This topic

RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Puma937 — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 10:31:03 GMT

Firstly, to those that read this and say 'LEAVE THEN' - that's exactly what I will have to do. BUT, it should not excuse the practice of price manipulation by BT, when you are renewing or out of contract. It's a money printing scheme that a lot of people just accept or don't check as they are happy with the service. Don't let BT get away with it !!!

Currently out of contract - no offers at all under My BT, despite various prompts to 'upgrade' for free.

Paying £77.49 for a basic broadband speed, but here's the kicker - it included Halo 3+. So I phone up Retentions, say I am leaving but would be interested in a quote, without Halo. The merry-go-round starts, summarised below:-

You need to move to EE for the best deals - I don't have to and don't want to.
Halo is brilliant, I can give you an offer than saves you £2 a month with an upgrade to FF500 - no thanks, Halo is a SCAM and I want to ditch it. If it's so great, why don't BT sell it anymore? In fact, can you check the current Halo price for a new customer, as I'm covered by the Price Promise. Sorry, I am unable to give you a price. Why is that? It's not available on my system. What a joke - how Halo has never been investigated is beyond me.
Can you please give me a price for FF500 and FF900 without Halo. OK....let me check, I will get you the best price (10mins pass in silence). Sorry, the deals without Halo are more expensive - it would be £96.99 for FF900 and £71.99 for FF500. Are you having a laugh, so....£59 more a month than a new customer for FF900 and £37 for FF500. How much with Halo then? Well, FF500 isn't available, but I can give you FF900 for £1 more than you are currently paying £78.99. No thanks.
I agree the prices are not very competitive, let me check EE (10min wait again) - sorry, there are no deals with EE. Can I speak to a manager please? Sorry she is not here today, but I will discuss your account with her and call you back tomorrow, as I believe there is an issue with your account. No call back ever received.
Called Retentions again 3 days later and relayed the previous conversation. Advisor tells me he is fed up with staff promising to call customers back, but not doing it. This makes me so angry, as it's all logged in the notes. After about 15mins of chat, pushing EE and Halo he offers me the following - I can give you FF900 (FF500 is not available to you) for £57.99 - that's £20 a month more than a new customer. Is that really the best you can do? Yes.....where are you getting £37.99 from? The BT website. Oh really.....let me check with my manager. (Another 10mins pass). No sorry that's the best price we have for an existing customer. If I was you I would log a formal complaint, or leave BT.
Are there any offers at EE for me to reluctantly move? No.....sorry, it's the same price for both FF900 and FF500. I thought you said FF500 was not available to me. That's just with BT, it would be £51.99 with EE - so £16 more than a new customer. That's crazy.....BT/EE must think I am stupid.
Please log a compliant as you are definitely being overcharged. END OF CONVERSATION.

Whilst I understand that BT operates a kind of 'dynamic' pricing for their products, in what other industry does a company charge extortinately higher prices for exactly the same product? Is there any justifiable comparison? Insurance is bespoke.....in fact pretty much every service. Goods are not comparable, as prices change constantly.

Is the same broadband product somehow better if I pay £20 more than my neighbour? In fact, out of contract it's nearly £50 more, with a few extras that would cost £17.55 separately. It's daylight robbery.

I feel so sorry for the elderly and vulnerable who are being fleeced by BT for profit. Make sure you check with your parents/relatives this weekend how much they are paying for their broadband and try to end this SCAM of overcharging.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Andrew600 — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 11:01:51 GMT

I’m in pretty much the same situation and paying roughly what you are. A “free” upgrade to Halo3+ has proved to be a very expensive mistake.

Contract ends at the end of the year and having read your post along with others in the same vein, I intend to save myself the stress and anger that calling retentions entails and just switch. If BT wants to keep me they have to make the first move with something unbeatable..

I’ve a few months to decide. It won’t be EE so it’s either the other, budget, member of the BT group or the one named after something above us all I expect.

Thanks for posting and all the best with your next ISP.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

gg30340 — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 11:06:29 GMT

@Andrew600

You are allowed to say Plusnet and Sky. Just don't post links to their pricing pages.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Kodikid — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 11:19:43 GMT

I can understand your frustration but to be fair most companies share this ethos.

Obviously if you don't shop around your misplaced loyalty will cost you.

Me personally I alternate between BT and Plusnet biannually (bizarrely using a EE router) to grab the obligatory cash voucher on offer and get the best new customer prices.

