I have an elderly relative who lives in a small one-bedroom flat. He is not technically competent enough to properly compare BT broadband options. His trusting nature means he is easily persuaded to accept proposals made with any degree of assertiveness. He has a PC, a tablet, and a wireless printer in the same room as the BT Hub and has never complained about the wifi performance. These are used to access email, browse news sites on the internet, and print the occasional document. Even the lowest-speed broadband with simplest wifi package is overkill for his usage. He's not sure exactly when but toward the end of 2022, he was persuaded by someone representing BT who called him to have BT Halo 3+ with hybrid connect and complete wifi installed. An engineer installed a "box" in his kitchen, and a wifi disc has ended up in a drawer and never used. He was also sold 700 minutes of landline calls when his monthly usage seemed to be in the single-digit range of minutes as he relies upon a mobile phone. He had no idea he was paying for the 700-minute package. The true monthly cost was obfuscated via an annual payment option that allegedly included some form of discount. The one time broadband failed for a significant period no one seems to have activated the hybrid connect for him. Partially because he had no idea that this was part of his contract. And no one activating it when he called to register the fault. At least he received compensation for the outage.
In the last couple of weeks, he has realised the excessive cost. It represents a significant portion of his disposable income. He then called BT and negotiated some form of contract change. He doesn't seem to have any formal acknowledgment of the contract change. From viewing his account with him it seems like he's been put on a slower and cheaper broadband package. Perhaps not the slowest which would seem most appropriate. He's also been asked to return some equipment which seems to be the disc and the "box" installed in the kitchen. He's worried that if he disconnects this his wifi will stop working or he will lose broadband connection. The landline free minutes seem to have been removed. However, the voicemail package that he uses and would prefer to keep seems to have been removed as well. And it seems as if his next bill for broadband will not be significantly less than previously. Only the landline changes seem to have contributed towards a saving.
Needless to say, I'm incandescent that someone has been taken advantage of in this manner. The engineer that installed the complete broadband should have immediately realised how inappropriate what he was installing was. His previous broadband and landline usage should have guided the package he was sold.
I'd like to know how I can ensure that my relative gets a fair and fit for his needs broadband and landline package. I would also like to know what options there are for gaining compensation for the excessive charges he ended up paying since he was missold Halo 3+ etc. I'm willing to help him raise a formal complaint and would even consider legal action if someone can explain how to do this whilst maximising the likelihood of success.
