BT Cancellation Charges

[sophia]

Hey guys,

I'm in a situation with BT where they are trying to charge me £130.33 for cancelling my contract when I was not told of this charge! Anyone had the same prob - I asked for proof of the phone call and I received a poxy text document someone wrote - I'm now desperate to get this sorted!! I told them exactly what I wanted which was to activate the line to get Orange Broadband and they said that was fine!! Then I get this bill!!



Cheers,
Sophia

 

[iain187]

If they wrote a text document out for you then they have a recording somewhere to have copied from (in theory ), demand that, then act

 

[Rick]

So have they actually cancelled the line? Or activated it?

 

[sophia]

If they wrote a text document out for you then they have a recording somewhere to have copied from (in theory ), demand that, then act

I did ring them back as I paid £10 for the info! And they said they don't have the resources to send the actual call... When the guy on the phone listened to i he admitted that the cancellation charge was not mentioned but says in the text doc they did - they can write anything on paper! I want to hear the original!

Grrr...

They should give it me by right shouldn't they?? I paid for it as well! They let me do that!

 

[sophia]

So have they actually cancelled the line? Or activated it?

They activated the line and then I got Orange broadband and then I got a charge from BT for £130.33!

 

[Rick]

IIRC the charge for BT to reconnect a line is around £125 so it could be that this is what you've been charged for.

 

[sophia]

But surely this isn't right if I explained exactly what I wanted and that I just needed an active line to get my broadband?? I don't think it costs anything if the line has been activated before - we aren't the first people to live in our apartment...

They're so reluctant to help...

 

[Rick]

But surely this isn't right if I explained exactly what I wanted and that I just needed an active line to get my broadband?? I don't think it costs anything if the line has been activated before - we aren't the first people to live in our apartment...

They're so reluctant to help...

Not necessarily. More often than not they'll charge to get the line reconected even if all the hardware is installed in the property. Did someone from BT have to come out to get it hooked up? It sounds like this is what has happened tbh

 

[sophia]

No they didn't. It just became active with a few days... Jst a phone call took place...

 

[box car willy]

I don't understand what you're on about.... you're not making yourself very clear

 

[cli0 172]

if you needed to activate a line to your house in order that the line can be used for broadband there will have been a fee for this ,i know for a new connection is 124.99 ,if there has been a line in before i think this can be reduced but you would probably have to query this ,however costs etc will have been discussed when you placed your order further to your confirmation ??

 

[sophia]

Basically I wanted Ornage broadband in my place and Orange said I needed a active line and BT is obviously who you need to deal with. I told BT that I needed a line for my broadband... They said this was fine and I went ahead. I then got a bill for £130.33 from BT for cancelling with them! However I asked about this when I joined.

What bugs me is its a verbal contract... Well therefore shouldn't these things be mentioned??

 

[sophia]

Thats the thing! This charge was not explained... I knew there would be a charge and I know if a new line is activated that it is £124.99 however there has been one before. And even so - I'm being charged £130.99...
What bugs me is how reluctant they are to help.

I know my line beong activated isn't free - but this fee was not discussed and therefore I don't see this something I should be paying. I've heard about people getting these big bills before and therefore ensured they knew exactly what I needed the line for etc.

 

[box car willy]

I'm still struggling to understand you

You asked for a BT line, and have now cancelled it? Why?

 

[Rick]

Well, last timeI had a line reconnected I know they charged us £125. They should be able to give you a breakdown of what the £130.99 is made up of??

 

[cli0 172]

so if they didnt tell you (which does sound like a case for you ) did you not ask yourself how much this was costing ??

If someone you were speaking with about a service never discussed prices with you i know i would have wanted to know what i was getting myself into & what charges i could expect :S

 

[Has]

So this is a new line?

You had no previous BT phone number or BT Internet ?

You rang up to get it connected.....then got a bill for £130.99 ?

Maybe this includes your first months line rental charge?

 

[sophia]

I'm still struggling to understand you

You asked for a BT line, and have now cancelled it? Why?

I didn't cancel the line... the line got transerred to Orange hense the broadband. Orange have to take over the line as they now pay the line rental.
I don't blame you for not understanding... It's a mess of a problem.

 

[Da]

When you get a BT line you enter a 12 month contract. If you subsequently transfer the line to Orange then you are in breach of that contract and BT are fully within their rights to charge a cancellation fee.

The fee is worked out by how many months you had remaining of the 12 times by the monthly fee.

 

[MarkCup]

When you ask for a line to be connected, you're normally agreeing to use the service they provide under contract for the next 12 months.

You've done that to get the line installed, and then immediately told them you want to cancel and transfer the service over to Orange?

What they are charging you is probably the line rental on the contract that you agreed to for 12 months before cancelling shortly after?

 

[sophia]

So this is a new line?

You had no previous BT phone number or BT Internet ?

You rang up to get it connected.....then got a bill for £130.99 ?

Maybe this includes your first months line rental charge?

No it's not a new line if it's been used before... The line should just get blocked until it is reused...
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/bts-163120-cancellation-charge-13417.aspx

 

[sophia]

When you ask for a line to be connected, you're normally agreeing to use the service they provide under contract for the next 12 months.

You've done that to get the line installed, and then immediately told them you want to cancel and transfer the service over to Orange?

