BT refuse my offer of payment: Help needed please

[shifnal]

I received a letter from BT on Saturday informing me that as I had failed to pay my bill they were passing it onto a debt collection agency unless I paid in full.

 

The bill was first sent to me back in February, and because I am on benefits, I explained that I could not repay it in full. They replied that I had 28 days to do so. This was still impossible for me and so I asked if they could extend the repayment term. They failed to reply.

 

I therefore asked them today if I could repay it at the rate of £5 per month (the bill is for £95 - they have added interest and other costs, most of which I do not understand). They replied that they cannot accept my offer and the matter will be passed to a debt collection agent, but then added that if I repay it in full within 28 days they won't pass it on.

 

Is there anything I can do? I am on Incapacity Benefit as I suffer with agoraphobia and anxiety and am under my doctors care. Thank you.

[Mark_Blackpool]

They are obliged to deal with cases of hardship in a sympathetic manner. However they are under no obligation to accept your offer:

 

If the bill (per quarter?) was £95 and due since February, you're asking to discharge a bill for three months service over 19 months. If you were BT, you would question the customer's capabilty to meet future bills on time if that is the limit of affordability.

 

What you don't say however is how much the original bill was for. Late payment charges of say £7.50 may well be unlawful and you may be able to argue that you do not need to pay them. However and regardless, you have defaulted on the agreement you had.

 

It may well be better for you to mutually agree to cancel the line (depending on the length of the contract remaining, if any, and charges for that) and get a PAYG mobile instead.

[shifnal]

The original bill was for £60 for a quarter. As I have already explained, I contacted them at the time and asked for more time to repay the sum but they weren't interested. I then heard nothing more from them until last weekend, even though I had contacted them myself in the mean time.

 

I understand what you are saying, but I still think it unfair that they won't even consider the offer I have made and would rather send it to a dca instead.

 

It is my understanding that by law the dca and even the courts if it got that far, could only expect me to pay around £1 per month as I am on benefits, so my offer to BT would save them a lot of time and money.

[buzby]

If you are on benefits, you should be on BT's Basic tariff, however the issue of what BT or a DCA is prepared to accept is a non-starter. These days, the debt itself becomes a commodity, and it is sold on to third parties who will pay BT perhaps 50% of the debt, and pursue you for the rest, whilst wrecking your credit file in the process. The prospect of going to court is slim to negligible.

[shifnal]

In May of this year I signed up for BT Vision. I had nothing but problems with it and after a series of emails between me and their offices, they agreed to close my account in August with no cancellation fee. However, I decided to keep my phone and broadband as at this point they were okay. Shortly after this the broadband itself started playing up and there were also some minor issues with my monthly bill.

 

I have now asked if I could cancel and switch to another provider as I am not happy, but they have replied (in a snooty email) that as they have dealt with my earlier complaint, if I cancel and switch they will charge me £190 as a cancellation fee.

 

What I want to know is if I have any redress against them over this as my experience on the whole since May has not been a good one?

 

Could I for example, take them to the small claims court and claim my monthly payments back for the time when I had BT Vision?

 

Thanks in advance.

[locutus]

1st step is to follow their complaints procedure to it's completion (as if it reaches this far it will actually cost BT for the ADR (alternative dispute resolution) to look into things.

 

Their complaints code of practice is located here