Is it true that BT will increase charges to pay for 5G?

[Taffy078]

The media last weekend reported that BT are increasing a large raft of prices to enable them to pay for the costs of introducing 5G.

My wife and I have 3G mobiles so we will not pay any BT increases to cover their costs of introducing 5G. My legal advice insurers say that I would have a strong case for cancelling BT mid-term and my legal expenses insurers say they will fund the costs of defending any BT charges for my cancelling mid-term.

I don't want to go down this path - I already have one official complaint logged with Ofcom on the go - so what are the chances of BT freezing my current prices?

[MJH1962]

So you’ve taken legal advice before you know if it’s actually a fact? I would get a new lawyer, as you will almost certainly struggle to prove any future increase to your contract is down to 5G costs.

[Taffy078]

MJH1962, you treated me as if I'm an idiot when you wrote "So you’ve taken legal advice before you know if it’s actually a fact?"

Do you live in the UK? I do, and last weekend the media was full of stories that BT were going to put up their charges to pay for their costs of providing 5G. Read the following article -

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/9070456/bt-broadband-mobile-prices-hike-5g/

seach for yourself and you'll see many more reports. The report I saw was in the Mail on Sunday.

Here's a more technical report:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/03/30/400000-extra-phone-masts-needed-bring-5g-network-rura...

[-Richie-]

BT will need to invest in infrastructure to support growth and launch new products, that does not mean your existing agreement will be altered, if it was then you'd be notified and provided your legal rights.

It's also worth noting that since BT Mobile was launched in 2015/2016 they have not once increased any mobile prices, every other provider has RPI built into the terms but if you were paying £5 per month in 2015/2016 then you'd still be paying £5 per month now.

[gg30340 · Accepted solution]

I would think that any company can raise its prices for what ever reason it wants.

It would depend on when the price rise was due to take effect and if you are in contract or not as regards what you could do about it

If it was the annual one as per the CPI it would be as per this link.

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/63722/~/annual-price-changes-and-cpi

If it was within a contract and not the CPI rise you would need to be notified and you would have 30 days from date of notification to exit your contract without penalty.

If you were out of contract you would either need to suck it up or move providers.

In any event BT have said there will be no price rise until March 2020 and thereafter any rise will be in line with the CPI

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/01/bt-broadband-prices/

[Taffy078]

@gg30340  With great respect, I wouldn't have answer-marked your post and in every other forum of which I'm a member, it's the OP who answer-marks. Who answer-marked it? I'd prefer for it to be unmarked.

(1) It's fine to quote money-saving-expert but I'm more interested in what BT has to say.

(2) BT say "If you’re within your minimum term when the prices go up, you can cancel your contract. But there will be a fee for cancelling early. If you’re outside of your contract period you can end your contract at any time without any fees."

But how do find out what our minimum term is?

(3) Last time, BT's fee for cancelling early was punitive - mine rose to over £500 and they couldn't explain how the figure was arrived at. And the BT Complaints team weren't at all interested in discussing it.

The legal advice I've been given is that by changing the terms, BT has broken the contract. Plain & simple.

(4) The last time I had a problem, the one that forced me to complain to Ofcom, we were given a link in the Community where we could get confirmation that the increase wouldn't be applied to us. I did but BT totally ignored it.

(5) I'm still researching and expect to get back here by the end of this week.

[clonk]

You've already been assured by your legal advisors and the Sun that you can successfully sue BT, so stop worrying.

[gg30340]

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@Taffy078 wrote:

@gg30340  With great respect, I wouldn't have answer-marked your post and in every other forum of which I'm a member, it's the OP who answer-marks. Who answer-marked it? I'd prefer for it to be unmarked.  The moderators marked it as the solution.

(1) It's fine to quote money-saving-expert but I'm more interested in what BT has to say. The modrators marked it as the solution so I would presume that they agree with it. I would also suspect that money saver got their information from BT and didn't just make it up.

(2) BT say "If you’re within your minimum term when the prices go up, you can cancel your contract. But there will be a fee for cancelling early. If you’re outside of your contract period you can end your contract at any time without any fees." The reason you would be charged if in contract and if it is the annual price rise is in line with the CPI is because you were informed via the T&Cs that this rise would happen annually and if you disagree you shouldn't have taken out the contract.

But how do find out what our minimum term is? If you did not note it at the time you signed up to the contract you can contact BT on 0800.800.030 and ask.

(3) Last time, BT's fee for cancelling early was punitive - mine rose to over £500 and they couldn't explain how the figure was arrived at. And the BT Complaints team weren't at all interested in discussing it.

The legal advice I've been given is that by changing the terms, BT has broken the contract. Plain & simple.  Did you read the links I posted. That explains the position regarding if you are in or out of contract however if your legal experts have read the information that has been posted and disagree then it is up to you who you want to agree with. 

In any event there is nothing you can do until if/when it happens.

(4) The last time I had a problem, the one that forced me to complain to Ofcom, we were given a link in the Community where we could get confirmation that the increase wouldn't be applied to us. I did but BT totally ignored it.

(5) I'm still researching and expect to get back here by the end of this week.

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[Taffy078]

@clonk  I don't read the Sun - that was just the first in the long list of newspaper articles reporting what BT are going to do. And I'm not worrying - I'm about to create a new post on the subject.

[gg30340]

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@Taffy078 wrote:

And I'm not worrying - I'm about to create a new post on the subject.

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Why are you going to create a new post about the same subject? You should keep it all on the same thread.