Charges for Bill Copies

[gmeikle94]

Good day.

I recently helped my great aunt request bills for the previous 12 months as she required them for a care assessment for her care at home.

We were told that they could be sent and that she should receive them in 5-8 business working days.

She has received the bills but subsequently we have found out that she has been charged £4.80 for each copy to be sent to her.

She has received 11 bills at £4.80 which shows on her bill as “Other Charges” of £52.80.

At no point were we told that the bills would be charged and at almost 200% of her normal bill charges.

This is an 86 year old lady who needed them for a social care assessment at home.

I am appalled by these charges especially when British Gas emailed us their equivalent of the required bills at no charge.

BT you should be ashamed of yourself.

[gg30340]

You could have got her bills yourself if you used her MyBT.

https://www.bt.com/help/account-and-billing/payments--bills-and-charges/how-can-i-view-my-bill-onlin...

You could the have downloaded them and printed them.

https://www.bt.com/help/account-and-billing/i-want-to-receive-paper-bills

In the above link it states there is a charge to have them sent to you.

[gmeikle94]

Good day.

Thank you for your reply.

Although my great aunt already had access to myBT as an 86 year old lady she did not know how to access it so our only alternative to contact BT was via phone.

The agent who we spoke to was very helpful but at no point told us that there would be a charge to supply these and that they would even be on a per bill basis.

[licquorice]

Hmm, perhaps you should re-read your original post where you state you helped her contact BT and refer to 'we' were told.

[gmeikle94]

Erm, and you point is.

My great aunt called BT and said to the agent that she gives permission to speak to me as she is the account holder.

When I spoke with the agent he said that they could send the bills AND at no point told me I could set up her myBT app and print them out AND did not tell me that there would be a charge.

I’m not a BT customer myself and when you visit an elderly relative who is distressed you don’t have the time to read through t&c’s

[iniltous]

You obviously have the option to complain stating you were not told of the charges , that call can then be listened to and if no mention was made , the fee may be waived , if of course the fee was mentioned ( and TBH it is widely known , posting on this forum before rather than after would have provided the information but it’s also on line  )
I’m not saying it’s fair or reasonable BTW , if copy’s of multiple bills were requested at the same time , I’d argue it’s fairer to make the first bill the unusual fee but subsequent ones an maybe £1 each , so around £15 -£16 in total but expecting it to be provided first free , when paper bills are not free as standard , is naive.

[gmeikle94 · Accepted solution]

I wasn’t necessarily expecting paper bills to be sent considering that I gave my email address as a contact to be added to the account.

I had to do exactly the same thing with British Gas but I was given the option for paper or electronic bills.  I received an electronic copy of the bills from them 4 days later which I forwarded to the local council.

[Chris__S]

Hi @gmeikle94 

I'm sorry to hear about your experience when you contacted us to request your great aunt's bills.

If you feel like the charges were not properly explained to you, then you can contact us and speak to a guide who will get this looked into for you.

If you'd like to make a complaint, a guide can log a complaint on your account for you, and you also have the option to complain by post if you wish to.

Chris S