All I want is a replacement settop box - but forced to get digital voice?!

[shamblesTB]

BT told me it was impossible to 'recontract' or edit / change / renew package without getting Digital Voice. 

It is not a new installation, not a new number, nothing. It would be literally renewing for 24 months. 

If there is no other option that is a push, forced, whatever you want to call it. 

Without renewal and staying on the '30 day contract'* the service remains the same with no digital voice

(* note the only place this has been referenced as a 'notice period' is here. No notice has been given, and if it was, the services would have stopped at the end of the 25th month probably years ago. For entertainment Darren can confirm publicly if he wishes how long this 30 day notice period has lasted... or can retract that duff info!) 

[rbz5416]

@DarrenDev 

Given the apparent mismatch of ID & subscribed package, could this be another crossed service that we saw a while back with that guy that was posting from a TalkTalk IP?

[shamblesTB]

No mismatch. 

I didn't spot anything on posting that said the BT username had to be used on registration nor the same connection. Darren can give me a direct buzz on the mobile number stored, or email address stored. Oddly enough the latter was required to even discuss the account last night, as he knows, BT send the 4 digit pin over. 

Likewise can reference the last bill to check the wording of the entertainment package / pricing etc. 

He - or anyone from BT - can even pop around for a cuppa if they want and three of us can detail why locally digital voice-esque services have not worked out in the borough in certain circumstances and detail on how we know about that! That is totally aside from the key issue mind, but the kettle is always on. 

[DarrenDev]

You're paying for an entertainment extra package every month which doesn't give you access to a single piece of content anymore - just the right to have an EE TV account. You're then paying for a Sport add-on, to give you the sport channels. You could switch to a current sport-only package for less money, or have entertainment+sport and gain access to a LOT more channels.

The TV Boxes aren't free - they need to be paid for. If one was provided to you without contract, you could cancel in 30 days and it would actually cost us money (in having to provide it, and then refurbish when you return it) - the minimum term contract is there to make it commercially viable to provide you with the hardware.

With your current box being faulty, you still have access to all your subscription content - either via hardware you choose to purchase separately, or from smart devices (mobiles, tablets, smart TVs, web site, etc).

The term "contract" here is being thrown around as though it means one thing. It refers here both to the service, and also the initial minimum term. You have a contract for service, but you're no longer within the minimum term, and thus automatically switched to the 30 day notice.

You've mentioned "forced to pay £2712" as though it's an extra cost - it's a cost you would have paid anyway, if you planned to stay with the service. All we're asking for is a little reassurance that you'll stay, and for that you'll be provided with better hardware, a better TV product, and also a better voice product - along with a full warranty on it all for the entire period.

Regarding the forced switch to DV - everyone will be forced eventually. There's no guarantee that your exchange will even offer the old phone service by the end of your contract in 24 months, so better to switch you across now. You'll even be provided with the hardware necessary to convert your existing phones to use it (if required - most modern devices don't need it).

I hope that covers all the points. I'm trying to be helpful and explain everything that appears to be upsetting you, however I appear to be coming across as argumentative / combative. That's not my intention - this is an unfortunate occasional by-product of letting techies talk directly to customers.

[shamblesTB]

Is it possible to break this down to get some clarity and to avoid going into the argumentative reeds...

Firstly;

"You're paying for an entertainment extra package every month which doesn't give you access to a single piece of content anymore"

I did wonder when reviewing the bill last night. No one stepped in on that but ah well, money for nothing. 

BT Sport / TNT Sport / Whatever it is this month *is* also being paid on the 'TV & Entertainment' section of the bill. It was being consumed successfully.  Can we agree that service exists, there is an er... lets call it an agreement that £18.88 a month is being taken by BT for that, and should therefore be useable ? 

[DarrenDev]

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@shamblesTB wrote:

BT Sport / TNT Sport / Whatever it is this month *is* also being paid on the 'TV & Entertainment' section of the bill. It was being consumed successfully.  Can we agree that service exists, there is an er... lets call it an agreement that £18.88 a month is being taken by BT for that, and should therefore be useable ? 

---

Agreed.  It is still usable, via a TV Box that you can choose to purchase separately, or via EE TV / discovery+ apps - available on most platforms.  I do understand your point, but I'm hoping that you also understand the commercial unviability of it?

[shamblesTB]

Yes, it would be bonkers to get customers to source their own equipment or pay hundreds on top to access the service. It feels a loaning of the equipment would make a lot of sense (!) Likewise, if the equipment breaks in that service provision period it is swapped out to enable the service to continue? 

As a side quest, I have looked this end and can't spot it - can you find out when was the £14.80 a month Entertainment Extra package service ceased from BTs end? I am trying to work out how many months there has been a payment for literally nothing. 

Interestingly, if the info on the phone last night is correct, am I right that can't be taken off the bill without a recontract (thus move to DV...) or cancellation? 

[DarrenDev]

Like I say, I understand your point.  I guess the alternative would have been to cease your service after the 24 month contract, or force you to renew at that point?  So some might consider the current setup a more flexible one, even if it does come with a risk of what you're seeing now.

I believe the last channel to disappear from the package would have been AMC in September 2023.  You will have been sent an email at the time offering you other options.  You're not paying for "nothing", as you couldn't have the Sport add-on without a base TV package - it's just a more expensive way of doing it as you can now take Sport as the base TV package.  This will have been offered to you when your previous contract expired.

I can't think of any reason why you couldn't cancel TV/Sport without requiring a recontract.

[shamblesTB]

Is that risk explained? No... its a case of you will be moved to a 30 day rolling contract with everything as-is. 

It is interesting in one answer it is "You're paying for an entertainment extra package every month which doesn't give you access to a single piece of content anymore - just the right to have an EE TV account" and now "You're not paying for 'nothing', as you couldn't have the Sport add-on without a base TV package". 

It feels a sum somewhere between £0 and £216+ has been paid for something BT withdrew, but has kept and is keeping on billing for. Would that be fair description?  

Is it possible to check if that can be corrected without accidentally opting into Digital Voice and a renewal/recontract - or do I need to brave the phones again? 

It would also feel sensible to discover if this is a wider issue, I would bet £1 that this is not the only account where people are overpaying for a service that BT should know about. 

(This is posted off a different IP again, but it is still me!) 

[jac_95]

@shamblesTB ,

Re the Digital Voice part: Openreach introduced a stop sell of analogue phone services (PSTN/WLR) in September 2023 so since then renewing, upgrading or switching providers would also mean moving to a digital landline service such as Digital Voice if wanting to have a home voice service.

More on the stop sell at: https://landlinesgo.digital/stop-sell

The Stop Sell policy will kick in on any package renewals or upgrades too.