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Im keeping a diary of events here because I envisage problems with BT will continue for a while, and I would appreciate any advice.
Around 8.30am this morning my internet went down. Message on my screen from BT said my broadband service had been suspended because there was an outstanding unpaid bill - UNTRUE
Chronology
1. Been a BT Broadband and phone customer for as long as I can remember
2. Billed quarterly, and pay £59.50 per month by DD
3. 3rd December 2012 bill dated 28th November received
4. Bill says that BT are increasing my monthly DD by £25.00 per month
5. On closer inspection of Bill I realised that up to the bill being generated I was £6.00 in credit
6. I immediately phoned BT querying why my DD was being increased as I had no arrears and was in fact in credit
7. BT said their charges were going up at beginning of January and the Bill was for December, November and Januarys phone & broadband charges that are billed in advance.
8. After a very lengthy conversation that wasnt getting anywhere I said I wasnt prepared to pay £84,50 monthly in advance for services that I hadnt even yet received and the only alternative was to change to monthly billing. I also decided to go down an option and changed to option 2. I informed the rep that I would cancel my direct debit and set a new one up on receipt of my first bill which I was led to believe would be generated early in January.
9. Then received new BT contract dated 4th December showing my BT services etc, End of, or so I thought
10. Around 8.30am this morning my internet went down, and a message appeared on screen from BT saying that my broadband service had been suspended as there was an unpaid outstanding bill.
11. Immediately rang BT (india) was told that because the bill had already been produced prior to me changing to a monthly contract, the bill would have to be paid, and the next bill would be produced towards the end of February, after which I would be billed monthly
12.Said I wasnt satisfied and insisted I be transferred to a supervisor, was told supervisors busy but I would be called back as soon as one was free. Five minutes or so later India called back, asked me to hold whilst the call was transferred, then was left listening to music for about 40 minutes.
13. I hung up and redialled, this time spoke to a British woman, she said she understood how the confusion had arisen, but once bills had been produced they couldnt be altered/amended/cancelled or whatever and as I had not arranged a change of service prior to the bill being produced the bill stood and needed paying. I argued that the reason I immediately contacted BT on receipt of the bill was the increased DD when I was in credit, and BT agreed to a monthly billing plan etc, no mention whatsoever of 3months charged being payable upfront.
14. Still couldnt get anywhere, she was adamant that quarterly bills have always been payable in advance, so I asked her to identify just where in BTs T & C does it say that monthly billed customers have to pay 3 months in advance if their requirements alter after a bill has been generated. She couldnt tell me but advised that I go online and read BT T& C. I refused and pointed out that as it was her who was alleging provision for this was made in the terms it wasnt up to me, but to her to prove what she was saying.
15. I asked to be transferred to a supervisor, supervisors all busy, but I would get a call back within 24 hours. She said she was re-instating the broadband whilst it was being sorted out.
16 round 2hrs later broadband back on
17. Whilst waiting for the call back I accessed BTs T & C, and came across the following. In my view BT have breached their own T&C as they failed to send a reminder or call me before suspending my services per clauses 25 -27
We will send any bills to the address where the service is provided unless otherwise agreed by us. You may also see your bills online at www.bt.com/youraccount. We will send your first bill shortly after we have provided the service to you for the first time. After that, we will send bills at regular intervals. However, we may sometimes send you a bill at a different time, for example if the amount of money you owe us is considerably higher than expected.
25. You agree to pay the charges as soon as you receive your bill unless otherwise agreed by us. You may also need to pay a deposit or a payment upfront before you can receive the service or goods. If you think that the charges on your bill are incorrect and wish to dispute those charges, you must tell us straight away. You must pay any charges that are not disputed. We will not suspend or end a service while we investigate any dispute.
26. If you do not pay your bill, we will send you a reminder or call you. If we do not receive payment within 10 calendar days of the date of that reminder (seven days if you pay monthly), we may add a late payment charge of £7.50 to your next bill by way of compensation to us for breaking the terms of this agreement. We may also charge you £10 by way of compensation to us for any direct debit or cheque payments which are returned to us because you do not have enough funds in your account. The charges set out in this paragraph are not subject to VAT.
27. We will generally not suspend or end the service or the agreement for non-payment of your bill until 28 days after your payment was due (21 days if you pay monthly). If however you have failed to pay on time a recent bill or have failed to pay a bill on many occasions we may end the service earlier than 28 days (or 21 days if you pay monthly).
18. Call back from BT around 5.30pm, said supervisors had a backlog, the bill stood and couldnt be changed, but were prepared give me until 20th February to pay the disputed bill as I had been given wrong info when I changed over to new package.
