New BT Mobile Contract - Possible Mistake in Advisory Letter

[AlanF]

Hi,

I had a letter yesterday from BT explaining that my Mobile phone plan had expired. They gave me the option of keeping my existing Samsung Galaxy A71, with a 3GB extra speed 4G Phone Plan. I currently pay £36.58 per month.

I am also a BT Broadband customer, and my wife has a separate mobile (A12 with different number) added to my Plan for which I also pay the additional charge. The contract for my wife's phone ends in February 24.

The letter I received from BT gave me the following options:

1: Keep the package as it is

2: Move to a new package

3: Look elsewhere

As I have everything with BT my inclination had been to stay with BT for Broadband, my Mobile and my wife's Mobile.

The choice of deals mentioned in the letter mentioned the following:

"You can enjoy this EE offer, all because EE is part of the BT family

Samsung Galaxy S23 128 - NO FRILLS

£20.00 / month - 24 month term - increases 31 March 2024 - £0.00 upfront cost

Unlimited Minutes - Unlimited Texts - 5GB Data"

When I rang BT to discuss the options that I had been presented with the pleasant and helpful advisor said that the £20.00 offer was a mistake! He went away to confirm that with his advisor. When he came back he said that if I wanted the S23 the cost was substantially different to what my letter suggested. He stated that I would have to pay a  £100.00 upfront charge, plus then have to pay around £43.00 per month.

There is no way that I am prepared to pay an upfront charge of £100.00, neither am I prepared tp pay the suggested increased monthly cost.

I contended that if BT had put their £20.00 offer in print, in the letter I received (presumably to others as well), then to simply be told it was a 'communication mistake' is not good enough! I accept that anyone can make a mistake, but if it was a genuine error, then someone should have spotted that before the letter went out! BT should be prepared to 'keep to their word'. 

I would be interested to know what you think, and whether other customers have had a similar response to myself.

Sorry for going on about this, but if a High Street shop had put a wrong price-ticket on an item and it was pointed out to them, I feel sure that they would be expected to accept the error and stand by the lower price they had quoted to customers.

Regards,

AlanF

[rbz5416]

Are they asking you to continue paying £36.58 to stay as you are? Your previous price would have included paying for the handset, which you've now done. For 3GB SIM only I'd expect somewhere around £7.

Unfortunately a retailer's prices are an "Invitation to treat" & as such, they can decline your offer to pay the quoted price where an error has been made. It's up to you if you have the time & energy to pursue it, but given that BT is to customer service as fish are to bicycles, expect to get nowhere but frustrated.

Assuming that you continuation price is around the £7 mark, I'd be inclined to carry on with that until the other contract expires & then see what EE  & other networks can offer for two SIM only plans. Or if you want/need new handsets, shop around then.

[Paul608085]

@AlanF 

"I accept that anyone can make a mistake, but if it was a genuine error, then someone should have spotted that before the letter went out! BT should be prepared to 'keep to their word'. "

It normally says in the small print of any offer like this, (not just BT), "E&OE" - Errors and Omissions Excluded.

As @rbz5416 said, a retailer is not obliged to sell a product just because the label has the wrong price. Many do honour it, but they don't have to. That said, I have successfully argued this point in stores a few times in the past and got bargains!

You can only ask, and they can only refuse (if they choose to).

[AlanF]

Are they asking you to continue paying £36.58 to stay as you are? Your previous price would have included paying for the handset, which you've now done. For 3GB SIM only I'd expect somewhere around £7.

Dear rbz5416

£36.58 is what they are asking me to pay so that I can stay as I am. 

The so-called Offer letter (received yesterday) says:

"Based on your current Mobile plan: BT Mobile 10GB SIM Only 5G Plan - £10.00 / Month - 24 month term - Increases 31 March 2024

BT Halo benefit double data boost to 20GB - Unlimited Minutes and Texts - Flexibility to change your data allowance every month to suit your needs.

Sounds like the better deal would be to stay with the same phone, but go SIM Only. The only possible snag that I see, is what happens if I want to change the phone within the contracted 24 Months?

What do you think?

Regards,

AlanF

[rbz5416]

If you're otherwise happy with the BT Mobile service, then I'd try calling them & pointing out that you've completed the payment of your handset. The difficulty might be with a stop sell on BT Mobile SIMO contracts due to the push to EE. Although others have reported being able to recontract to BT Mobile.

But if you think you may want to upgrade the handsets soon, & do that as part of a contract rather than outright purchase, I think you'll have to look elsewhere for a provider offering a 30 day rolling contract. Generally the primary network providers don't offer this & want to tie you in for at least a year. So it will be a case of looking to one of the MVNOs. Then you're free to switch contracts at any time & you may find something more appealing with EE when the other contract ends.

Just to add a little context to pricing, the nearest equivalent to your A71 is probably the A54 at around £450 today. The S23 is a premium phone & costs nearly double that. Why or how they offered that for £20pm is beyond me. I don't know if a Moderator can assist with them going some way towards honouring that.