Vulnerable pensioner nan mis-sold 900mbps

[natashajay]

BT are the provider. This is a vulnerable customer and when I called the line listed online for vulnerable and inclusion cases I was put through to the billings team, I have call recordings of this as I was stonewalled again.

[natashajay]

Hi everyone,

I am posting here in desperation to get the attention of a BT Community Moderator. I am trying to sort out an urgent issue for my elderly, vulnerable grandmother who lives alone, but I have been completely stonewalled by the standard phone lines, I am willing to share audio recordings of this.

The Situation:

My nan was recently put on a 900Mbps plan with Halo 3 and add-ons—a package with enough speed to power a small business, despite BT being explicitly told she only uses two basic devices.

A visiting engineer openly confirmed to her that she had been completely misled regarding her actual requirements.

Luckily, I caught this within her statutory 14-day cooling-off period. Under Ofcom’s General Condition C5, BT is legally obligated to ensure vulnerable customers are on a fair tariff suitable for their needs.

The Issue with Customer Service:
I spent three hours on the phone (including with the listed vulnerability support line) trying to revert her to a standard Fibre 2 plan and strip the unnecessary add-ons. Instead of help, I faced shocking treatment from the phone agents:

Six different sales people gave conflicting information, including claiming it would cost £86 to downgrade.

Staff repeatedly refused to give me call reference numbers or escalate me to a manager.

Multiple agents actively hung up on me when I mentioned her cooling-off rights and Ofcom regulations, and they refused to issue a deadlock letter.

What I Need:
My nan has been overpaying for a year, but right now I am just trying to protect her within this 14-day cooling-off window. We have been completely blocked from exercising her legal rights.

Can a BT Moderator please look into this as a matter of urgency? I have full call recordings of the stonewalling, and we need an official complaint raised, the cooling-off change backdated, and a fair, suitable package applied to her account immediately.

Thank you.

[imjolly]

as I posted previously just email customer resolutions as they are highest complaint level and you will get some action rather than continually calling and getting nowhere

[gg30340]

@natashajay 

You were  advised by a moderator in message 3 what to do.

I have merged your "new" post onto this thread as there is no requirement to post the same problem twice. It only causes confusion and repetition of answers.

[garybs29]

One thing that's not clear too, is the vulnerable marker on the account too? All good saying she is but it needs to be noted on the account too

[iniltous]

Your attempt to clarify has (for me at least ) simply confused the issue even more …if BT are the supplier and you are correct in claiming your relative was mis sold products they clearly don’t need , then what have EE got to do with it , no EE engineers visit consumers in their homes , so why was this engineer there , who was the company they worked for , I guarantee EE  didn’t knock  on the door , with the sole intention  of notifying the occupants of being misled by the sister company of BT , your post suggests this visitor was present for engineering reasons .

If this were an EE representative the only likely scenario I can see  is if it were  an EE door to door salesperson who were canvassing the area , trying to sign up customers from other ISP to EE , and when your relative answered the door to a salesperson , the intention the EE representative had was to get the occupant to switch , and when told the current BT broadband arrangement,  clearly they have a vested interest in selling their own product, and diminishing the existing provider, even if it’s EE and BT the two ISP involved, this  is door to door sales after all , no sign ups , no wages , this is hardly honest council , it’s a case of ‘well they would say that wouldn’t they’ .

If you don’t have power of attorney you can’t just call and expect to be dealt with as if you do , however the simplest way , if the account holder is unwilling to have ‘unpleasant’ conversations is for them to call , answer the security questions, identity confirmation etc then tell the BT agent they will pass the phone onto someone that can act on their behalf, that presumably will be you …I suspect you called and expected to be treated as the account holder and that isn’t possible, not just with BT but every organisation, you saying you have permission is not sufficient.

Lastly as pointed out several times , the way to complain , if BT have sold inappropriate products to a vulnerable individual, ( and the EE involvement is effectively irrelevant ) , has already been pointed out .

[natashajay]

The customer service team have refused to amend her account to show she is vulnerable despite her being eighty eight years old.

[natashajay]

Respectfully, I have my facts straight. I am on the account as a spokesperson and an account manager. An EE engineer was sent out to sort out her pay as you go home phone, I have had people from BT when i call customer service lying about being from EE so perhaps he lied too. I have audio recordings I am willing to share.

[garybs29]

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@natashajaywrote:
The customer service team have refused to amend her account to show she is vulnerable despite her being eighty eight years old.

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Any other health issues too though? Respectfully just age alone may not be a vulnerability

[natashajay]

Vulnerability comes under someone having a low capacity to handle financial shocks, namely someone on a state pension, which is the case for her, she is not tech-savvy and was completely misled into buying a package completely unsuitable for her. Regardless of whether YOU believe she is vulnerable or not she is in her cooling period and it is her statutory right to be able to change her plan.