Escape from Halo 3+

[Andrew600]

I know this won’t reach the people who really need to hear it, but here goes anyway.

My contract ends today and I’ve just initiated a switch to Sky broadband purely because of the extortionate price BT have been charging me. £73.50 for fttc Halo 3+.

During the countdown to contract end the best they came up with was £66.50.

Within seconds of Sky confirming my order, BT messaged me with an offer of Fibre 2 for £32.

Why on earth they didn’t offer this a couple of weeks ago is totally beyond me. It’s highly likely I would have taken it if they had. As it is I’ve made my decision, Sky is still significantly cheaper and am not inclined to change my mind.

It’s so, so stupid BT. Just give us a choice of packages from the outset, not just Halo or nothing. A lost customer because of it.

[chrisjp]

Yes, BT's "retentions" policy is too clever by half!

[Kimberlin]

@Andrew600 

Good luck with the new ISP, I hope all goes well with the switch.

Undoubtedly, had BT Retentions managed to convince you to stay with the offer which came in too late, you'd probably have ended up being transferred to the EE side of the business anyway as some customers who have renegotiated their contracts have mentioned on this forum.

Don't forget to return all of the BT gear and whatever you do, make sure you get a proof of posting from the Post Office and take a photograph of it and store it away somewhere safe where you can find it so that when you get an email or letter telling you to return the kit you've already returned and telling you you'll be getting a large bill for it, you can shove your proof of posting in the right direction.

It's certainly a bizarre way for retentions to conduct business, but there you go, lose a customer but gain another from somewhere else. It's just a merry go round.

[Kodikid]

That's exactly what I did but in my case I joined plusnet for a week then cancelled. 

I then joined BT as a new customer with a cracking deal with the addition of  £150 gift card.

The original renewal offer was actually quite comical/ offensive being almost double what a new customer would pay

Hope it goes well with Sky.

[Andrew600]

Thanks @Kimberlin and @Kodikid 

I hope it goes well too obviously.

I just had a call from retentions and the offer is now £22 plus £3 for a  payg landline. He was desperate to sell me a TV package too and wouldn’t take no for an answer. That would have guaranteed a switch to EE. I refused all of it.

Nothing says third party agents on commission more than that call to me.  It was one of those calls where he was talking nonsense a lot of the time and I got annoyed almost instantly. Hopefully they got the message and won’t call again.

[Kimberlin]

@Andrew600 

What speed was the customer service rep offering you for £22 a month?

I wouldn't take a TV package either, just a whole bunch of expense if you ask me!

[Andrew600]

@Kimberlin 

I didn’t ask, but it’s a good question. It could well have been a 40/10 package. £22 is way below any new customer pricing afaik, so there might be a catch in there somewhere.

To be honest, that call has annoyed me so much that the switch is going ahead no matter what. It was that bad!

[WSH]

Yes, mirrors my own recent experience.

I initiated a move to Sky because I couldn’t get a decent price out of BT.  In my case, I really wanted to make the move to Openreach FTTP infrastructure.  Despite requesting this, Sky sent CityFibre to do the install.  Unfortunately, that is a non-starter here, as it would have involved digging up a communal drive.  Fortunately, BT had got the message in the meantime and offered me FTTP at a sensible price, so I cancelled the move to Sky.

Pity they have to effectively lose customers before they get the message.  Next time they won’t be so lucky, as the infrastructure is now in place and I won’t mess a third-party about by cancelling just because they’ve got round to making a sensible offer after the event.

[Andrew600]

Now there’s another offer by text of £27 for fibre 2 with an 80/20 connection.

This is going to get tiresome if they don’t admit defeat soon.

Starting the switch was so quick and simple.

Dealing with BT attempting to stop it, not so much, but it does tell me that if you want to stay, the best way to get a decent deal is to start a switch to another ISP.

[Kimberlin]

@Andrew600 

When I switched away from BT using OTS (I initiated it at 6 in the morning), by 9am, I was being bombarded with phone calls from the BT call centre in Stevenage. I had absolutely no desire whatsoever to talk to them, indeed I was left with zero option but to block their number in the end because they kept calling without leaving a message. BT had plenty of opportunity to offer me a stunning retention deal a full 30 days before I switched, but they didn't and their so called 'Offers' in the MyBT App, were quite honestly, a poor joke when compared to what a new customer was being offered. It's a massive shame because I had no issues with BT or the service, absolutely top rate, but I am not wasting my breath talking to a call centre sales person fighting to get some commission and hoping I get what they promise on the phone.