BT cancellation quandry

[majickal]

Hi all! I recently signed up to BT for calls and broadband. The phone line was activated on 13 July, as they said it would be, but the broadband arrived late due to some "technical" problems (as BT told me). Broadband was activated on the 18 July. I have had the broadband service for 14 days today (today is the 14th day), and there is a huge problem with the usage monitor. I have a package which allows me up to 10 GB of downloads per month, which for me should be fine. I was with virgin for 3 years previous to this and have never used more than 10 GB in any given month. I received an email after 4 days of the broadband being connected, informing me i had reached 7GB of my 10GB allowance! I had only checked some email (no attachments) and done some casual browsing/facebooking, as i always have. No viruses are present on my pc. Long and short, my usage to date (14 days) is now at 29.2GB, which i know i haven't used. I want to cancel the broadband as the customer service i have received over this matter is non-existant, and it is a faulty service. I have checked the small print and apparently, can only cancel a package element within 14 days of provision of the FIRST service ie; the phone line. Because of this, in effect , i only had 9 days to cancel ( as 9 days into the broadband service had been 14 days from phone line activation). I'd like any advice on how to pursue cancellation as i believe it to be unfair to not permit cancellation without first trying the service! The phone line works fine by the way

[locutus]

Distance Selling Regulations act, they need to offer you 7 working days (10 days) and unfortunatly you are past that already.

[denzil69]

Sounds like someone is piggy backing on your connection. Do you have wireless BT broadband by any chance? Is it secured with a password?

I left BT broadband after months of connection problems and slow speeds, which they couldn't solve nor figure out.

I switched to o2 and within 1 day, my speed more than doubled and the price went from £16.99 to £7.50 per month for "unlimited use"

It transpired that BT were using old cheap technology in their exchange, once it was changed to the latest standard by o2, it all worked fine and the speeds more than doubled.

 

BT want people to have wireless hubs in their homes so they can increase the coverage that they offer to customers, I was told this by a BT engineer, which is why I only use a router that is connected to PC via cable.

Good luck.

[majickal]

Thanks for the replies. So it would seem i'm now stuck with a faulty service.... Surely though if there is a technical issue with BT's usage counters, they are breaching the contract which means i can cancel? I have been onto several forums, including the BT.com one, where there have been lots of people with the same issue; people being told they have exceeded their limit by "x" amount and urging them to upgrade their service. The amounts BT claim people have used seem to be numbers simly plucked out of the air and all of the people who have contacted BT regarding this have just been told to either upgrade or pay up. I know that I can't account for the accuracy and/or honesty of other people's claims about BT's service, but i know that mine in wildly inaccurate. I'm sure there's been no piggybacking on my line as i've been changing my wireless passkey every couple of days and keep them long and unguessable.

 

BT want people to have wireless hubs in their homes so they can increase the coverage that they offer to customers

 

This is for the "BTFON" service. anyone with a home hub can opt in/out of this service. It basically allows other BT customers to use your wifi when they are away from home, at no charge to yourself (supposedly), and vice versa. I was automatically opted in as a new customer, but cancelled it as a possible culprit.

 

Bt have been investigating this for me for the past 4 days, but as yet have no resolution other than "if the usage meter says you've used it, then it means that you have..." . I am somewhat disgruntled, and wish that i had seen the trouble others are having before signing up

[locutus]

how many computers are linked to the network? You could put DU Meter (google it) on all pc's and monitor what is getting used.

[majickal]

Thanks, i have had third party usage monitors installed on both pc's connected for the last 4 days (since i phoned BT to question their figures). Strangely the numbers seem to now tally for the last 4 days usage, which is ok, but we didn't use any more excessive bandwidth from day to day in the week and a half previous to my call to them. I shall make sure i'm keeping a close eye the figures in future though. It makes me wonder how many other's have been caught out and paid excess usage charges, or even upgraded unnecessarily?

