Changing line rental to IDNet

[T_M_D]

Hello all 

I have just received my BT phone bill and suddenly the quarterly payment has shot up by £22. Last quarter it was £32.60 and now it is £54.60. I have discovered that last year I was getting the weekend and evening phone calls for free. BT offered me this when they couldn't persuade me to stay with them for Broadband and they didn't want to lose my landline custom. The proviso was that I sign up to a 12 month contract with them for my landline and so I signed up for another year.

Recently, they wrote to me and said to continue with them I need do nothing and they would bill me as normal. There was no mention in the letter that they would suddenly be taking an extra £22 per quarter. Had they done so, I would have moved my landline over to IDNet at the same time as I signed up for IDNet's broadband. There was nothing in the letter to remind me that the last year's quarters had been discounted and that the discount was now ending.

Anyway, I have two questions for anyone who is able to help me:- as I have just allowed my landline to continue with BT, does this mean I have automatically 'signed up' to another 12 months of having to have my landline through them? If so, have I also 'signed up' to the unlimited free weekend and evening calls with them for another 12 months, or if nothing else, will I at least be able to cancel the weekend and evening call plan and just pay for straight line rental?

Ideally, I would like to end it with BT and just go for the combined telephone/broadband package with IDNet - I think I can happily live without any additional call plans as I now do some good bolt ons with my PAYG o2 mobile.

I would be very grateful to anyone who can help as although I have emailed BT - I am expecting the usual fruitless tennis match of emails or horror of horrors having to contact someone who happens to be in an Indian call centre, I'm not saying they are never helpful, but sometimes they just don't grasp the nuances of a situation!

Tina.

[Tacitus]

It seems likely that you have "signed up" to another 12 months of whatever call plan it is you were on.   

[chudley]

I do not think you have signed up for a nother 12 months and I am sure you can cancel at any time.  The only time BT ask for extra money is if you finish a contract early (they still take the full 12 months rental off you)  Just give them a ring and tell them you want to cancel.

[Lance]

Welcome to the forum, Chudley!

I'm pretty sure that BT changed their terms and conditions so now the entire 12 months is renewed. Changed back in April I think.

[Ann]

I agree that the rolling contract is for another 12 months.  If it were me I would contact them immediately saying that they did not tell you that the deal was finishing and if they had you would have cancelled.  They may then be reasonable and cancel for you.  But do it quickly.

[chudley]

Thanks for the welcome Lance.  If that is teh case it would not surprise me with BT!  I have been with IDNET since 2005 -2006, just thought I would jump on here to see if I can find out why I am only getting 0.13 Mbps since last night. I think it is a BT fault and will ring Idnet in the morning if it is not any better.

[Simon]

Hi Chudley,   

If you have a specific problem, you might want to start a new thread, otherwise it may get 'buried' in an unrelated topic. 

[T_M_D]

Welcome to the forum, Chudley!

I'm pretty sure that BT changed their terms and conditions so now the entire 12 months is renewed. Changed back in April I think.

Oh blooming bummer! That price is blooming expensive! I will at least try to cancel the call time plan 

[Lance]

Thanks for the welcome Lance.  If that is teh case it would not surprise me with BT!  I have been with IDNET since 2005 -2006, just thought I would jump on here to see if I can find out why I am only getting 0.13 Mbps since last night. I think it is a BT fault and will ring Idnet in the morning if it is not any better.

Sounds like a low profile. Run the BT speedtest and post the results here (in a new thread would be good). If it is a low profile, it indicates most likely a local problem or a one off event which will sort itself out in up to 5 days.

[JohnH]

I would be very grateful to anyone who can help as although I have emailed BT - I am expecting the usual fruitless tennis match of emails or horror of horrors having to contact someone who happens to be in an Indian call centre, I'm not saying they are never helpful, but sometimes they just don't grasp the nuances of a situation!

Tina

Although it's slightly out of date, I just found this link which does not look very good news for you, I am afraid. 

[T_M_D]

Tina

Although it's slightly out of date, I just found this link which does not look very good news for you, I am afraid. 

