Contract Renewal

[Elliboy]

Good afternoon,

I am considering contacting BT next day or so to renewal my contract. I have been out out contract for over six months.

Just needing to confirm that if I renew today/tomorrow I will not be subject to the price increase scheduled for the end of this month. Is that 100% certain?

One more supplementary question if I may. I am considering upgrading from FTTC to FTTP. Will the Digital Voice service be automatically included in the new contract, or is that an added extra? If it is included, will it automatically be a PAYG service, which is what I want, or do I have to take out a call plan? And will a new phone be provided, even if I am on PAYG.

Grateful for any advice.

[imjolly · Accepted solution]

@Elliboy 

there are numerous posts on the forum confirming new contract starting in march is not subject to increase at 31/3 but will be in 2024

if you upgrade then you will more than likely move to DV which is free change and you would need to ensure just PAYG.  you should get a new DV phone

[Elliboy]

Many thanks. I appreciate your response. 

I was 99% certain . And now I am 100% certain. 

[Elliboy]

Just for info...

I rang BT "retentions". Not quite how I expected it to turn out. The deal offered was higher than that offered under My Offers! A couple of quid off would have been enough to seal a deal but it was not to be. 

That is a real shame. I am happy to pay a reasonable premium to stay with BT. Especially as I find this forum, and the very helpful guys and girls who run it, to be a very useful resource. My MSE newsletter today has full fibre deals from Virgin and Vodafone at half the price asked by BT. I need to give it some thought.

Just one more query. Is 0800 800 030 (option 1) definitely the right number for retentions? 

Thanks.

[imjolly]

yes that is options team and you can negotiate a new contract deal

[Elliboy]

Thank you for confirming the phone number.

Perhaps I was just unfortunate, but I was very surprised about the lack of negotiating! Is it the norm to be offered a "deal" by retentions that is three pounds a month more expensive than that offered under "My Offers"? Very odd if it is.

Anyway, the call has prompted me to start looking to see what else is available. I really should have done this months ago. I may give BT one more call at some stage over the next few days. I may get a better offer.

Once again thanks for your help.

[imjolly]

try selecting broadband deals and entering your post code to see deals currently on offer then compare with what you are being offered

https://www.bt.com/broadband

[ParkGuy99]

I'm only a few weeks away from being out of contract, and have therefore been considering my options. I get the impression there's a bit of 'left hand, right hand' at BT when it comes to renewals. A few weeks ago I was offered my current package for £2/month less, but didn't bite in case I got stung for this year's price increase. That offer has now disappeared, but I'm currently being offered a renewal for a few pounds more, making it £34.99/month. However the other night BT emailed me to say I can renew, but £39.99/month is the best they can do, even though I could renew for £5/month cheaper in My Offers.

Like the OP, I'm tempted by other, much cheaper it has to be said, providers. But BT has been rock solid for two years, and I'm loathe to open myself up to hassle if it goes wrong, even if BT's two year contracts, and inflation +3.9% are a mickey take.

[Elliboy]

Thank you ParkGuy99

Like you, I am happy to pay a reasonable premium for BT broadband. My service has been very good. And, when there has been a hiccup, I have found this website to be incredibly helpful. However, there has to be an upper limit to that premium.

Have to be honest and say I was not overly impressed with the retentions department. First off they tried to upsell me to some higher value deals. And as I said earlier, I thought it was very odd that they would not even come down to the offer available in "my offers". That's why I actually wondered if I had got through to the correct department! I've used retentions a few times in the past and have always found them to be very helpful. This time it seemed more "take it or leave it" sales than retentions. Obviously things are different now.

I'm going to leave it a few days and see what else is available. My brother recently signed up to one of the newer smaller companies and the service has been excellent. 

Good luck with your renewal. 

[Elliboy]

Just for info (again).....

After sleeping on it I decided to renew with BT. 

I had a good look at the Virgin and Vodafone offerings, which would have saved me between £8-12 per month, but, on this occasion, decided to stay with BT. 

One of the key reasons for staying with BT is this very forum. It's an excellent resource, and I have always found the people who run it incredibly helpful. I hope BT management appreciate it's value.

I upgraded to Full Fibre 100 at a cost of £32.12 per month. I baulked a bit at the compulsory £2 per month PAYG digital fee, but decided to carry on anyway. So, all in all, it comes to £34.12 per month. Installation date is just over a weeks time.

One minor minor issue. I completed the order getting on for an hour ago. The order screen stated a confirmation email had been sent. But I haven't received anything yet. Does anyone know if this is normal. Don't want to appear impatient, but obviously need to know if anything has gone wrong. 

Many thanks.