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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to be disgusted by BT

35 replies

herecomesthsun · 21/03/2011 15:06

My husband is keen not to have direct debits. We have stick with BT rather than changing to another provider, and have had frequent nuisance phone calls pleading with us to tie into this package or that package.

But the deal breaker is their payment system. They sent the bill on 9th March. It arrived n 19th March. I was ill over the weekend and have just opened it. Apparently, we had to pay by 19th March or get a late charge. How shoddy. I am now looking for a new provider...

OP posts:

BigBadMummy · 21/03/2011 15:09

Why would you not want to pay by Direct Debit? I don't understand the logic.

Surely you must know that bills are as regular as clockwork? And therefore it was going to arrive in March.

You cannot have it both ways I am afraid.

notrightnow · 21/03/2011 15:12

OP, sign up for their online service, then you get an email telling you when your bill is due and can pay it online. If you won't pay by direct debit then you need to be on top of looking out for the bill.

"Why would you not want to pay by Direct Debit?"
I won't do a Direct Debit to BT and pay quarterly instead. They took £196 out of my account with no notice, for 'cancelling' a product I had never agreed to take. When I phoned to challenge it they refunded the money without argument. I think they use some really sharp business practices.

GentleOtter · 21/03/2011 15:18

I sympathise after spending most of today trying to sort our bill out again.

My account number belongs to a neighbouring property and vice versa. My name is on both accounts which is BT's mistake but they will not admit they made a mistake. Money has been taken from my direct debit for both bills.

I actually hate BT now. Officially.

Original poster

herecomesthsun · 21/03/2011 15:22

I think there should be a period of 7-10days between actually getting the bill and payment being expected. I think what they are doing is sharp practice (wonders about complaint to Ombudsman)

OP posts:

GentleOtter · 21/03/2011 15:26

Yes, there should be a longer period.

We never received the last bill due to the area being completely cut off by snow.
Everything was cut off so no access to phone, broadband etc to receive bills.

Ciske · 21/03/2011 15:34

If you ring BT, the advisor can take you off their promotion lists and they will not ring you again. You can also ring the automatic number to make payment by debit card if it's getting close to the due date.

A bill dated 9 March shouldn't arrive on the 19th so that's an issue, not sure if that's Royal Mail or BT being slow though.

CloudsOfWitness · 21/03/2011 16:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

whatsfordinnerthen · 21/03/2011 16:29

I hate BT too. It is your choice how you want to pay your bill and you should not be penalised for it.

They charged us £150 for something we didn't realise they were going to charge for (no warning of a charge) after we had a lightning strike that took our phone line out. After complaining for ages to someone based in India we got nowhere. If you try to ring them their automated answering system is a joke - makes me mad!!

LisasCat · 21/03/2011 16:31

I actually want the BT buildings to burn to the ground with the senior managers in it. So if you get to that stage OP, PM me, and we'll plot together. (And my anger stems from the way they treated me 5 years ago, so it's a slow-burner that never goes away. Prepare to spend the rest of your life hating them with all the passion you have in your belly.)

HecateTheCrone · 21/03/2011 16:31

switch to paperless billing. then you will get an email telling you that your bill is available to view. then you can pay it right away and you aren't at the mercy of royal mail.

mosschops30 · 21/03/2011 16:35

I find BTfine, sure thy try and screw me every few months but i just phone up and tell them im leaving to go with sky and my direct debit usually shrinks immediately.

Not sure why you wouldnt want direcf debit, surely its easier to manage all your bills that way and you wouldnt be in this position now. Couldnt your dh open the post whilst you were ill?

whatsfordinnerthen · 21/03/2011 16:39

You should not have to find ways of avoiding them charging late payments though because they are incompetent. If I invoiced one of my customers on the day they had to pay I would apologise to them and say I made a mistake and they could have longer to pay.

mosschops30 · 21/03/2011 16:42

Yes but the bill was late arriving so had the OP gone paperless or direct debit he wouldnt be in this situation, ir if her dh opened the post.

