stevetay3
Member
Do thay offer value for money, or are thay ripping us of
Do thay offer value for money, or are thay ripping us of
The general set up, there customer service, some questionable sales tactics, locking you into long un wanted contractsYou probably need to be more specific. Phone and broadband? Mobile? TV?
I've just had a reasonably positive experience with BT. I have been out of contract for some time, and due to other life events I hadn't managed to get round to renegotiating. I had a call about a month ago offering to upgrade me to fibre on existing contract terms (ie none), and I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately when the fibre went live and I called up to report it wasn't working as expected, I discovered that I had been recontracted.
The lady I spoke to raised a complaint right away and offered a goodwill gesture. After doing a test she identified a line fault and passed it to Openreach. I've since had two follow up calls - one to advise that the complaint has been resolved, and another to see if the performance was any better. On the back of the second phone call, Openreach were booked to come out today and after a master socket replacement my broadband is now performing as expected. Any time Openreach were carrying out any tests, the engineer would call to advise what was happening and this morning's engineer called ahead to say he was on his way.
All my recent calls were answered in the UK, and on a couple of occasions they were picked up in Aberdeen. They also announce where they're located when answering. It feels like a completely different organisation, to be honest. Yes, one bloke lied about not re-contracting me, but that was dealt with swiftly, as was the technical problem. I'll be giving it a week or so to make sure no further faults occur then I'll be giving their retentions team a call.
To be honest, if you're being as vague with BT when trying to have any issues resolved as you're being with us, no wonder you're getting nowhereIt is a much different response if still in contract. Extortionate sum required to end contract early due to issues on there part
Billing me for things I have not asked for.To be honest, if you're being as vague with BT when trying to have any issues resolved as you're being with us, no wonder you're getting nowhere
What specifically is the issue you're having with them?
I did have a problem some years ago where I was given a black mark with thr credit checking people because (allegedly) I hadn't paid my phone bills.Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole since they cut off my phone for "non payment" of a bill that I'd already paid. Their "final bill" was actually a refund as I was in credit with them and not in debt.
I did have a problem some years ago where I was given a black mark with thr credit checking people because (allegedly) I hadn't paid my phone bills.
A check of their records would have shown them that the phone in my house had a different number and been paid regularly. The unpaid number referred to a house in the next village.
I was a bit surprised by this because Vodafone aren't known for building fixed networks. It looks like they're actually a retail provider on Cityfibre's network (the latter of which mainly sell to businesses).I only switched away when I decided to go with fibre to the home which is presently only offered by Vodafone in my area.
Having worked for BT for over ten years I can assure you that is not the norm. If there really is a network issue then they would never charge early termination fees - in addition, shortly before I left the company Ofcom had introduced minimum guaranteed access line speeds (I think that's the right term for it) which means that if the broadband download speed is less than you were advised at point of sale then you could also terminate without penalty.Extortionate sum required to end contract early due to issues on there part
Adjusted for inflation, the cost of a copper path is lower now than it was in the 1990s, IIRC.Landline rental price increases over the past few years have been unjustifiable.
I have data going back to 2007 only.Adjusted for inflation, the cost of a copper path is lower now than it was in the 1990s, IIRC.
That's retail line rental (including phone service), no? Is it an exact, like for like comparison? What was included in line rental in the 1990s/early 2000s was quite different - e.g. in large parts of the country you could pretty much guarantee that you'd be connected using a pair-gain device (which meant no possibility of broadband), all lines were on StandardCare (I think all lines are PromptCare now - I left before the project completed roll-out), standard line rental now includes unlimited weekend calls, etc.I have data going back to 2007 only.
CPI Inflation (the governments preferred measure!) Feb 2007 to Feb 2019: 28.2%
Line rental Feb 07 £9.36, Feb 2019 £19.99, an increase of 114%
That's retail line rental (including phone service), no? Is it an exact, like for like comparison? What was included in line rental in the 1990s/early 2000s was quite different - e.g. in large parts of the country you could pretty much guarantee that you'd be connected using a pair-gain device (which meant no possibility of broadband), all lines were on StandardCare (I think all lines are PromptCare now - I left before the project completed roll-out), standard line rental now includes unlimited weekend calls, etc.
Stripping out all the 'extras' in today's service vs the service in the 1990s you're a few pennies better off now as compared to then on an inflation-adjusted basis.
In order to use BT Broadband you have to also pay for line rental (even if you never make any calls)
However TalkTalk apparently will provide super fast broadband without any requirement to pay line rental. So presumably someone can save a lot of money by switching to TalkTalk and ceasing to pay line rental? Or is there a catch?
Which, as a consumer, is 100% your right to do. But it's nice to others to be factually accurate when making your points.Even allowing for the upfront cost of a (reasonable spec) smartphone I made a financial saving last year, my first BT free year. This year I will make even greater savings.
Again, as a consumer it's 100% your right to "vote with your wallet".It is the 'extras' which gave me the problem. They upped the price and bundled in things I didn't want in recompense.
I was factually accurate. The standard BT line rental price in February 2007 was £9.36 per month. The same price in 2019 was £19.99 per month. Reducable through line rental saver, not available in 2007. Four times the rate of inflation for a comparable period. If you have the 1990's prices to hand, I can do the sums. Just give me a start date and an end date.Which, as a consumer, is 100% your right to do. But it's nice to others to be factually accurate when making your points.
Again, as a consumer it's 100% your right to "vote with your wallet".
You can thank Ofcom for that one. They wanted to split what is now Openreach into a completely separate company - which would made things even worse, IMO.There is a bit of a silly system at work in relation to anything which needs to be done. BT (with their customer service hat on) must speak to BT (with their Openreach hat on) to liaise to get any repairs etc completed.
However TalkTalk apparently will provide super fast broadband without any requirement to pay line rental. So presumably someone can save a lot of money by switching to TalkTalk and ceasing to pay line rental? Or is there a catch?
I have to agree that within the past 18 months the customer service side has vastly improved:All my recent calls were answered in the UK, and on a couple of occasions they were picked up in Aberdeen. They also announce where they're located when answering. It feels like a completely different organisation, to be honest.