fault'.

To add to this, I note that at the end of June 2009, BT were voted as having the 'worst customer service in Britain' (the telegraph). I also note that there is a website dedicated to BT complaints

So, to the crux of my letter, I would like the following:

• A full and detailed explanation of your recruitment policy for your call centres, I assume all your reasoners (liars) are highly trained professionals with recognised industry qualifications?
• A cheque to me and to every other BT customer who has called the fraudulent telephone number (see above).
• An explanation as to why your company purposely reasons (lies to), deceives and defrauds it's customers.
• A letter from 'Vince' giving me detailed directions to a shop of his choice within Glasgow city centre (just to prove he was really from Glasgow)
• A letter confirming the number of customers who have called the fraudulent telephone number.
• A letter detailing why BT is such a useless company, who are unable to keep simple promises and who let their customers down with a consistency that could rival the laws of physics.
• A copy of all information that BT hold on me, as I am allowed to request under the data protection act. If there is a charge for this, I suggest given the circumstances, you waive that charge.

If you are unable to provide a satisfactory answer to the above questions, please cancel my broadband service, keep my landline service and delete me from any mailing lists you may have.

In either case I also seek some financial recompense for the time, effort, stress and inconvenience your hopeless company has caused to myself and my 8 month pregnant wife. I would suggest something in the region of free broadband for a year, free phonecalls for a year and £1000 of vouchers for a popular high street department store (ask 'Vince' I am sure he could suggest a few in Glasgow). I also enclose the receipt for my ADSL filter, which I want refunded in full.

With kind regards,

Guy Lawrence

Please feel free to comment below with your BT Broadband experiences.

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Complaints as BT Broadband increases cancellation fee

BT Complaints coming in from customers who are leaving BT Broadband without applying for a Mac code and transferring to another provider are being charged £25 which has been raise from £18.11 with very little in the way of advertising.

This is applicable even if customers have worked through their minimum contract period BT's new terms and conditions now state:

“When you end your broadband service and do not request a migration authorisation code (MAC) or another recognised transfer process to move to another service provider, from 12 June 2009 you will have to pay a cease charge of £25.00.”

The only exception to this increased charge is if BT can no longer provide a service to the new address if the customer is moving home.

Although cease charges aren't uncommon among internet service providersl this recent fee increase seems to have slipped by most.

A BT spokesperson explained the reasoning behind the charge as being to “encourage customers to use the correct migration process and cover the technical costs incurred when this process isn't used.” It added: “The charge has increased in line with the costs of the work. This is the actual cost of the work required within an exchange to recover equipment and amend records.”

Let us know what you think about BT Broadband by commenting below.

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Appalling BT Customer Service!!!

This BT complaint highlights the appalling customer service BT is providing its paying customers and something must be done for improvements to be made. This complaint will be put into a report including all complaints received and sent for investigation along with all comments. Feel free to add your comments at the bottom of this post or email your complaint to camwinston(@ gmail dot com).

Dear Sir/Madam,

I hope someone will read this letter and act against it - on Friday 3rd July I got home to use my internet and when I tried to get on it said broadband down. So I rang BT and got through to a lady who advised that my account had been seized! I couldn't understand why this had been done due to the simple fact I pay by direct debit every month £22.50 and haven't missed one payment.

She said that I had missed two payments of £49. I said at the time of taking this out I asked BT to set me up a Direct Debit for the amount I owed every month, which I presumed was all done and didn't think I needed to pay anything else. She said as my account had been seized, I had more charges adding up to £149 on to my account. I couldn't believe it - I said that I wanted to stay with BT and continue. with my contract - So she said for me to pay the £49 and she would knock the seized charges of. So I gave her my card number and she took the payment off £49 and gave me a number to reopen my account.

5 Minutes after putting the phone down - she rang me back advising she had taken the wrong amount she had actually taken £149 out she told me to ring my bank and cancel payment ( by this time I was crying ) as had been trying to sort this out for a hour). I rang my bank and they said this was rubbish - if BT took a wrong payment they needed to refund me. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing!

After this I rang BT back - I got cut off twice and then got through to a gentleman who tried to tell me I hadn't got an account with BT broadband that I just had a phone line - after about ten minutes he found it - I told him what had happened and asked for a refund and told him what happened and he said he couldn't do anything ( I was really upset by this point). I asked to speak to his manager and he said that the manager would say the same - he said the only thing he could do was refund me but put it in my BT account so I was in credit! I said this wasn't any good as I needed that money back in my account as taking that amount made me go over drawn (to which I have been charged £20 for!!)

