Loyal Customers Vs New Customers

[Darkelf720]

Hi everyone.

I currently have the 900MB Full Fibre broadband and my contract is due for renewal on 31st May.  I currently pay around £70 ish.

I notice that, as a new customer, I could get this for £38.99.

Upon reading the renewal pack, I am offered my 900MB Full Fibre Broadband for £67.99 for a 24 month contract.  Part of the details states - 'You will NEVER pay more than a New Customer - no excuses.'

Am I actually reading this incorrectly?

Please see https://www.bt.com/broadband/deals 

I would love to renew my BT Broadband but, I am certainly not going to be fleeced by having to pay double that of a new customer.

Please could you let me know your views?

Is there anything I can do, I do I just swtich provider to EE or Sky and be that New Customer with a shiny deal?

Many thanks.

[Kodikid]

Not got BT halo by any chance?

Either way £70 is ludicrous for 900mbps. Easy attained just about everywhere for less then £40.

Loyalty equals suckers in the broadband world. 

[Kimberlin]

Well you've taken the first positive step by actually discovering you can get 900mbps for half the price you are currently paying and you know you'd  be mugging yourself off by paying that stupid ridiculous monthly cost if you were to stay 'loyal' without at least trying to haggle with BT. I've become a non haggler, I refuse now to play the stupid haggle game so I just swap ISP and get the brand new customer deal, but that's my personal consumer choice. Once you're out of contract, you can actually switch ISP in as little as 5 working days, I know, I just did so 5 weeks ago, no disrupton in service, I just had to change my user name and password in my TP-Link router, reboot and there's been no change in service whatsoever, except I no longer have Ipv6, which is no great shakes.

So if you decide to give up precious minutes of your life with BT retentions, accept nothing less than a brand new customer deal or move on to another ISP.

My question is, do you actually need 900mbps broadband? My Wife works from home, we have around 25 devices connected to our WiFi and we watch Netflix and we manage it all just fine on 500mbps which for some is still utter overkill.

[WSH]

Welcome to the club, mate!

Yes, I'd be interested to know how they're getting away with that statement as well!  Unfortunately, a quick look at other forums shows that the problem is currently endemic across the industry.  Of couse, their arguement is that your package is different to what a new customer would get.  "Weasel words" doesn't even begin to describe it.  Personally, I'd quite happily give up the current package and start over again as a new customer but will they let me?  Of course not.  Basically, it boils down to they've already got us on the hook and they know most people are relucant to move, so they think they can just milk us.  Unfortunately, it seems the only solution is to move to a different ISP every two years.  Despicable and short-sighted!

[imjolly]

You need to make sure you are comparing the same package . The online package will be BT broadband 900mb with no phone or phone call package and also excludes the add on halo 3 or3+. Switching provider has been made far easier now as others posted as long as you don't want to keep your home phone.  Have you been moved to digital voice?

[Kimberlin]

In many cases now, you don't even have to speak to your current ISP to move, you just do it all online. I don't have a landline and none of that Halo stuff and I use my own router etc, so switching ISP was absolutely no hassle whatsoever. The problem is, many customers think it is an absolute hassle and won't move and so they get stuffed with the annual increase and they keep paying it. I didn't speak to BT when I initiated the switch, I just switched, no loyalty to them from me, absolutely no loyalty from BT in wanting to retain me by offering me a deal equal to that of a new customer in my last month of contract. Upshot, they can't be bothered, I can't be bothered. I win because new ISP is cheaper by 10 quid a month. Stupid thing is, I'll undoubtedly be back with BT in two years time on a brand new customer deal, probably paying what I'm paying now. It's all a game.

[WSH]

Yes, a game...that wastes everybody's time, including the ISP's.  I would have moved before now.  The only thing making me hesitate is that I need to do the upgrade to FTTP, so this time it will be a lot of hassle.  Oh, well.  Such is life...time to get on with it.

[Darkelf720]

Wow thank you all so much for the replies.  Really appreciated.  I got 900MB becuase I thought I would need a 'Max Package' with 2 ravenous daughters using spotify all the time and me being a gamer.  I actually don't.

I have no phone, I use a mobile like almost everyone else.  BT wanted to install 'Digital Voice' but the engineer didn't even have a VOIP phone when they installed the Fibre Box.  

As for Halo 3 - what actually does that do?  Absolutely never used anything other than the normal internet.  I bought my own BT disc thing to extend the Wi-Fi for my daughters and use a wire personally.

So, (if allowed) anyone have any recommendations for a new ISP?  EE maybe?  Sky?  Or, should I speak with BT and get them (if they will) to do it for £38.99?

Again, i really appreciate your time and effort everyone.

[Kimberlin]

If you don't need a landline and you haven't got one anyway, then clearly you don't actually need one. I moved into my new build home four years ago, all wired up for FTTP. Hadn't used a landline for years and decided I didn't need one anyway. Plus, more and more people are either giving up the landline completely or not bothering with one anyway. The age old argument of 'what if the mobile masts go down' just doesn't cut it anymore. I get it some folks still need a landline, but clearly many no longer do.

Probably a little unfair to ask for recommendations for a new ISP. After all, this is a BT Community. If you drop your speed to 500mbps, you'll clearly get a brand new customer deal with another ISP for around 30 quid a month, you might even get a cash card thrown in to the bargain.

As I said earlier, if you're prepared to give up several long minutes of precious life haggling with BT retentions, fill your boots, they might actually give you a great deal, but don't hold your breath. Sometimes it's just easier to cut the cord. After all, you can always come back.

[WSH]

"After all, you can always come back."  Not for two years you can't.  And that's another bone I have.  Anyway, moving on...

I believe it is against forum rules to promote another ISP, so I'll keep it general.  There is another major provider rumoured to be launching packages with CityFibre as well Openreach later this year.  The extra flexibility there might be worth a look, especially as CF infrastructure is rumoured to be even cheaper.