bereavement help being charged over £700 for dad dying

[sherb]

hi thankyou, 

i just called sky, and they can't guarantee that deal if i cancel.

they said i need to request a call listening from bt to prove that on two seperate calls i was told i wouldnt have to pay to leave as its a bereavement. 

she offered to extend the activation date, or cancel the order.

im going to wait and see what bt offer me, as the hassle of cancelling and reordering is worse than sending a box back. 

i dont know how to proceed if bt take the approx £1500 from me for breaking a contract as my dad was killed. im so sick to my stomach, and am meant to be sorting funeral, not this hell.

i dont trust bt now. will the papers help, or do bt not care anyway?

[Keith_Beddoe]

@sherb 

Sky, like any provider, will always try to make you stay. They should not make you wait until BT get your call details, as it will be too late then to cancel with them.

BT is fine, its just that you were given the wrong advice at the time, it does happen.

My advice to cancel Sky is still the same, and I am sure other forum members would agree.

@JohnC2  can, if necessary, listen to the call you made to BT, once he had made sure your service continues.

[rbz5416]

Just to re-inforce what @Keith_Beddoe has said. You've had a dreadful experience that's been compounded by BT's incompetence. We see all too often how the standard of both their training & recruitment leave an awful lot to be desired, but this is a new low even for them. So you reticence is fully understandable.

But the forum Moderators are a different breed entirely & will definitely sort this out for you. So I'd urge you to follow Keith's advice, cancel with Sky & be patient while the Mods get to the bottom of this for you.

[Carlusha]

@sherb  We're all watching this thread and sharing your grief.

PLEASE, PLEASE tell us all that you have cancelled the Sky deal.  Don't be fobbed off.

Stay strong during this extremely difficult time.

[sherb]

thankyou all so much. 

i cant stop shaking and crying, this is so much more stress.

i couldnt cope with waiting to hear from a mod, so i called the bereavement line. he said i shouldnt be charged the rest of the contract. he couldnt look at new deals as the sky deal was in place. he put me on hold for ages, but couldnt sort it. so we agreed i would call sky, and cancel, which i did. he is calling me back at 3 to see what can be done.

i uave no one in the world, apart from one friend in america. ive done all this on my own. this bt thing has taken up 3 days, and its so much stress.

thankyou all for your help, you are all so kind. i will let you know more when i know. thankyou again.

[Keith_Beddoe]

You may qualify for this https://www.bt.com/broadband/home-essentials

[Carlusha]

@sherb  Have you cancelled the Sky? Please confirm you were able arrange this.

[sherb]

hi, yes i have cancelled sky.

i just got off the phone with bt. sadly they couldnt match the sky deal, or give me a gift card. but because of the whole bill thing,i thought itd be easier to stay with bt, than change to sky. as then id have to worry about getting money back from bt, or paying bt, or whatever needs to be done.

we cancelled my direct debit, and i paid this month by card. i will pay next month by card, then set up the dd. i dont have £180 which was dads monthly bill, and its due the 25th.

so i will be paying£3 for the phone, and £34.99 for 500mb. i dont get the giftcard. sky was £32, and £90 gift card. i have already cancelled various tv subs, and will cancel disney, so i should be able to afford it. everything is tight, but i need to cut back on stuff like everyone else. the home essentials isnt quick enough for gaming, and altho i havent played since dad was killed, i know it will help me. it helped after mum was killed 9 years ago. yes, they both went to the coroner and police. yes it really sucks to be here again, yet this time all alone.

if anyone thinks i could do better from bt, please let me know, as i guess i have 14 days cooling off. 

you have all been amazing, so kind, and so helpful. you have made a really hard time easier, and i really mean it when i say i send you all so much love. 

i just wanna call my dad and tell him what ive done, what ive been through, but i cant.its so hard.

i just want my dad. i wish he were here to say hes proud of me.

thankyou

[rbz5416]

It's a shame you wouldn't wait for the Mods as you've almost certainly complicated things further. Hopefully the Mods can still assist.

I don't know what you mean by Home Essentials not being fast enough for gaming, but then I'm not a gamer. But I doubt speed is an issue beyond the time it takes for large downloads.

BT bill in advance so there should be nothing to pay on the 25th. Although it may be too late to stop it in this billing cycle, it should be refunded.

As an aside, be aware that you are not liable for ANY of you fathers debts. If there are sufficient funds in his account then any debts should be settled from there. But his debts cannot pass to you. Maybe have a read of this & don't let any organisation bully you into making a payment from your own funds.

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/dealing-with-the-debts-of-so...

[sherb]

i couldnt cope with waiting 3-5 working days incase they helped. i need to focus on the funeral. this has already taken 3 days, and i didnt sleep.

im not sure how ive complicated it further, so thats something else to worry about now.

thankyou for the info, i will see what happens next bill, and if they try and make me pay, i will deal with it then. he said as the bill was on the 17th, i have to pay the full amount on the 25th.

i thought i did the right thing by calling and not waiting.i messed up again. i just want it over.

there is lag and rubber banding in online gaming if speeds arent fast enough. especially if the servers arent near.