I then asked for his manager and spoke to Gurpreet who said he was very sorry and he would do a full refund and also drop the charges - this was at 8.45 and I had been on the phone for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Gurpreet said to go through to sales and re open my account- so he transferred me I went through and spoke to a lady who said that someone had there information wrong as my account hadn't been seized and everything was ok - however there was a technical fault with my broadband so she would transfer me to a technical man - I then was on hold for around 15 minutes and got through to technical after explaining my story for the 7th time he said "I am very sorry madam" there is no technical fault, your account has been seized which is why you cant use the internet. I just cut the guy off as I was shaking with nerves and crying so much - I just couldn't get over how bad BT customer services was - I had my account seized - money taken out incorrectly - cut of twice - spoke to 7 different people all giving me wrong information.

I left it for the night and rang back Saturday and got set up on another account and was told then I owed £110 i just give up - I really don't no what to do - I can't ring you guys any longer as everyone passes the book and the blame no one no's what they are doing - BT land line and BT broadband just seem like 2 completely different companies as no one no's about each of the separate account - and why did BT set up a dd for £22.50 and say this was the payment p/m and then cut me of and charge me.

I was very upset to the point where I had a panic attack as I really couldn't cope with no one helping. I know you have to pay for services but BT customer services is terrible and i still don't no what to do!! I have got my father to write to watchdog as I believe the have been getting a lot of complaints about bt and very bad customer services.

You go on about how you are loosing business well if you gave better customer service then maybe you would have customers. I need a reply - can someone please help me???

Lucie

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Transfer from Virgin Media to BT - Simple? No!

A complaint regarding a Virgin Media customer who had to transfer to BT broadband and telephone and the problems she encountered during this process. This complaint, along with all the BT customer service and products complaints this website receives will go into a report and sent for investigation.

Dear Sirs

I will try to be subjective within this document but to be honest I am hopping mad. My ex husband did not manage to get me as mad as BT has made me over the last 2 months. I used Virgin Media in my old home, they gave me good service for both phone line and broadband and I had no intention to change.

On moving to my new home 7 months ago however I discovered that the area was out of cable and I would need a BT line rental as a minimum. OK, although this was a pain, two bills etc I took my line with BT and had calls and broadband with Virgin.

Having lost a good job I set up a business from home and desperately needed a call divert system when away from the house. I rang BT and ordered it, they were delighted to take my order.
One week later I received a call to say that it was impossible for me to get call divert when they did not handle the calls. Then followed 2 weeks of arguing between BT and Virgin as to whether this was possible. The amount of conflicting information and the level of ‘infighting’ amongst them had to be seen to be believed.

Virgin then told me that they were taking over the lines in the area in 3 weeks so all would be ok. Stupid me believed them and waited the 3 weeks.

Virgin desperately tried to keep the call element but I eventually agreed with them that the phone calls would be transferred to BT and they would retain the broadband. I was reassured that they would contact BT and arrange everything. BT would then contact me to say when this would be done.

Early June I rang BT to check progress to be told they knew nothing of this order and in any case would not take instructions from a competitor. I was reassured by a lovely lady that the order was now placed on the system and although it would be a staggering 11 working days before this would happen all would be fine.

The 23rd June approached and I rang BT’s wonderful automated system that told me the order would be fulfilled as promised on the 23rd.

On the 1st July, the day I starting paying for an answering service to take my calls I rang BT to check all was ok. I was then told that although the calls were now going through them for some reason the call divert had failed. The lady assured me that someone would call me back that day and would tell me that the call divert was now active.

2 days later, today, I rang to be told that they had no idea why but the WHOLE order had not been actioned. My calls remained with Virgin and it would be another 13 days before they could make the change.

Needless to say that at this point I was almost apoplectic. I have never had such staggering, appalling, atrocious service in my life. They don’t deserve to have any business and if I could sack them on the spot now I would. I am now waiting for someone else to call me back.

Some of us are trying to make a living out here and are hugely reliant on our phone systems to ensure we can pay the mortgage. What is their problem? Where is the BT of yesterday that felt like your favorite Auntie?

I would like this complaint to be made formal and will be doing everything in my power to ensure it goes through their complaint system.

Karen James
Cambridge

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