[Mrssmiff]

I am in the same situation as yourself... been a BT Broadband customer for the best past of 8 years or so and have gone from paying £16 per month to £52. This is all due to their telling me that I have gone over my usage allowance. On querying this, I too have been told that "if that's what they say, then you must have used it" and that BT have no way of actually telling me what I have done to go over my allowance. This all seems like a big con to me, but Im reluctant to leave BT as their Broadband service has always been good, i.e. no interruption to service. I did say to a customer service advisor that I was considering moving to another company and she told me i would be liable for cancellation charges, though I have not signed a contract for my broadband at all and was told on the phone 2 years ago that I was on a rolling contract.... would it be worth considering another company?

[majickal]

I am in the same situation as yourself... been a BT Broadband customer for the best past of 8 years or so and have gone from paying £16 per month to £52. This is all due to their telling me that I have gone over my usage allowance. On querying this, I too have been told that "if that's what they say, then you must have used it" and that BT have no way of actually telling me what I have done to go over my allowance. This all seems like a big con to me, but Im reluctant to leave BT as their Broadband service has always been good, i.e. no interruption to service. I did say to a customer service advisor that I was considering moving to another company and she told me i would be liable for cancellation charges, though I have not signed a contract for my broadband at all and was told on the phone 2 years ago that I was on a rolling contract.... would it be worth considering another company?

 

 

My first thoughts were similar; that it seemed like a con to get people to upgrade their package. I have been vigilant with my usage and since i phoned BT to complain, suddenly their usage monitor has begun to behave correctly... (I have installed monitors of my own and the usage now tallies with BT's)

 

I am still suspicious of them though, as the usage monitor was MASSIVELY innacurate until I phoned them, and it seems to be very common among those on the lowest package. I would certainly not recommend them solely for this purpose, but on the other hand, it may genuinely be a fault which BT can't get to the bottom of, and they have agreed to waive my first month charges. I still have 17 months left, so time will tell for me, but there are so many broadband providers out there now (some even offering their own line rental charges cheaper than BT's) that it's well worth shopping around. I wish I had dug a bit deeper and personally would have gone for o2, as i am a mobile customer with them and their package is far cheaper than BT's.

 

As for the rolling contract, there aren't usually any cancellation charges, but check the t's & c's.

 

[MaxxPower]

I am in the same situation as yourself... been a BT Broadband customer for the best past of 8 years or so and have gone from paying £16 per month to £52. This is all due to their telling me that I have gone over my usage allowance. On querying this, I too have been told that "if that's what they say, then you must have used it" and that BT have no way of actually telling me what I have done to go over my allowance. This all seems like a big con to me, but Im reluctant to leave BT as their Broadband service has always been good, i.e. no interruption to service. I did say to a customer service advisor that I was considering moving to another company and she told me i would be liable for cancellation charges, though I have not signed a contract for my broadband at all and was told on the phone 2 years ago that I was on a rolling contract.... would it be worth considering another company?

 

More than likely you've been signed up to their auto-renewing 2 year contract. I'd call them up and ask how long is left on your contract without mentioning anything else at first, then see what they say.

[labrat]

log into the router and change the encription key

 

http://www.homehubhack.com

[Mrssmiff]

Got a letter the other day and my contract with BT ends on 17 Sept. Thank goodness.... Think I will go with Sky. Does anyone know if their internet service is good?

[AA99]

I got caught in BT's trap last September, everyone I know on BT broadband gets that 7mb email, usually sent to their 'new' BT email address in the first month! I also got tied up in their contract and am now on unlimited useage but it's costing me £62 p.m. It's an absolute disgrace and there are over 25 pages of complaints on their forums linked below. Time they were investigated!!!!!!

 

http://community.bt.com/t5/BB-Speed-Connection-Issues/BT-Broadband-Usage-Incorrect/m-p/4454/highlight/true#M2117

[Yellow160]

send off an email to [email protected] with your complaints.. No point dealing with anyone on the phone as they seem to follow a script.. After months of hell with BT we managed to move our services.