BT contract - early pull out.

[scott1985]

I am a BT broadband customer, suprisingly unstatisfied with my service. I am fed up of having repeated faults with my line, service, and customer "relations".

Is it possible to get BT to withdraw the contract, so I am able to move onto a better provider. I am tied into a 12 month contract and 3 months into it already. Sick of waiting in excess of 45 mins to speak to someone reading from a script.

[midge61]

Hi

The following is the e-mail for BT's CEO apparently he answers personally and has got things sorted straight away. I got this from the money saving expert website.

ben.verwaayen@bt.com

Try sending your complaint to him.

[buzby]

You'll find on reading your contract BT are not liable for non-performance, so using this as an excuse to depart is not going to be successful unless they also agree. However, since you'll be using the exact same phone line for service from a different provider, there's no guarantee you'll have a better experience elsewhere.

[splitpea]

I smell a rat! The above comment seems to be exactly what a BT employee would say(?)

[scott1985]

That is what a BT employee would say, i have the phone logs to prove it.

While the issue is down to cr@p service, its not necessarily the technical side of things that are causing the problems. Although there have been some technical issues which were not on my fault (after performing nearly 70 broadband setups for friends n family), BT refused to acknowledge there was a fault with their systems.


One particular instance was I could view websites, but logging in was not possible due to a fault with the packet carriers (the way the info is sent). Msn, myspace, ebay, orange, and my business, was not possible for 3 days. BT asked if I could contact each site to check their status. My business site was working fine according to my friends computer, so I didn't need to ask anyone else


I had a BT “international” person, who requested to remote access my desktop, once I agreed, we performed several tests. Even the BT website I was not able to log into. I performed a search for the specific error and found the information that stated “ISP responsibility/ contact Vendor” BT then said this wasn't their responsibility, even though the guy on the other end of the remote desktop could see exactly the same text that I was looking at.


The customer service, and ta highly limited service is not satisfactory to the price I am paying. Seriously a 2gb cap on a £17.99 pcm 12 month contract, as for 8mb p/s I have only been able to get 300 KBPS, even though I could throw a stone and hit the local phone switch.


BT have insisted that this is within their acceptable limits. My old pipex 2mb was pretty much identical, and they didn't charge me for going over the usage limit, because I conducted the majority of my usage after peak hours.


BT have failed to state the peak and off peak hours, charged me an extra 0.30p per gb extra ontop of my original package. My average usage is about 15 – 25 gb pcm.


I am fed up of waiting ages to speak to a substandard service provider, that fails to identify faults within their own company, and fails to successfully deal with a problem. I want out of this contract, and to be able to switch to someone who knows something other than a script.

[scott1985]

Oh, and the default software that is packed in with the BB, isnt worth the disc is burned on. Too many faults, clashes, and conflicts between microsoft apps (that were specifically designed) for the computer.

[tigga_1961]

Hi scott im in pretty much the same situation as yourself 3 months into a 12 month contract, and have been told by bt that if i opt i will be charged the rental etc for the remaining 9months some £420? sorry to hijack your thread but does anyone know if they can actually charge this, like yourself bt is getting worse the service crashes on a daily basis and i pay for option 3 and still get an indian call centre reading from and idiot card when i have a problem,, and i want out..

[buzby]

Originally Posted by tigga_1961

Hi scott im in pretty much the same situation as yourself 3 months into a 12 month contract, and have been told by bt that if i opt i will be charged the rental etc for the remaining 9months some £420? sorry to hijack your thread but does anyone know if they can actually charge this, like yourself bt is getting worse the service crashes on a daily basis and i pay for option 3 and still get an indian call centre reading from and idiot card when i have a problem,, and i want out..

See Message #3 - if you hadn't signed a binding contract, there would be no problem. However, if you build up enough complaints (and keep a record of them) if it really is that bad, they'll be forced to offer some form of compensation. Disliking the Bombay Call Centre, unfortunately is not an issue - just move to a company that believes in Britain.

[Sgalloway]

Following on from this, my daughter is having to leave her rented accommodation prematurely due to work changes and wants to cancel her 18 month BT Broadband contract which she only took out in May this year. She'll be moving back home (where I already have BT) until she finds a new flat but BT won't allow this. Any advice?

[buzby]

If she cannot transfer the service to another BT line, I'm afraid she'll have to take the hit on the unexpired portion of the rental. It's often ill advised to enter into such arrangements when the duration of service can become an issue. Some firms offer packages of 6 months (at a higher fee) but if it isn't possible to transfer service to the line of a friend or acquaintance, BT will terminate, but charge the full balance due under contract.

[ppauls150]

Here is one thing to try. I did this for my sister and some months later they took off the total bill that she had to pay. As we all know you have entered into a contract correct? Ok so if you signed a contract then try requesting a copy of the contract if they dont have the contract then they cant enforce the debt what happened with my sister is it was setup over the phone. We argued that she wasn't informed that it was a 12 month contract on the phone and as such unless they can provide you with the proof of the phone conversation then they will not be able to legally enforce the rest of the contract and the money. They backed down after several conversations to them on the phone and wiped the rest of the contract. U never know it is worth a try.

[Monty2007]

The service contract also states that BT will provide a service, if they do not provide the service then they are in breach of the contact and you have every right to terminate it. I have BT Broadband and it went down for two weeks, I gave them notive (1 week) and then cancelled the contract since they failed to provide the agreed service. I then had one of their customer service people call me and agree to give three months free "service" which I accepted on the provision it did not go down again. They could not guarantee this so I wrote and told them that I reserve the right to cancel the contract should they again fail to provide the service.

Contracts should work for both parties, we pay they supply. If they don't supply we don't pay. Simple really.

[buzby]

Originally Posted by Monty2007

Contracts should work for both parties, we pay they supply. If they don't supply we don't pay. Simple really.

In a perfect world, agreed. However reading BTs contract (and many others) non-provision of service is not taken as a contract breach. They are allowed a wide latitude in which to remedy the problem. For what you describe, you require performance guarantees which form the basis of business contracts (not consumer). This DOES impact directly on the contract, which is why it costs more. It is often forgotten that a mobile phone contract doesn't even guarantee service where the consumer requires it, and is not a reason to attempt cancellation. (Networks however offer a 14 day window to cancel allowing these problems to come to light at the inception of the arrangement).

[Monty2007]

If they are being difficult, then I suggest Trading Standards, if they are not performing in respect of their contract then you can cancel, and if they have imposed unfair terms in the contract (as suggested above) then you can claim unfair contract terms. A letter to their CEO would also not go amiss.