Unlimited Minutes Calling Plan

[Stephen67]

Hi!

Has anyone else had problems trying to cancel their Unlimited Minutes Calling Plan and instead just use the PAYG for £3 per month on their landline? I have tried numerous times and yesterday spoke with a guide concerning this. He was very informative and sent me a link so that I could do this myself but it took me to the same page that I have been having problems with. When I try to make the change I get a message that makes it seem that I am trying to cancel my Broadband package and this is certainly not the case. All I want to do is stop paying for something which I rarely use and only pay for calls which I make. Maybe I'm missing something or doing something wrong but I'm not getting any satisfaction with the online guide. If someone could advise on this I would very much appreciate it 🙂

Stephen67

[Andrew600]

Was this the link you were sent? https://www.bt.com/landline/manage/

I tried and failed to downgrade to payg. The link above worked perfectly, but at checkout the small print clearly said I agree to a new broadband contract starting immediately or words to that effect. That is something that in the long run would have cost me a small fortune. Maybe it’s just badly worded, but the only way to know for sure was to click agree and hope. Not a risk I was prepared to take.

I asked here, but never found any solution to this. I hope you can.

[Kimberlin]

@Stephen67 

I'm sure one of the extremely helpful Moderators on this forum will look into that for you. Hopefully one of them will read your post.

[iniltous]

AFAIK , if already on a modern calling plan , so not Evenings, Evenings and Weekends , or Anytime (not to be confused with the current Unlimited Minutes plan) then switching to PAYG from Unlimited Minutes, and the reverse PAYG to UM is on a monthly basis, with no contractual tie in…however that’s at list price , which is £5 for PAYG not the £3 that’s pretty much the basic ‘offer’ when negotiating, it’s entirely possible that to accept £3 is contingent on a contract renewal.
Although this can be self managed , if the way the online document is presented is making you anxious, call and get a guide to do it , and get clarification it is not extending the broadband minimum term.
FWIW , I moved from Unlimited to PAYG , but as I never attempted to switch broadband providers I can’t say for sure it didn’t affect the minimum term .
Finally , if it’s a contract change , you get a contract notice highlighting the new minimum date , if you change and get that , presumably you can cancel in the cooling off period anyway

[Andrew600]

@iniltous 

This is what rang alarm bells and made me extremely cautious.

“If you recontract or upgrade either your phone landline service or your EE TV service (and you already have BT Broadband), then your broadband service will automatically recontract. This is so that you can enjoy these services for the full duration of the new contract without any problems or technical issues.”

Taken from https://www.bt.com/help/account-and-billing/information-about-your-bt-contract

[Kodikid]

"Enjoy these services for the full duration "🤣

[gg30340]

As far as I am aware it has always been the case that if you recontract or take out a "service" that requires broadband to work and your broadband Fixed Term Contract is due to run out prior to the end date of your other "service" it would start a new Broadband Fixed Term Contract so that your other "service" would not be stopped when your broadband contract ended and the end date of the "service" and broadband would be aligned.

However I fail to see why that would be needed because unless you cease your Broadband contract it would just revert to a 30 day rolling contract, loosing any discount you may have had, and your other "services" should be able to run until the end of their contract date at which point you could then renew your broadband contract and  other "service" contract so that they were all synchronised to end at the same time.

[Stephen67]

Hi Andrew! Yes, that's the same link. I agree, I wasn't prepared to carry through either. If I should get any satisfaction I will let you know but thanks for your reply.

[Stephen67]

Thank you Kimberlin!

[Stephen67]

Many thanks for your reply. Getting a guide (with clarification as you advise) to do it for me may be the solution. Thank you!