What they are charging you is probably the line rental on the contract that you agreed to for 12 months before cancelling shortly after?

I discussed all this with them! But I was assured that I wouldn't be charged any cancellation fees etc. £120 pisses me off seen as I spent time speaking with BT before I signed up to ensure this wouldn't happen.
Seems you can't get away from BT - there is no other way to get a line sorted!

 

[Has]

No it's not a new line if it's been used before... The line should just get blocked until it is reused...
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/bts-163120-cancellation-charge-13417.aspx

As per everyones last replies.

The line cannot be "blocked" if its cancelled they stop it.
You then have to re-activate everything again....which brings you into another new contract.

And as everyone has said if you then move out of your contract early to anoher supplier, Orange in this case you have to pay either a cencellation charge or the remainder of your contract.

Orange or your new provider may pay this if you agrees it from the start, but normally dont unless they really want your business.


And yes, line activation charges can be expensive!

 

[Da]

BT have a Monopoly to be honest as far as lines are concerned.

The fee may not have been discussed but it will be in the T&C's you agreed to when you agreed that the line could be activated.

 

[sophia]

BT have a Monopoly to be honest as far as lines are concerned.

The fee may not have been discussed but it will be in the T&C's you agreed to when you agreed that the line could be activated.

Well this is the thing - I didn't get an agreement through the post and they expained that it's a verbal agreement - but they seem to conveniently forget these cancellation details eventhough I asked about charged when I agreed to activate a line.

 

[MarkCup]

I discussed all this with them! But I was assured that I wouldn't be charged any cancellation fees etc. £120 pisses me off seen as I spent time speaking with BT before I signed up to ensure this wouldn't happen.
Seems you can't get away from BT - there is no other way to get a line sorted!

That's the thing though...this isn't a cancellation fee...it's the line rental that you agreed to pay them by default for the full 12 months when you set the line up.

You've decided to cancel, they still want their line rental...that's what it sounds like they're after to me, not a cancellation fee.

 

[sophia]

So are you telling me this happens every time you move house??!

 

[Da]

Yes, if you activate a line each time.

 

[Has]

So are you telling me this happens every time you move house??!

Moving house is different, i moved house (at that time) with BT phone and BT internet, as i was staying with them i didnt have to pay a penny. The move was free, all i had to do was pick a new number...

Yes, if you activate a line each time.

Yup new fitted lines or to activate an existing line have this




But yes, the fee youve been charged sounds like the remainder of your contract...

Just like taking out a mobile phone contract, if you cancel you either pay cancellation charge or the remainder of your contract.

 

[pinky]

I got BT for my sky and didnt get charged at all.

 

[BRUN]

I didn't cancel the line... the line got transerred to Orange hense the broadband. Orange have to take over the line as they now pay the line rental.
I don't blame you for not understanding... It's a mess of a problem.

your the mess, make some sense !!!

i dont know what the fook your on about ?

 

[sophia]

your the mess, make some sense !!!

i dont know what the fook your on about ?

Thanks for making me aware but I think I do - no need to be rude is there. Don't bother commenting if your going to be rude.

 

[sophia]

That's the thing though...this isn't a cancellation fee...it's the line rental that you agreed to pay them by default for the full 12 months when you set the line up.

You've decided to cancel, they still want their line rental...that's what it sounds like they're after to me, not a cancellation fee.

I asked them to clarify the charge and this is what they said it was.... Becuase I cancelled and that was the fee to cancel a line. But it'd not cancelled just switched over.
However, I'll ring in the morning though again... but don't think it'll be much help as no one seems to be able to explain properly once you've been hucked on to them they just want your money. Just makes me angry that even though all this was asked at the start this has happened.

Thanks anyways.

 

[ViolentJ]

Hey guys,

I'm in a situation with BT where they are trying to charge me £130.33 for cancelling my contract when I was not told of this charge! Anyone had the same prob - I asked for proof of the phone call and I received a poxy text document someone wrote - I'm now desperate to get this sorted!! I told them exactly what I wanted which was to activate the line to get Orange Broadband and they said that was fine!! Then I get this bill!!



Cheers,
Sophia

I read all the posts and got very confused so re-read this one and I understand what you're saying and think I know what's happened.

Are you by any chance on the Orange Home Max service? If so what's happened is that Orange have taken ownership of the telephone line from BT as part of this package, unfortunately as you only just activated the line with BT you haven't served your full contract period with BT yet and are subject to their cancellation charges hence the bill.

Perhaps it's Orange you should be complaining to if they didn't make you aware that you would be paying them line rental and not BT?

 

[sophia]

Today I rang BT and they dropped charge from £130.30 to £40.44 - however a manager is ringing me back regarding final balance. They tried to charge us for an offer they had signed us up for which we didn't want in the first place.
Therefore keep an eye out for bills like these as it most likely isn't what you need to pay...

Cheers,
Sophia

 

[BenWall]

Well done

 

[sophia]

Well done

Why thank you

 

[MarkCup]

Excellent news.

 

[Darren]

i went through this 6 months ago.

i was moving house and rang BT to get my number, found out that the line was due to be disconnected on the day i move in. had it been disconnected and i wanted it reconnected it would of been £125. luckily i phoned them and got them to carry it on, as i was going with BT anyway. also got a good deal on my broadband with them at the same time.

 

[fUbAr]

this thread has given me a headache tbh