New or renewed contracts from the 1st September 2020

[SparkyC]

I just stumbled across this post while I was thinking about re-contracting with BT.

It explains how on my current and previous contracts they had changed my Stay Fast Guarantee during the contract term.  I naturally thought that would constitute a contract breach but as that clause explains, apparently not.

I do wonder what it is you actually sign up to at the start of a term.

[-Richie-]

The thread you link to is regarding the annual CPI+3.9% annual increase, I didn't see any mention of BB speed estimates or speed guarantees

BT changed how they estimate speeds, it doesn't change your contract, what you agreed when you entered the agreement is binding, what you're offered at renewal can be different but if you make no changes you're still under the original terms, it won't change mid-contract.

BT and some other ISP's have changed how they estimate speeds now, previously it was an average of surrounding properties if you were new to BT, now it uses observed speeds which is more accurate and based off history, some might see the estimate go up, some might see it go down, it reflects your line and how it performs.

I hope that clears up any confusion 🙂

[SparkyC]

Hey Richie

Thanks for your response.

I'm not sure I understand you correctly. 

Are you saying I'm mistaken about BT altering my Stay Fast Guarantee during the existing contract or that the reason my Stay Fast Guarantee has changed is BT has altered it's methodology for arriving at the Guarantee figure?

[-Richie-]

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@SparkyCwrote:

Are you saying I'm mistaken about BT altering my Stay Fast Guarantee during the existing contract or that the reason my Stay Fast Guarantee has changed is BT has altered it's methodology for arriving at the Guarantee figure?

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The Stayfast guarantee to your were given when you entered the contract has not changed, that was what you agreed and BT haven't changed it mid-contract.
Now using recently observed speeds, at renewal you might see a lower stayfast guarantee speed, if you take the offer you accept the new lower stayfast guarantee, if you don't change then your original stayfast guarantee is still applicable.

[SparkyC]

Maybe these screenshots will clarify. 

One from the day I agreed my current contract and the other from last week.

[-Richie-]

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@SparkyCwrote:

Maybe these screenshots will clarify. 

One from the day I agreed my current contract and the other from last week.

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Yes that is what I meant, in 2019 your speeds were estimated between 33-56 down and 8-14 upload with a stayfast guarantee of 30 mbps download, that was the old way of estimating how fast you get using surrounding properties.

Now 2 years later using recent observed speeds its decreased slightly, the new speeds are a more accurate estimate based on your recent speeds.

It's not that BT are going to reduce your current speeds, they can just be a lot more accurate when you enter into a new contract, I typically find BT will under promise because nobody complains the speeds are faster than agreed, they will (rightly so) complain if speeds are less than agreed.

[SparkyC]

So Richie, you have to agree this is super-misleading. 

It literally says "Your current package" at the top and you're asserting it isn't my current package.  I literally know of no other arena where this makes sense.

[-Richie-]

If the last contract you agreed to was on 31/12/2019 then the speeds in the order confirmation are what you contractually agreed to, that's not changed.

If you changed after that, then it would have its own order confirmation with the new speed estimates and minimum guarantee.

If you choose to renew now, your new contractually agreed speeds will be estimated between 29-32 mbps download, 6-7 mbps upload and a minimum guarantee (Stayfast Guarantee) of 26 mbps.

If you renew and accept the new terms, there won't be any change to your current speeds you receive now, it's just a more accurate estimate.