Billed after contract ended

[Flo2]

I cancelled my bt broadband in Sept, and returned the kit. Yet BT are billing me for services during October. 

Where can I make complaint because bt still don't do anything after several phone calls. Why should they ruin my credit score when actually then owe me money as the last bill I paid goes beyond the cancellation date

[imjolly]

try contacting the billing team using message now and they should be able to help you

https://www.bt.com/help/contact-bt/account-and-billing/broadband

[Kimberlin]

@Flo2 

Slightly confused. BT will send you a final bill after you’ve ended your contract anyway? So the bill you would have received in October is just what you’ve been billed up to at the end of September?

Whatever you do, don’t cancel your direct debit because that could cause you some unnecessary issues.

[iniltous]

How did you ‘cancel’ your broadband, by using the migration system (OTS , one touch switching ) or you basically ceased your service without replacing it with a similar service, either still using Openreach , or with a different network provider like Virgin or an Alt Net  ? 

If you migrated using  OTS and the new ISP acted correctly , you would have got an impact statement outlining the possible charges if you were still within a minimum term , if you simply asked BT to cease your service without using OTS , then you serve a 30 day ‘notice’ irrespective of being inside or outside a minimum term ( ETC may apply depending on your contractual status ) .

In any event , the billing cycle rarely coincides excatly with the date you leave , so getting a bill after you leave is inevitable, but any days paid for  after the cessation ( after the 30 day notice ) or migration , if that’s what you did , are refunded after that bill is issued  , that’s why you don’t cancel your direct debit and it’s naive to expect no further bill after the date you leave .

There are too many unknowns to have an opinion on if you have been treated badly, to start off with , did you cease your service yourself , if you did have you accounted for the 30 day notice , or did you migrate, and if you did migrate did you receive a ‘sorry you are leaving’ impact statement , if you didn’t receive that , your  new ISP is culpable for not serving your notice to BT  , so in effect you never left BT .

Perhaps you can fill in the gaps .

[Flo2]

I messaged BT in August, and provided the 30 days notice for cancellation of the broadband contract, they email messaged me on the 14th August to confirm that my services would cease on the 12th September. I was then asked to return my kit, which I did. I recieved an email message from BT on the 25th September thanking me for returning the items. The last bill that I paid was for the period 19th August to 18th September, so this covers that final useage, and indeed almost a extra week, which they ow me.

However  - I keep being sent a 'final bill' for the period 19th September to the 16th October, which now includes late payment charges as I cancelled my DD and refuse to pay for services not recieved. I have phoned them at least four times to sort this out. Each phone call taking around 45 minutes. The last agent said he would sort out the billing - but clearly not, as a new reminder arrived today.

I dont know what to do next as noone at BT is listening to me

[Kimberlin]

Sadly, you’ve become a ‘victim’ of cancelling your direct debit with BT. I waited six months before I took action to cancel mine just to make sure there were no extra charges.

[Flo2]

hi iniltous, thanks for the message.
I did not migrate to a new system. I gave them 30 days notice. I have an email from mid August from BT confirming the service end date of 12th September. I paid the bill for the period 19th August to 18th September, then cancelled my DD. The issue is that this new bill is for the 19th September to 16th October (which is what they are claiming is my service end date), they have now added a late payment charge. It is crazy because on the 25th September they sent an email thanking me for returning all the kit. All I can think is that during one of the many calls to BT, one of the agents, noting that the account had not been closed down properly (because there was no migration to a new provider), decided to close it down, thereby creating a new 'end' date, which would also explain why I have been asked to return all my kit (again!), and the 16th October is being quoted. The last agent I spoke to could see all the messages sent to me re the account closure for the 12th September, so seemed to understand the issue, and said they would sort it out - but yet here I am again with any outstanding bill email

[Flo2]

Tried that multiple times, and calling them 😞
Every agent says they will sort out the mistake, but nothing happens

[Leanne_T · Accepted solution]

Hi there @Flo2 

Thanks for coming to the community. 

I'm sorry this has happened and you've been in touch multiple times to get this sorted. We have no account access on the community to check the account and why you're being billed after cancelling. If you could get back in touch with our broadband guides they can check the notes on the account to help you get this sorted. If this is not resolved for you on the call the guide can open a complaint which would be sent to our executive complaints team and they will get in touch with you. 

Leanne.