Mis-selling by BT

[FelixdaHousecat]

I recently called BT as I was moving house.

They said I could take my contract with me, and were very, very clear that I would not have a new long term contract and I could cancel at any moment with 30 days notice.

I took them at their word, moved house, and now I call up BT to find out the not only did the salesman sign me up for a 24 month contract, against my will, but also changed it so it started a month before I moved house, and to add insult to injury it's also a lot more expensive and a waaay slower internet speed!!

So that means that I was tricked into a contract I can't cancel as it's now beyond the 14 day limit, I can't afford, and is no use at all as it's too slow to even watch telly.

I have the guy's name and the exact time of the call, but I can't seem to get the call recording off BT as their email verification system isn't working.

The woman on the phone at BT told me it was my problem and would cost £500 to cancel the contract! For a 15Mbps line..... 

I totally can't afford to pay for this guys underhand sales tactics. I can't believe BT of all companies has these kinds of shady practices. They should be ashamed of themselves. I'd been with BT for years and years, but this has really soured me on them.

I'm now stuck, do I cancel the direct debit?

[licquorice]

Whatever you do DON'T CANCEL YOUR DIRECT DEBIT, that will result in big trouble with your credit rating.

A home move should not involve a contract renewal unless you upgraded your package at the same time.

The speed of the internet at your new home is not a result of any package, it is simply a function of your distance from the cabinet and will be the same for all providers. 15M is more than ample to watch TV by the way.

I will flag your post to the mods, they will post on the thread tomorrow.

[FelixdaHousecat]

Thank you Licquorice.

I'm so glad for your help, and maybe a bit more worried now as I think a family member might have cancelled the direct debit for me thinking they were helping! What a mess!

Yeah, I went from 70 megbits to I think 15, but I didn't get a new router so I can't actually check it. Definitely not a package upgrade, just £15 more a month, and a contract that's longer than my rental period. The guy really pulled a fast one on me on the phone.

The new place doesn't have a TV aerial anyway, so I'm just reading books, which is a nice change haha!

[rbz5416]

15Mb is around double the requirement for HD, so there shouldn't be any issues with TV.

Have a look at the availability checker to what what can be expected at your address. If you don't have a phone service, use the address option. Feel free to post the results but edit out any personal info first.

What package does your order/bill show?

[FelixdaHousecat]

Thanks, that's a really useful link!

I was told that the upload speeds probably wouldn't work for family members working from home at this speed. Sharing screens etc.

I had planned to try it for a few days and then decide if I wanted to cancel, but BT changed to the new contract while I was still living at my old place, a month earlier than the move, so I now can't cancel it. Hopefully they will believe me that he was being dishonest on the phone. I'm just tethering at the moment as I didn't get a router at the new place.

I don't have an order confirmation from BT and the address on my online account is still at the old place (which is being knocked down next week!)

[imjolly]

As you can see from checker results the expected speed is 28/20mb so you need to check your connection speed on router. Did you bring your previous hub with you to new address? As already posted you are to far from street cabinet to get any faster and fibre to the home is not available at your address

[DavidM]

Hi @FelixdaHousecat and welcome to the community.

I'm sorry for any confusion here. Usually if a house move is a like for like service then there won't be any contract changes. It sounds like what you previously had can't be provided at your new address which would mean a new service. I'm sure we can sort this out for you. I've dropped you a private message so please reply with the details. FYI we're really busy at present so it's taking longer than usual to reply.

Cheers

David