Thanks John - I think with a sinking heart you are right, they did exactly what the article says to me - how I hate them! (BT), they deserve every back-stabbing, bad press, bad word that they ever get and I hope they die a thousand deaths one day and disappear into the ether never to be heard of again!!!!!

[chudley]

Note to self, do not upset T_M_D 

[Rik]

Hi Tina

I'd contact your local trading standards office. BT have made a material change to the contract without specifically advising you, you may be able to fight them.

[T_M_D]

Note to self, do not upset T_M_D 

Hee Hee. I'm harmless really (mostly).

[T_M_D]

Hi Tina

I'd contact your local trading standards office. BT have made a material change to the contract without specifically advising you, you may be able to fight them.

Hi Rik,

I have an update, BT rang me today, a very pleasant and polite Indian lady from India, though it was a fruitless exchange. And anyway, I requested to be contacted by email only, so wasn't best pleased at having my working day interrupted by BT. I spent the day vowing to search for the letter from BT that I knew I had received, hoping that I had had the foresight to keep it, and luckily I had. I couldn't believe it when I read that they have stated clearly that should I wish the contract (rolling) to continue with the same discounts, I need not inconvenience myself by contacting them and could just expect things to continue as they were. So, suddenly being slammed with £22 per quarter extra was a big shock and I knew deep down that I would not have just been 'indolent' regarding continuation of the contract had it appeared to be in my disfavour in anyway, partly because I think I can pay less anyway by utilising my PAYG o2 bolt-ons.

Anyway, I blather on, but the good thing about the letter - sent to me by BT in early December - is that my current contract with them ends on January 16th, which is this Saturday and the letter states that to terminate I need to do so by that date, so I have this evening, written to IDNet support asking how I go about changing over my landline (seamlessly and with uninterrupted service, including my free 1571 service, which is critical to my business), from BT to IDNet - I only want the combined broadband and straight line rental, though I am bound to need to use the land line on occasion, so some call charges will of course arise. I might of course upgrade later to a more comprehensive package.

I think though, I will ring IDNet tomorrow to get the gen on how to go about it and then will immediately contact BT to cancel and hopefully, this will result in a final bill and I will not have to go through the nuisance (and unnecessary expense) of having to pay them 3 months advance rental and 3 months advance on the call plans only for them to have to send me a cheque further down the line anyway. Blooming cheek of them, honestly! 

[Rik]

Phone IDNet, Tina, it takes about 12 days for the change to go through.

[T_M_D]

Phone IDNet, Tina, it takes about 12 days for the change to go through.

Hi Rik,

I did ring yesterday morning and was told I had to do it via the online form so I did. I have received an email from IDNet this morning telling me it will take 10 days and asking me to send email confirmation back that I wish to go ahead, so I have just done that. I guess BT are going to get a few day's more of my money beyond my contract end date.

I am going to ring BT this morning to say I am switching because if I don't contact them to cancel the 12-month contract before it ends (16 January), they will tie me to another 12 months so I can't just wait for IDNet to switch me over before BT get told.

[T_M_D]

Phone IDNet, Tina, it takes about 12 days for the change to go through.

Rik,

do you know how long it is before BT cut off a phone line for non-payment of a bill? The reason I ask is that I received my BT bill on 10 January and as it includes 3-months advanced line rental at £54.60, I do not want to pay them until I get a final bill from them after I have switched to IDNet. I want to do this on principle because I hate that they have tried to bill me 3 months ahead of my contract end date of 16 January for the call plans. They have admitted that this is a mistake on their part due to them using a new application for their billing and that what should have happened is that my discounts continue on a rolling contract unless I contact them to cancel.

Despite them admitting that they should not have charged me for the call plans, they are insisting that I pay it and that they will automatically credit the amount back in 3 months' time. Well, why should I give them my money for the two products: Unlimited weekend and evening phone calls and friends and family mobile for 3 months in advance (which I shouldn't have been billed for anyway) when I do not want these products beyond my contract end date of 16 January. I asked them to re-bill me for the correct amount and they have flatly refused to do so. Therefore, I do not want to give them a penny more of my money until they send me a final bill, which I assume will be once my line is switched to Indent, so if I know how long they give nonpayment of a bill before they cut my line off I know how far I can push it with them?