Im getting a bit tired of all these threads about terrible companies that are not really terrible just the OP is massively over th top (the mothercare thread)

Just ring them and ask to pay it by debit card over phone and ask that they waive charges. Then get a dd.

whatsfordinnerthen · 21/03/2011 16:43

No BT really ARE terrible

mosschops30 · 21/03/2011 16:44

Well i speak as i find and ive always found them very good

stressheaderic · 21/03/2011 16:56

DP works for them - has done for 17 years. He thinks they are shit too.

Original poster

herecomesthsun · 21/03/2011 17:08

to mosschops

I did try to ring them. It was not possible to speak to a human being (short version).

I don't want a direct debit.

I am simply rather tired of very poor customer service.

OP posts:

sayithowitis · 21/03/2011 17:42

You may find that other providers don't even offer you the chance to pay other than by dd. However, if you are really determined not to set up a dd, as others have suggested, opt for the papereless billing then you will get an e-mail telling you when the bill is available online. We actually still get a paper bill as well as an e-mail. We pay by dd, but if we didn't, there would be ample time between the e-mail notification of the bill and the due date. In your case it seems as though you are blaming BT for something which is actually not their fault. have you complained to the post office about the fact that they have taken ten days to deliver this letter to you?

GentleOtter · 21/03/2011 17:42

Sorry but this has really rattled my cage.

If you log into BT forum and faff about for a while, it is possible to 'chat' to someone from BT live.
Except, they can be really cheeky.

BT - Why would you pay someone else's bill.
Me - You tell me. You take the money from my account.
BT - You must report the neighbours to the police. They must have stolen your details.

This went on for more than an hour until I asked for everything in writing for Oftel.
Problem was found and sorted within an hour. Funny that.

Catnao · 21/03/2011 17:45

To the poster who suggested razing the BT offices to the ground, I'm with you. Balaclava ready whenever you are . I HATE HATE HATE them.

My complaints are long and varied, but BT has become my nemesis over the last couple of years.

sb6699 · 21/03/2011 17:51

I hate BT as well. Was pure hell trying to get our phone line up and running when we moved.

Spent an absolute fortune on mobiles having to ring them.

Funnily enough my bill arrived 2 days before it was due this month - not really fair is it but maybe that's they're ploy so they can charge everyone for late payment.

Oblomov · 21/03/2011 17:57

I hate BT. I have poor internet connection. unreliabel, just cuts off all the time, 7-10 times per day. Have had this for .....ever, have been complaining for the last 4/5 years. Its not like I can go anywhere else, sky virgin etc, they all use bt lines.
Everytime i phone, i have to open a new case becasue they close the last one. even though they have no right to close it. because it was never resolved. becasue its always the same problem. Nothing wrong with my wires, hub etc. had 3 engineers out over the last few years. they were supposed to line check and phone me back last night. didn't. phoned again today. supposed to phoine me back tonight, haven't.
Am gouing to phone them now. Hate them.

trixie123 · 21/03/2011 19:02

is perfectly reasonable not to want a DD. We have refused to do this with the power company because we couldn't agree on a set amount so I ended up just asking for a quarterly bill. Its your money. We got a bill and the final reminder for the same bill ON THE SAME DAY through the post - couldn't be arsed to ring them about it just paid it online. BT are just one of many many companies now whose customer service is labyrinthine and basically shocking.

GentleOtter · 21/03/2011 19:09

I swear they do that, trixie because they will charge a reconnection fee.

The man in the call centre could not understand my Scottish accent so trying to resolve things with him was impossible.

JaneS · 21/03/2011 19:15

Direct Debits are really only the sensible option if you're either well-off or have predictable outgoings, I think. I'd rather get a bill in advance (not that that worked here!) and be able to juggle to pay it, rather than simply seeing the money leave my account when it's due.

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