So my advice is don't get mad get even

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

northshields — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 16:44:14 GMT

It is interesting that none of the Mods ever jumps in to defend or justify BT's actions in this regard. To be fair, it would be pretty difficult.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

garybs29 — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 20:46:29 GMT

Oh jesus wept not this again. "No thanks" tbat's all people need to say not "why am i being offered this" then a moan about what they agreed too, not as if anyone had no choice!

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Sat27 — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 20:33:43 GMT

I feel your pain.

It's somehow a comfort to know it's not just me.

What is the latest?

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

shakey1981 — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 21:06:33 GMT

never sign a rentions deal always wait untill you contract is fineshed and look around

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Puma937 — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 16:30:53 GMT

@Sat27 - formal complaint compiled and will be submitted on Tuesday, if I do not here back from BT by close of play tomorrow.

Latest from BT - called Retentions on Wednesday evening (one last time) and spoke to a really nice guy called Terry. He explained that I have no offers available to me via My BT, as I'm out of contract. He gave me a quote of £42.99 for FF150 with EE, or the same with BT for £44.99 (new customers is £28.99 with both).

FF500 would be £57.99 with both BT & EE, which Terry stated was ridiculous when a new customer is £32.99, FF900 was apparently not available to me. Again Terry was amazed as he said that he had just renewed an existing customer on FF900 for £31.99.

Terry then stated that he would send me his direct email contact details and take this matter further with his manager on Thursday. He said he was disgusted that loyal customers are being overcharged and that he would do all he could to address the problem. He said that possibly the only way to reduce the price was to create a new customer account for us. He agreed to call me back on Thursday morning, after speaking to his manager.

Needless to say that no one has come back to me and Terry has not responded to a polite email chase. Everything seemed so promising, only for BT Customer Support to go AWOL again.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Kodikid — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 16:45:21 GMT

I,m thinking that nice Terry was on the dole by 5pm Thursday. Could just imagine this idealist telling his manager where they are going wrong.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Sat27 — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 17:01:49 GMT

BT doesn’t appear to be bothered do they. I have a call to them on my to do list for next week. To avoid disappointment I have set my expectations at the lowest level possible. I’m lucky that I have options and I have decided that I will switch to another provider if I can’t get a reasonable offer from them. Although it will be inconvenient is some ways, I just want to feel that I’m not being taken for a fool (which I might be by the way!)

There was a time when the generally accepted wisdom for a business was that existing customers should be retained at all costs. Once they were lost they would be very difficult to get back. Today that has either been forgotten or business has changed quite fundamentally and looking after customers isn’t that important.
Hope you get what you’re looking for from BT and if not that you have other options.
Good luck.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

TimCurtis — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 08:04:06 GMT

Really don't know what's going on at BT /EE these days.

In the past I've got sensible deals via Retentions but these days most of the "guides" are pretty useless and there seems no motivation to retain customers.

I got forcibly switched to EE with a new 24m contract at an increased price when I just called to cancel a 30 day item.

Took a lot of effort on my part to get my price back down. Now not with BT/EE and unlikely to go back.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 08:56:06 GMT

@Sat27wrote:
There was a time when the generally accepted wisdom for a business was that existing customers should be retained at all costs.

That was the matra when I first set up a business over 40 years ago, because the cost of recruiting new customers far outweighs the cost of retention. Nothing has really changed except that all of the mass market ISPs would inexplicably prefer to spend on recruitment. BT are currently willing to pay a new customer up to £245 AND offer a discounted price.

Yet to retain a customer all they'd usually need to do is get close to the new customer price. Yet in the hope that a certain percentage will accept any price offered, they happily wave goodbye to those willing to move, only to offer them huge incentives to return two years later.

I can only guess that there are sufficient numbers who are afraid to move, or just have blind faith in the good old GPO, who will happily pay inflated prices to fund this model.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Kodikid — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 08:58:55 GMT

Retentions come end of contract are not something that ever bothers me. Guarantee the "personalised " offers are literally ludicrous/comical (£89 for 900mbps that's £37 for new customers) .

But these days I don't bother as Plusnet offer the exact same broadband with a £150 gift card for £34.

Ok they don't offer the landline but like most people these days that's a irrelevance.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Kimberlin — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 10:56:08 GMT

I’m amazed that there are seemingly enough people out there that have the time to sit down for literally hours talking to outsourced retentions staff who are undoubtedly told and incentivised to re-contract customers onto quite obviously ludicrous monthly payments.

