Here is my nightmare experience in trying to terminate my contract with BT. My BT broadband service was set up by a BT engineer (cost £30) on 25th July. Here is a list of the problems I have been experiencing since.
No working landline; weak and unstable wi-fi reception—constant buffering on laptop and tv; poor tv reception; tv shuts off regularly for no reason; forced to use a dongle that was costing £45 monthly, which, ironically, was better and faster than the BT broadband wi-fi. Waited over 5 weeks for a home security system that was never installed.
I spent hours on the phone with BT call centre agents and at the local EE/BT shop to report the problems, to no avail.
The 14-day cooling off window when I could have cancelled my contract without penalty came and went while waiting for BT/EE to address the problems as they were repeatedly re-assuring me that they would.
Frustrated, I called BT to terminate my contract on the grounds that BT/EE have not honoured their side of our contractual agreement. Initially, I was told it would cost me £500. Of course, I argued the unfairness of charging me a penalty when the fault was with BT/EE. So, I went back to the EE\BT shop to make the request to terminate in person because BT/EE has failed to honour their side. Another complaint was yet again filed.
When I next called, the termination fee quoted was over £1800 because the “14 days cooling off period has expired”, so stated the call centre agent who picked up my call.
I went back to the BT/EE shop. By now, I have become a regular fixture at the shop and was known by most of the staff. This time, a sympathetic staff member filed a lengthy complaint documenting all the problem I have been experiencing since the start of my Broadband and TV, and the number of times I have been to the shop to report them.
EE after seeing the indisputable evidence presented in the complaint agreed to cancel all the components of the contract that they were responsible for—home security, dongle and mobile, with an apology. They also provided me with the PAC code to transition my mobile to another service provider.
Unfortunately, the broadband and TV components of the contract are the domain of BT, so EE cannot cancel them. EE, to their credit, even tried to help by explaining the situation to their colleagues at BT.
BT treated me like an old fool, saying they would cancel the Broadband but not the TV. When asked how would the TV work without broadband? I was told to get another service provider for broadband. I explained that after my nightmare experience with BT, I want a clean break. Therefore, as the fault is with BT my contract should be terminated immediately and without penalty. The call centre agent hung up on.
I am in the process of drafting a letter to BT beyond their customer service at call centres. In the meantime, I hope the BT moderators here can help.
I am a 68 year old woman on medication for anxiety and panic attacks. This on-going saga with BT is not good for my mental health.
