Cancelling home essentials with TV

[wyterabitt]

When I switched to home essentials I knew I could leave when I wanted as the 12 month "contract" is just the rolling time limit for checking eligibility. But you can add TV to this, which I expect a lot do.

So what happens to the TV contract if you leave home essentials "penalty free" - because it's not really penalty free if you can add things to the home essentials package that will then have to be paid for while you don't get the service at all, or have to pay cancellation fees, as a result of leaving?

Just curious as I thought about taking up a deal with Virgin today, but double checking everything realised it doesn't say you can leave all of your contract (probably won't get a certain answer until it's too late for todays deals, but at least I'll know one way or another for the future).

[-Richie- · Accepted solution]

Home Essentials is a social tariff, because using the internet and being able to make calls is important to peoples lives and wellbeing.

TV and other services from BT are a luxury, which is why they have their own terms and conditions and not part of the social tariff.

You can terminate the Home Essentials plan penalty free, TV and other services will have early termination fees if you're within the minimum term.

[wyterabitt]

You haven't answered the question.

Under normal circumstances even without a "social tariff" involved, BT don't allow you to have a setup where you have a contract that will or can be ended itself without cancellation fees that will leave another contract such as TV running so you have to pay for it and not be able to use it or pay cancellation fees.

It's not a strange question, or one based on some kind of greed or from someone who doesn't know the normal rules, to ask about why they would allow what they don't allow for normal customers to happen to those who as you have pointed out have taken a "social tariff".

Pointing out the generic standard answer to a question specifically asking for an official answer on a non standard situation is not helpful - I know it will blow your mind but I am not a **bleep**, I already know the normal procedure and I had a different question that I wanted an official answer to.

(I didn't swear just to clarify, and it was a very mild word directed at myself not anyone else - didn't think something that mild would be filtered)

[-Richie-]

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@wyterabittwrote:

You haven't answered the question.

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I thought I had but I'm happy to explain in more detail.

Does this help ? 'Any service with a minimum term agreement that is terminated during the term can be subject to early termination fees'
Home Essential has no minimum term, like any other product it can be ceased with 30 days notice, BT will check annually that you are still elligible for the social tariff but that isn't a minimum term, it's a yearly check that you qualify.

If you cancel your BT Broadband the BT TV service is automatically ceased as BT broadband is a requirement for BT TV.

For example :

Customer joins BT for Home Essentials and BT TV, the Home Essentials plan is a rolling 30 day term with no penalty, the BT TV service has a minimum 24 month term, during that initial 24 month term the customer switches the broadband to another provider, the customers BT TV is also cancelled, early termination fees will be applied to the BT TV contract but not the Home Essentials plan.
The early termination fees will vary on each product and plan, more info at www.bt.com/earlytermination

I hope that clears things up, if not feel free to reply and I or someone else will answer 🙂