held to term after moving house

[agamemnon]

I have had a BT account for years but last year I upgraded and changed my phone and broadband package and was told I would have to take out a new 12-month contract for both.
Earlier this year I had to move house and we moved in to a rented property with Virgin cable connected and no BT line running from the telegraph pole to our house.
When I moved I phoned BT and asked to cancel the services but was told that as I took a new contract out less than 6 months prior I would have to pay for the full term on both phone and broadband. I disputed this at the time over the telephone with BT and told them that as I had virgin cable fitted to a rented house why would I get that removed and get BT to fit a new line to the house and wait up to 1 month to resume broadband services.
BT was adamant that I would have to pay for the full 12 months contract and it was not their fault that the new property did not have a BT line connected. I paid BT the full amount for any usage up to the day I moved out and line/internet rental charges for the rest of the month. However I did not pay any money towards the rest of the contract, as I believe that the terms and conditions are unfair.
I now have Westcroft debt collectors sending mail to a care of address I left with BT to forward receipts for the payments I made over the phone. Not only have Westcroft been sending mail to this care of address they have even managed to acquire the phone number of the property and have been phoning them asking to speak to me about this debt.
I fully intend to pursue this through the county court system if need be but I would greatly appreciate any advice on the best way to go about resolving this. If anyone has prior experience dealing with this situation then please let me know the outcome.

[locutus]

Unfortunatly I do have a little experience, I used to work on the customer options team line at BT (You've probably spoken to one of my former co-workers).

When BT sell their products they make all employees aware that they have to recap the deal at the end of the conversation and include:-
Cost (how much the different elements cost... a full breakdown)
Agreement (what you both agree to (dates and services)including cancelation rights)
Term (how long the contract is for)
Services (what services you will be getting)

If the sales person covers these points, they are compliant with the DSR's (Distance selling regulations) and form a binding verbal contract. Generally the sales people have scripts for this part of the call so that they don't mess up. BT do record most calls (there are one or two people who work on old systems that do not record) so wild stab in the dark, ask to listen to the call to check that they informed you of the term, if they have the recording, and included the term I don't think there is a lot you can do.

[BankFodder]

Do I gather that BT wouldn't be capable of continuing the contract because they have no line into the property? What are they proposing to do if you did want to continue with them?

[agamemnon]

if i was to continue using bt as my provider then i would have to pay bt to connect a line to the house as well as the connection at the exchange. i didnt ask how much this would cost in total.
the fact of the matter is i moved to a house with a cable line connected and no bt line and also the house isnt my house its rented so i could have paid bt a lot of money to connect a line to a house that i could possibly be living in for only 6 months.
im my opinion bt are trying to enforce a monopoly by saying you must have them provide me services. if bt had a line to the property then i would have bt services stil to this day.
also as a side note in my old house bt was the only provider of any telecom to the property as cable hadnt been laid in the street and no other phone provider could offer me a phone line. BT have cornered the market in some areas so people have zero choice in who they use as a service provider so they have managed a monopoly in that area. why should they be allowed to enforce a monopoly by law ?

[OrangePrimate]

I dont think BT are trying to force a monopoly, they just want you to pay the contract term that you agreed too. It is not their problem that you moved house or that there isnt any BT line to that property.

I suppose their stance on it is you agreed to pay x amount for a full 12 months and you are saying you are not going to do that, because theyy cannot provide the service is down to your move not them removing the service from you.

Makes me think of an aquantance recently who hired a car for 5 days and picked it up then decided not to go away, he wanted the full rental fee refund when he took the car back on day 3, saying " I havent been anywhere in it so dont think i should have to pay for hiring it" he didnt get very far either!