I don't care about them slapping me with a 'late paymet' fee, it is the principle of the matter. Also, I assume that any monies that I pay up front now, they will have to send me a cheque to reimburse me with the excess amount they will owe me as I will no longer be their customer, so this is another reason why I do not want to pay them until I get the final bill from them.

[Rik]

I'd suggest that you first tell them that you're cancelling, Tina, send the letter recorded or even signed for, you only have a couple of days to go.

Then, if you pay by DD, cancel that. Finally, write to the accounts department, telling them you will cease to be a customer on whatever date IDNet give you, and insist that they recalculate the bill for the appropriate time span. By the time they've done that, it will be too late to cut you off. (IAC, they'd have to send you a 'red' bill first.)

[T_M_D]

I'd suggest that you first tell them that you're cancelling, Tina, send the letter recorded or even signed for, you only have a couple of days to go.

Then, if you pay by DD, cancel that. Finally, write to the accounts department, telling them you will cease to be a customer on whatever date IDNet give you, and insist that they recalculate the bill for the appropriate time span. By the time they've done that, it will be too late to cut you off. (IAC, they'd have to send you a 'red' bill first.)

All excellent advice - thanks Rik. 

I have just called them and of course when wanting to cancel it always goes to an English call centre. I couldn't believe what they offered me to stay with them: Everything I was getting plus more for £9.50 per month, that's montly line rental included in that! ! I tell you I was almost tempted to cancel my order with IDNet! 

[Rik]

It's amazing how much the retention departments can offer, isn't it. On my last mobile phone renewal, I went from paying £25pm for 200 minutes of call time, to £10pm for 300 minutes, any network, any time, plus unlimited (50 hrs/month) landline calls, 100 texts and 'magic numbers' which are unlimited and don't come out of any other allocations. I said yes.

[Tacitus]

It's amazing how much the retention departments can offer, isn't it. ......

When I phoned Demon for my MAC code, I was immediately passed to retentions.  I was paying £22/month at the time and they immediately reduced that to £18 and, because I hesitated, it then came down to £14+ a month including a fixed IP.  This was apparently a special deal for me because I was a long term customer.  So why wasn't I offered it before?

However, it would have meant a 24 month contract so I went with iDNet albeit at a slightly higher price.

A month or so later I looked at Demon's web site.  My 'loyal customer special offer' ("especially for you Mr Tacitus as you've been with us for so long...") is now the standard pricing for all ......

Incidentally Tina, I agree with Rik.  Do everything in writing via special delivery - guaranteed next day and signed for.  It isn't cheap, but it is evidence in the event they screw up.

[Glenn]

Also keep a copy of everything sent

[Tacitus]

Incidentally after having good broadband service with iDNet I moved my phone.  Ten days came and went and, apart from a sorry to lose you letter from BT, nothing happened.  

The phone had carried on working and I waited a few more days, but since it hadn't started singing "I'm happy to be with iDNet" I thought I'd better ring support to check.  Needless to say the transfer had happened exactly as planned, it was absolutely seamless.  

I guess you'd expect nothing less from iDNet. 

[T_M_D]

It's amazing how much the retention departments can offer, isn't it. On my last mobile phone renewal, I went from paying £25pm for 200 minutes of call time, to £10pm for 300 minutes, any network, any time, plus unlimited (50 hrs/month) landline calls, 100 texts and 'magic numbers' which are unlimited and don't come out of any other allocations. I said yes.

I like the sound of that plan for mobile! I currently have PAYG and if I top it up with £10 each month, I get 300 free texts. On top of this, I pay £5 per month for a bolt on that gives me 1,000 free texts or minutes, whichever I end up using them on (but only to designated o2 mobiles), so I suppose in real terms the cost is £5 per month for the 1,000 free texts or minutes to designated o2 mobiles as the 300 texts are free anyway.

Are you able to tell me who you are with? Maybe I should consider a pay monthly mobile plan now I am only going to have straight line rental on my landline...

Tina.