Why do BT rip us off ?

[iniltous]

The personal offers in your ‘MyBT’ are not the only products available , not many companies are going to proactively offer you the option to pay them ‘less’ , but you clearly can still call and discuss other products, if what’s on offer (via this ‘personal offers for you’ channel ) isn’t suitable.

Anecdotally it seems once you have Halo it’s difficult to remove , but perseverance is key (basically don’t be put off ) , you ultimately have the final sanction if Halo isn’t removed and that is change provider .

You may be offered a better deal by switching to EE ,(possibly with a superior router ) and if the switch handled ‘in house’  by the BT ‘advisor’ no real disadvantages, Email retention as it currently is and telephone (if it’s decided it’s worthwhile keeping ) can be retained as it is .
As stated , you can’t really compare Halo prices to non Halo prices, is Halo ‘worth it’ is a different question.

[imjolly]

you are not comparing like with like as you have an expensive add on with Halo and also have a 700 min call package      ( which is no longer available) whereas the standard package does not include halo and is PAYG with no call package

[StevieT678]

What is Halo and what does it offer ??

TBH that's the first time I've even looked into the billing and seen the 700min call package. No idea why it would have been taken out at all given the landline is almost never used.

[imjolly]

Halo is an expensive add on

https://www.bt.com/help/broadband/learn-about-broadband/bt-halo/what-is-bt-halo-and-how-can-i-get-it...

[iniltous]

https://www.bt.com/halo

The main benefits are a Hybrid Connect so should the landline develop a fault, the 4G mobile backup takes over (so continuous service in event of a fault ) and a whole home WiFi system so WiFi is ‘guaranteed’ in every room of the home , there are some other benefits like double data on some mobile plans ( that’s if you have your mobile with BT  on a suitable ‘limited’ tariff , obviously doubling unlimited has no value ) and supposedly a tech home visit each year to ensure the optimal setup of your equipment etc .

There are different levels of Halo ‘membership’  , Halo 3+ provides the most benefits but costs  the most 

[StevieT678]

There is no chance of a mobile 4G backup here as EE is pathetic here.

Most phone signals are rubbish here, but mine are on Vodaphone as it's about the best.

Their gaurantee is a laugh.....the router barely covers half the house hence I had to use the Mesh.

[gg30340]

If you do not know what the Halo package offers I would suggest that you are not in any position to claim that BT are ripping you off. 

You chose the package so it is up to you to decide prior to signing up to the package that the package offers what you want and is the one for you.

With the Halo package you could have requested free WIFI discs to cover the areas that WIFI was not covering

All new BT Halo | The UK’s first unbreakable wi-fi | BT

You seem to have brought all your issues regarding you BT package onto your self because you did not to read what you were agreeing to.

Why did you do that without knowing fully what you agreed to?

[StevieT678]

When fibre pretty much became mandatory, I chose the only and cheapest package they offered, which despite their claims that you will not pay more....had to pay ore because there was no other alternatives offered.. So there was no choice given for anything other than this Halo.

Much the same as their "offers" to me at present, which really isn't much of an offer when there are multiple fibre options available to new customers, but only the one Halo to existing customers.

[gg30340]

Obviously I was not party to what packages were available to you at the time you took out your package but I very much doubt that Halo 900 was the only one available.

That package would be classed as the top package BT had and I have little doubt that other "lesser" packages were not available to you or other potential customers. 

Did you contact and speak to a BT sales person and enquire about different packages or did you order your package online?

As has been explained, you are not restricted to a Halo package. It may be the only one showing via your" MyBT,  Your Offers" because BT are wanting to sell you the same "top" (expensive) package as you already have but that does no preclude you from seeking out other available packages  by either asking BT directly or by ordering your desired package online.

[Kimberlin]

@StevieT678  For the record, I don’t think BT are ripping customers off, rather the other way around. Some BT customers are literally ripping themselves off by actually doing nothing year on year on year. Meanwhile, the rest of us woke up and smelled the coffee a long time ago and either renegotiate every two years or switch our ISP for another. Honestly, if you think loyalty somehow pays, think again.

ISP’s lose customers day in, day out and they also gain customers day in, day out. I doubt they care one way or the other whether a customer stays or goes. A company like BT or EE or whatever brand they want to sign customers up to, isn’t going out of business. BT have hundreds of thousands of customers all happy to sit there out of contract paying far more than they probably have to, for the most part, through choice or sheer apathy. It probably helps pay for all of the investment in new tech, funding social tariffs etc.

Going back to your statement that the mobile phone signal is rubbish where you live, I assume then that you don’t use a smartphone that connects via Voip through your existing router? That’s how most of us who don’t bother with a landline manage, no phone signal, no network, no problem, calls as normal.

Phone BT on Monday, you’ll probably be an EE customer by the end of a boring conversation with a call centre employee eager to sign you up to whatever offer they can talk you into. If you really want a lower bill, bin Halo, tell them you no longer want it, no ifs, no buts, be assertive. Good luck 👍