Renewal prices & Hanlon's razor

[JoeT89]

So I'm looking to renew my broadband contract, and I notice there's a "price promise" that I'll "never pay more than a new customer, no exceptions". Yet browsing as a new customer shows the same packages at the same address for half the price. So which is it: blatant fraud, or egregious mistake? I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding, but here's a fun list of potentially relevant laws and regulations I found, just in case:

• Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
• The Consumer Rights Act 2015
• Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Codes
• The Competition Act 1998
• The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008

[Kimberlin]

@JoeT89  Well you could of course just switch and save yourself a whole load of your own time and not have to worry about the list you have compiled. Or you could give retentions a call and spend an interesting amount of time on the phone talking to someone in an outsourced (possibly) call centre in the hope of bagging that amazing deal a brand new customer gets; and I wish you the very best of luck on that one! Have a read through some of the threads and make up your own mind on how customers wishing to negotiate a new contract have fared.

You never know though, if you log into your MyBT App and look at your ‘personal’ re contract offers, you might get that ‘new customer’ price deal that some contributors may or may not have got with zero effort. I didn’t get any such new offers when my contract was almost up except ones that were more expensive than what I was already paying, so I went elsewhere.

Best of luck whatever you do.

[gg30340]

The price promise is only in relation to the exact same package that you presently have which I presume is a Halo package as the promise if a feature of Halo and not a universal promise on all packages.

You may find that the exact same package is no longer offered and if that is the case obviously the price can not be offered.

https://www.bt.com/halo/terms

[WSH]

“So which is it: blatant fraud, or egregious mistake?”

Neither.  It’s just marketing weasel words.  As gg30340 said, if you are a Halo customer then it's for a ‘new’ Halo customer.  (Despite the fact that, as far as I know, they don't offer Halo to new customers).  If it’s an obsolete package then, of course, there is no ‘new’ price to compare it to, so they can just quote the old tariff max price.

Initiate a move to somewhere else and then look at your personal offers once that is in play.  It's all a game.

[iniltous]

As stated you are not comparing like for like , Halo benefits include whole home WiFi , unbreakable broadband ( 4G  back up that kicks in should the landline service fail ) as well as various mobile data advantages (like double data etc ) , I’m not saying these benefits are worthwhile for the majority of customers but they have a cost …..you can’t compare a ‘bare’ service to one that includes these benefits…..I’d agree the marketing is deliberately vague , as it refers only to a Halo customer , ( won’t more than a new Halo customer ) …but that’s hardly unique to BT , it’s the same in any business or industry

[Kodikid]

Amazed that in this time of one touch switching people still bang on about renewal pricing. 

Also this isn't a BT thing.

You want new customer pricing then become a new customer with another isp.

If you expect reward for loyalty then maybe get a dachshund. 

[WSH]

@Kodikid 

Been driving one of those for years.  Their trade in prices are not much cop either.

[Kodikid]

 spookily had you down as a Rover driver..please don't tell me you have a tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows as well

[Kimberlin]

Ultimately, it’s down to each customer own choice about whatever route they choose at renewal time.

We’ve read countless thread after thread of those who have been with BT for years and they’re either too ‘scared’ to move away because what they have works and they’re literally frightened witless that they’ll lose service or something will ‘go wrong’ if they switch. Or, they somehow ‘forget’ or even don’t know that they’ve been on a rolling contract for years and then realise that 100 quid a month they’re paying isn’t perhaps somehow right anymore.

Good points raised about whether one is getting ‘like for like’ when comparing packages, agreed, you can’t compare between ISPs if you’ve got equipment that others don’t offer. My mind is literally blown at the stories I read on this forum about Halo3, even worse when folks claim they can’t somehow get rid of a product they no longer want without some massive effort and life wasting time talking to someone in a call centre in Stevenage (perhaps).

Going back to OTS, it’s easy and I find it a little odd that there appears to be some negativity towards it, undoubtedly from people who have never used it. Whilst there might be an occasional customer who might have a poor experience, I’m betting the vast majority won’t.

[Kodikid]

 maybe if the OP put his efforts into getting a better deal then making a pointless list