I’m also surprised that there enough customers out there who somehow forget they’re out of contract and literally do nothing for sometimes years. Those folks must be made of money. Who in their right mind pays almost a hundred quid a month for a basic broadband package? But then there are people who stick with the same energy company for years and never switch.

Switching ISP is easy and from experience over the last 4 years, if you’re paying over £35 a month for 500mbps (as an example) with no phone line and none of the stupid add ons that people seem to let themselves get sucked into, then you’re paying too much.

As has been mentioned already, the landline is becoming very much an irrelevance for many people, not for everyone, but like High Street bank use, it’s generally a particular demographic that seem to rely on it/them.

The upshot is, it’s literally pointless moaning about BT (in this instance) concerning their pricing structure and the countless excuses and broken promises that the faceless drones in the call centres push out in their quest to retain customers on clearly (sometimes) stupidly expensive ‘deals’. This is why some of us don’t and won’t put up with it and switch. It’s very much each to their own though.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

spireflyer — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 15:53:57 GMT

Same here, been looking on BT account, i pay currently £51.54, i went via upgrade to EE, first offer was £60.99 or £72.99, that disappeared later that night and shot up to £83.99, then if you want extras ie Router, anti virus etc the price sky rockets, i have 9 months plus on my contract left, i would be a total idiot to accept that, i messaged on X the reply was nothing we can do thats it, you either pay it or you don't, like you a new customer pays £37.99 for FF900...

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Puma937 — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 20:55:07 GMT

Quick Update - haven't had chance to submit the formal complaint yet, but I did give Retentions a quick call tonight to see if Terry had been sacked or left the company 😉

It's been a week since Terry gave me his direct contact details, agreed to speak to his manager and call me back last Thursday to resolve the pricing issues. I sent him a polite chase on Friday and another yesterday, but he's gone AWOL. Just another BT employee promising something they can't deliver.

Anyway tonight I spoke to Brad in Doncaster and asked if any notes had been placed on my account. He said yes, but there was no actions listed to be undertaken by BT or Terry. (Unbelievable). The conversation was polite and Brad asked if I would mind holding whilst he spoke to a colleague. He was gone a long time to the point I thought he had cut me off, but when he did finally return he advised me to do something very strange.

As I am out of contract, Brad advised me to clear the cookies on my laptop, go to the BT website and sign up as a new customer. Do not enter my landline number, which will circumvent the BT system from knowing I am an existing customer. I would then be able to access the new customer prices and select everything I wanted to place a new order. In the notes area I should add my landline, which would enable us to keep our existing number.

'Are you serious, how is that going to work?' I asked. 'Why cant BT just change my account, or adjust the prices?'

'Sorry we don't have access to create a new customer account' said Brad. 'You are joking?'........'No, sorry, that's the only way we can match a new customer price'.

Surely this wont work and is not something that BT staff should be advising? It not only potentially causes issues with our landline, but also a mobile contract on the account. Any 'existing' customer offer migrating from 700mins to Unlimited minutes on a landline is also lost.

The basic advice was - if you are out of contract, just set up a new customer account omitting certain information. BT staff have lost the plot 🙄

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

Kimberlin — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 21:29:52 GMT

@Puma937 A polite question? How much time and effort have you put into this charade with BT, and has it so far been worth it?

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

gg30340 — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 22:07:09 GMT

@Puma937

Apart from the fact that the BT Customer Service member should not have been offering such advice it is also not good advice. If you were successful in doing as he suggested it would potentially open you up to a charge of fraud by trying to gain a financial advantage by lying on your application.

In any event if you were to do as suggested you will be required to input your address, which BT will have on record as being a current BT customer so the application to be treated as a new customer would fail.

Have you actually tried using the online system, "not the offers for you" by logging onto your MyBT then clicking on the Broadband button in the menu bar to see what prices of the packages are for existing customers rather than going through customer services?

I have advised the moderators about what the CS rep has suggested and how it could have potentially caused you serious legal issues.

Re: RETENTIONS - the SCAM of BT overcharging existing customers !!

WSH — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 22:28:22 GMT

@gg30340 As you say, it doesn't work. I tried that a few weeks ago. Not fraudulently as I'm not brave/daft enough for that. I had no intentions of taking it to completion but out of interest to see how far I could get before it refused me as a new customer.

The answer is not very far. The system obviously has checks to catch that. Not only when you put the address in but I would also suspect the payment details would also flag as already existing if I had got that far. The online system is not quite as stupid as it looks.

You would have thought the guide would have known that.