I have had an email stating that I am going to be upgraded to full fibre free of charge and will get a faster speed as part of the deal, without any change to my existing contract or prices. I am currently out of contract and seriously considering my options as to whether to move to another provider. Can I be sure that this free upgrade will not cause any problems relating to my out of contract status?
Ask BT, but I very much suspect it will involve a new 2 year contract.
If you've been proactively offered a move to FTTP without initiating any contact it will not involve a new contract, it only applies a new contract if mutually agreed
In your post you literally say "without any change to my existing contract or prices" too ie no new contract
| Get ready - you're getting Full Fibre broadband with a free speed boost |
Hello, What happens next? Our installation partner, Openreach, will send you an SMS or email to arrange for an engineer to install Full Fibre at your property. Openreach will provide a suggested time and date. Confirm which day works for you. An engineer will come and carry out the work. You can sit back and relax, knowing your home phone service and broadband are future-proof. Once you're on Full Fibre, we'll be back in touch with a free speed upgrade for you Ironically, if I was still under contract I would be confident this was a free deal for the remainder of my term but, becausee I am out of contract the line 'Your monthly price and contract will stay exactly the same.' is a bit confusing,
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Never ceases to amaze me the number of contributors that are so cynical, if the email says no extra contractual obligation or price increase and it’s been put in writing, then that’s exactly what happens , this isn’t some errant employee exaggeration to hit a target , plus if you are still uncertain, don’t accept the upgrade , it’s not compulsory, but you will find that changing providers or re-contracting in the normal way will come with a minimum term , you can get the occasional complaint on here about this type of upgrade but it’s usually about not wanting the ‘upheaval’ however inconsequential it may be of the actual installation, but that doesn’t appear to be an issue for the OP .
What you should appreciate is that this upgrade to FTTP is an Openreach offer , and clearly the incentive for them is to get consumers off copper and onto FTTP once it’s available, if you don’t want it , when they contact you , simply don’t arrange an appointment.
OK , that all sounds logical now that you mention the Open reach involvement. Thinking about it further, its not much of a free upgrade anyway as I'm pretty sure that, if I did recontract , BT wouldn't charge for this and a new supplier would be only about £30 if at all. Also, being out of contract, I am currently overpaying what I would have to pay for several fast full fibre deals even though I am perfectly happy with Fibre 2 ( part fibre).
I may get the work done and then see what my options are, although I'm not that keen to have the work done really, but it seems I will gradually be forced into it one way or another.
You are still in a contract. If you were not in a contract you would not be getting broad band from any provider let alone BT.
You are no longer in a Fixed Term Contract. The "incentive " for being in a Fixed Term Contract is a slight discount in the price for the duration of the contract. You can not leave this contract without paying early leaving fees.
If you are not in a Fixed Term Contract, you are in a 30 day contract. This means you do not get any discounts for being in that contract resulting in you paying full price for you broadband package. You can however terminate this contract after giving BT 30days notice.
The message you have received will mean that your broadband will be changed to FTTP and you will remain on the 30 day contract until such times as you take out a new Fixed Term Contract. The free speed boost will be to take your present speed up to 80Mbps which is I suspect higher than you are getting at present.
If you want more speed than that you will have to take out a new Fixed Term Contract.