Downgrading my BT package, well trying to...

[Nicko2]

I have read earlier posts, but others may be interested:

We have had a Full Fibre 900 with Halo 3 package for around 4 years. It's time for a change, we are retired now and used to work from home, the kids have left and money is tighter.

Our current contract ends on 20 Nov (but I understand from this forum that our internet will continue if we do nothing? At a price!) I called BT several months ago and asked if I could downgrade and was told about a penalty for early departure, I should call back nearer the contract end. So I cancelled out TV sport package to save some cash for a few months.

Today I called again, 15 days before the end of contract. I was told that BT could not offer me a cheaper package, they "could not lower the speed" to say 300MbPs as I asked, they could not lower it at all! I was offered the same package for the same price. I asked about transferring to EE - but the package and price were about the same. Looking online this is the way the two websites work - a dreaded circle between the two that keeps you on the same package. No escape! 

My BT guide agreed this was frustrating and apologised. The advice given was for my wife to set up a new contract with EE asap, ie to be a new customer. Then for me to be added to the account as contact in due course. (This might allow me to get a cheaper EE phone contract).   This is absurd. I am about to phone EE and masquerade as my wife (who has never had anything to do with either BT or EE).  

Seriously - others have written about far worse situations.  Is there any other way of doing this? 

[gg30340]

Send a complaint out lining your problem to the BT CEO. You'll get her email address with an Internet search.

She will never get the email but her executive team should and they may be able to rectify this absurd practice.

If it does not get sorted be prepared to leave BT. There are plenty of good deals for new customers.

In any event you should drop the Halo add on. It is just a con to get more money from customers. You should also consider dropping down to at the most 500 Mbps and even down to 150Mbps which given what you have said will be more than enough.

[imjolly]

If you do not use your home phone I would use the OFCOM one touch switch and place an order with ISP like SKY or PLUS NET  get better cheaper deal and probably a reward as well. All you do is place order for package you want and new ISP will do the rest

[Kimberlin]

@Nicko2 

100 percent with @imjolly  on this. As they say, if you don’t have a landline? or even if you do, do you actually really use it or need it? then go with the advice and switch. That way, you’ll avoid any more hassle attempting to negotiate with BT, indeed you won’t even have to speak to anyone at all, you can return all of your kit, especially that Halo stuff and move on.

There has it seems, been a massive push to entice customers onto contracts involving much higher speeds than most households would ever need, well ISP’s would, wouldn’t they? because they get more money out of the customer.

As has been stated, you’d probably be fine with just 150mbps. I’m on 500mbps and I’ve got loads of devices connected to my non ISP router and my Wife WFH and we could easily get by on just 300mbps.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[pddco]

150Mbps (100Mbps minimum speed guarantee) is comfortably 3 UHD TVs and room to spare all streaming at the same time. Many other devices, including streaming videos on your mobile phones, are only demanding a fraction of that. Probably in a domestic environment the only time you’d appreciate a 900Mbps service is if you get a buzz from looking at the results of a speed test. Or you really appreciate saving a few minutes downloading a windows update or map update for your sat nav.. Even gaming is not that data hungry. The key criteria is lag/ latency which fibre to the premises wins hands down irrespective of speed.  

[Nicko2]

Thanks for the advice offered, very helpful in spurring me on to investigate further.

Update: 2 calls to EE, the first was very pushy sales talk where I felt we were bargaining, rather than being offered the product I wanted at a price that was set. Not happy!

Second call to EE was more business like; upshot is that the inclusion of Halo in my BT contract prevents "the system" from offering EE's best prices for the product I want. I was told that once I am out of contract EE can offer better prices (comparable to similar offers for 150-300Mbps on the price comparison sites). A call back was arranged for a couple of days after the contract ends in 2 weeks time.

So as others have said the upselling of Halo and the will of BT to retain it by pushing folk to renew before their contract ends is causing a problem for many of us (I have just received another email to that effect!).  But wait until the contract ends and EE should be able to offer better deals without Halo.

I will let you know how this goes but at present I am likely to go with EE rather than to another provider because: I can retain our BT email accounts (without paying £7.50 to move them to Premium), we don't have to change router and I have a phone contract with them.

[Kimberlin]

@Nicko2 

If you do switch from BT to EE, with regards to the router, judging by what some have posted on this forum, you'd apparently be better off sending back the BT router and accepting the EE router if one is offered. It will be a WiFi 6 router? which if the case, will be much better than the SH2 if that is what you currently have. I'm happy to be corrected if this isn't the case.

I genuinely hope your switch goes without a hitch when it happens.

[gg30340]

If you are migrating to EE and you presently have a Smarthub 2 you will not be offered an EE hub.