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catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:21:20 GMT

I recently found out that my mother is out of contract with BT broadband and phone and is paying over £80 a month for 40Mbit over copper.

BT refuse to lower the bill as they say it has to be full fibre now. However, Openreach refuse to install fibre as they say too much work is needed and it would cost them too much. But surely they have to do it at some point soon when copper gets obseleted anyway?

What can I do to stop my mum being ripped off every month? Seems very unfair that she is trapped out of contract with no way to reduce her bill.

We tried switching to Sky broadband as well, but same situation with Openreach.

I can see this being a big scandal - milions of older people are probably being ripped off in this way.

Thanks

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

imjolly — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:23:28 GMT

can you enter the phone number and post results including the notes please let's see what broadband you can get

https://www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com/#/ADSL

if phone number does not work use address

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:28:27 GMT

Exchange Product Restrictions StatusFTTP Priority ExchangeWLR WithdrawalSOADSL Restriction

Our records show the following FTTP network service information for these premises:-Single Dwelling Unit Residential UG partial Direct In Ground.

FTTP is available and a new ONT may be ordered.

The exchange is not in a current fibre priority programme

As a WLR withdrawal exchange, product restrictions apply

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:30:20 GMT

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

imjolly — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:33:47 GMT

what happened to rest of information? - post crossed

so is your existing line connection underground and comes into house from underground. did BT say why you needed to pay for installation? is home a long way from the footpath?

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:34:03 GMT

Received this from Sky as well:

Hi, Just a quick update on your order,Openreach have advised us that a large amount of work is required to provide a Broadband and Talk service to the property. as this will incur excess costs, Sky will not be able to provide a service.

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:37:57 GMT

House has a long front garden, about 50 feet from the footpath to the house wall. Also they need to dig up the street apparently.

There is no pole, so I expect the copper is underground to the house.

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:42:09 GMT

What I don't understand is - why can't they just reduce the price on the existing copper installation? She doesn't need anything faster than what she has. Surely they should make an exception in such cases. She is spending 10% of her pension on broadband.

And BT didn't even give the option to pay for it (not that she should). They just said "NO".

Also, I expect being out of contact for 10 years means she has already paid thousands more than she should have, which would cover the costs I'm sure... Martin Lewis is the next step I guess..

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

imjolly — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:55:44 GMT

being out of contract is not a problem many customers are out of contract. it just means any initial discounts have been lost and you are on standard terms but gives you ability to leave giving a month or less notice without incurring termination fees

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:00:35 GMT

Problem is, she cannot leave (unless she wan't no service at all).

Also, the excessive price walking she has been subjected to would actually be ILLEGAL in the energy industry. Same should appy to telecoms.

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

imjolly — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:02:19 GMT

looking at the adslchecker results your mother is on fibre 2 and has a connection speed of 75mb not 40mb as you posted

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:04:56 GMT

Why is that relevant?Are you saying that is worth £80 a month? I ran an ethernet speed test on her router and it was around 40Mbps.

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:08:40 GMT

I really just want to know how to get her bill down to around £40 a month, which is what it should be with phone. As far as I can see, that is not possible.

Have been in contact with the Martin Lewis news department and they seem quite interested in possibly running this as a story. After months of banging my head against a wall, seems that may be the only option now.

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

iniltous — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:14:31 GMT

£80 for F2 even on an out of contract basis isn’t £80 , perhaps you can give a breakdown of the bill , are there any extras like Halo , a inclusive calling plan , TV , etc….

I’d agree that it seems unfair to push customers towards FTTP when it’s available, but in DIG areas ( that’s what the SNN says ‘partial direct in ground’ to expect customers to pay for the last part of the civils work, understandable a mansion at the end of a 1/2 mile driveway, but not a regular residential address….FWIW , these excess construction rules seem open to interpretation.

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:17:42 GMT

All she has is inclusive UK calls, no TV or anything else. Just 13 years of annual price walking. She grew up with 1 choice of the GPO telephone so the concept of switching doesn't really make sense to her. Luckily we discovered what has been going on and have taken a proactive approach to help her now.

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

imjolly — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:48:49 GMT

looks like you are stuck being unable to get FTTP so maybe you should try complaining to BT CEO email address is available online and hopefully ELC ( executive level complaints) can help you get a new cheaper contract

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

iniltous — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:54:43 GMT

Unlimited calls adds £12-£18 , so thats £25-£30 more expensive than someone who has a two year deal close to expire ( my 2 year deal F2 with PAYG phone expires in a couple of months ) so to be paying anywhere near £80 they must have been out of contract and on a legacy package for many years , nothing like a 2 year deal just out of minimum term……

FYI , no provider can unilaterally move customers onto a different tariff without consent , even if that would benefit them , so those that don’t check and negotiate or switch can be disadvantaged.

TBH , BT do call customers and offer the latest deals , and for the last few years it’s required to advise customers as they approach the end of a minimum term , obviously it’s not altruistic they want to re-contract customers , but that would be beneficial to both , but you can’t make a customer answer the sales call or take what’s on offer ….so although it’s not ideal , no one has been taken advantage of either.

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

portland555 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:58:09 GMT

How about a contract that automatically puts people out of contract on a standard rate, say 25% above the best current deals, that would be the moral thing to do. No big profits there though!

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

imjolly — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:23:37 GMT

Customers are sent email/letter advising contract ending and date provided and up to customer to decide what to do next whether to ignore/re-negotiate new deal/ move to another ISP

Re: catch 22 mum being ripped off

Crimliar — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:21:29 GMT

Contact your local trading standards office. In this situation, they are probably more useful than a forum such as this, which has an empathy deficit!