19. I couldnt really talk, RAC had just turned up to look at my car, so I refused BTs time to pay offer and asked them to ring me tomorrow. I also mentioned that BT had breached ther own T&C
Around 8.30am this morning my internet went down. Message on my screen from BT said my broadband service had been suspended because there was an outstanding unpaid bill - UNTRUE
Chronology
1. Been a BT Broadband and phone customer for as long as I can remember
2. Billed quarterly, and pay £59.50 per month by DD
3. 3rd December 2012 bill dated 28th November received
4. Bill says that BT are increasing my monthly DD by £25.00 per month
5. On closer inspection of Bill I realised that up to the bill being generated I was £6.00 in credit
6. I immediately phoned BT querying why my DD was being increased as I had no arrears and was in fact in credit
7. BT said their charges were going up at beginning of January and the Bill was for December, November and Januarys phone & broadband charges that are billed in advance.
8. After a very lengthy conversation that wasnt getting anywhere I said I wasnt prepared to pay £84,50 monthly in advance for services that I hadnt even yet received and the only alternative was to change to monthly billing. I also decided to go down an option and changed to option 2. I informed the rep that I would cancel my direct debit and set a new one up on receipt of my first bill which I was led to believe would be generated early in January.
9. Then received new BT contract dated 4th December showing my BT services etc, End of, or so I thought
10. Around 8.30am this morning my internet went down, and a message appeared on screen from BT saying that my broadband service had been suspended as there was an unpaid outstanding bill.
11. Immediately rang BT (india) was told that because the bill had already been produced prior to me changing to a monthly contract, the bill would have to be paid, and the next bill would be produced towards the end of February, after which I would be billed monthly
12.Said I wasnt satisfied and insisted I be transferred to a supervisor, was told supervisors busy but I would be called back as soon as one was free. Five minutes or so later India called back, asked me to hold whilst the call was transferred, then was left listening to music for about 40 minutes.
13. I hung up and redialled, this time spoke to a British woman, she said she understood how the confusion had arisen, but once bills had been produced they couldnt be altered/amended/cancelled or whatever and as I had not arranged a change of service prior to the bill being produced the bill stood and needed paying. I argued that the reason I immediately contacted BT on receipt of the bill was the increased DD when I was in credit, and BT agreed to a monthly billing plan etc, no mention whatsoever of 3months charged being payable upfront.
14. Still couldnt get anywhere, she was adamant that quarterly bills have always been payable in advance, so I asked her to identify just where in BTs T & C does it say that monthly billed customers have to pay 3 months in advance if their requirements alter after a bill has been generated. She couldnt tell me but advised that I go online and read BT T& C. I refused and pointed out that as it was her who was alleging provision for this was made in the terms it wasnt up to me, but to her to prove what she was saying.
15. I asked to be transferred to a supervisor, supervisors all busy, but I would get a call back within 24 hours. She said she was re-instating the broadband whilst it was being sorted out.
16 round 2hrs later broadband back on
17. Whilst waiting for the call back I accessed BTs T & C, and came across the following. In my view BT have breached their own T&C as they failed to send a reminder or call me before suspending my services per clauses 25 -27
We will send any bills to the address where the service is provided unless otherwise agreed by us. You may also see your bills online at www.bt.com/youraccount. We will send your first bill shortly after we have provided the service to you for the first time. After that, we will send bills at regular intervals. However, we may sometimes send you a bill at a different time, for example if the amount of money you owe us is considerably higher than expected.
25. You agree to pay the charges as soon as you receive your bill unless otherwise agreed by us. You may also need to pay a deposit or a payment upfront before you can receive the service or goods. If you think that the charges on your bill are incorrect and wish to dispute those charges, you must tell us straight away. You must pay any charges that are not disputed. We will not suspend or end a service while we investigate any dispute.
26. If you do not pay your bill, we will send you a reminder or call you. If we do not receive payment within 10 calendar days of the date of that reminder (seven days if you pay monthly), we may add a late payment charge of £7.50 to your next bill by way of compensation to us for breaking the terms of this agreement. We may also charge you £10 by way of compensation to us for any direct debit or cheque payments which are returned to us because you do not have enough funds in your account. The charges set out in this paragraph are not subject to VAT.
27. We will generally not suspend or end the service or the agreement for non-payment of your bill until 28 days after your payment was due (21 days if you pay monthly). If however you have failed to pay on time a recent bill or have failed to pay a bill on many occasions we may end the service earlier than 28 days (or 21 days if you pay monthly).
18. Call back from BT around 5.30pm, said supervisors had a backlog, the bill stood and couldnt be changed, but were prepared give me until 20th February to pay the disputed bill as I had been given wrong info when I changed over to new package.
19. I couldnt really talk, RAC had just turned up to look at my car, so I refused BTs time to pay offer and asked them to ring me tomorrow. I also mentioned that BT had breached ther own T&C
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