BT Digital, vulnerable client struggling & needs help

[NeilO]

Hi @Jellicle Many thanks for your posts. Please pass on my apologies to your neighbour, it's great she has a friend like you who is willing to help and I appreciate it should not have come to this.  I'll send you a private message so you can get in touch with the moderation team, we'll be happy to look into the £100 charge and provide feedback as this situation does not appear to have been handled properly from the outset. 

Just to add, the phone that was provided does not need to be used, her previous phone can still be connected to the green telephone socket on the back of the Hub and it should work as it did before. If the location of the phone is different to the Hub we can provide a free adapter which works like a portable phone socket and her existing phone can connect to that.

Thanks

Neil

[RIC9380]

In BT's defence I have to say that when my 92 year old mum's landline was changed to DV last year everything switched over like a dream and she hasn't really noticed any real difference.  She now knows how to check for missed calls and any messages that have been left for her by calling 1571.  She does like to chat on the landline with her friends so makes/receives quite a lot of calls.  She didn't like the BT DV phone ringing when she was on another call so I disabled "Multi Line" for her and she's much happier now with that.  She even commented to me that, when speaking to my brother in Australia, the quality of the calls are now so clear that she says it sounded like he was calling from next door!  Okay, I accept that I can be around two or three days a week to help her out with the new technology but I honestly have to say that the switch to DV on this occasion was entirely painless and mum can simply continue to use the landline phone as she always has done without any problem whatsoever.

RIC9380

[Jellicle]

I apologise for the delay in updating. 

My elderly neighbour is now resigned to the situation and has decided to manage with the parts of her system which work.  Between her daughter, a friend and me we have been able to work around so that she can now make phone calls. She simply doesn't want any more stress and is tired, which I think is understandable and common in very elderly people.

BT's technician left the debris of his visit scattered around her sitting room. I cleared it up and the items which BT required returning were parcelled up and taken to the post office on 8th November. The package was tracked and arrived with BT on 10th November. She is now getting emails telling her that she has not returned the items and threatening that she will be charged £43 before the end of this month. Her daughter is returning to America imminently and wants to resolve this before she leaves, but she has had no success in contacting BT by phone to clear this up. If the BT call centre is too busy, apparently you get a message and then they terminate the call. Is there an email address which her daughter can use to sort this out before her mum is charged?

I am very grateful for the help which has been given to me by the community forum. Unfortunately as I am only a neighbour and can't ask for access to her personal data or tell her what to do, I can't take the problem any further. Thank you very much for the moderators' offer to investigate; I appreciate it.

[imjolly]

I have asked mods to update your neighbour's records to show return package received. Mods will post here

[NeilO]

Hi, @Jellicle Many thanks for the update. It's currently taking around 3 weeks to process returns after they arrive at the warehouse. The moderation team can help, but we do need to access your neighbour's BT account in order to assist her. If you get her permission, you can pass on her details in a private message to me on her behalf.

Alternatively, the billing live chat team can be contacted on this link, they will be able to help if your neighbour's daughter wants to message them.

Thanks

Neil

[Jellicle]

That's really useful; thank you. I have just passed on the information. 

[Tim123]

@Jellicle - BT have said that customers over 70 and customers who "only use landlines" (presumably that means telephone-only customers, i.e. those without internet) will not be switched until later on in the process (presumably that means the latter half of 2025 as the switchover is supposed to be complete by December of that year). So, unfortunately, your 90-year-old neighbour has been the victim of a serious mistake from BT which they should reverse once it has been pointed out to them.

BT announces regional rollout schedule for Digital Voice

[iniltous]

Message 6 states the customer in question had BT broadband , so they were not a ‘telephone only’ customer

[garybs29]

@Tim123 post 6 states they have broadband so your post is iirrelvant in this situation

It looks like they've bern migtated as partof an order with the stop sell on pstn

[licquorice]

I have no idea why folks think that putting off the inevitable change is of any benefit.