BT now to charge those who don't pay by DD

[RichardM]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/dmstandard/frame.html?in_bottom=http:%2F%2Fwww.thisismoney.co.uk%2Fnews%2Findex.html%3Fin_page_id%3D2&in_page_id=1804

 

Apologies if this has already been posted, but I haven't seen it mentioned here myself. Article appeared in the Daily Mail money section today.

 

I am one of those who pays quarterly, by bank transfer (ie no staff involvement whatsoever). I'm damned if I'm going to pay them £4.50 for the priviledge of preventing them from raiding my bank account at will.

 

Note also that the "late payment" fee is going up to £7.50.

 

The battle looks soon to open on two fronts, Unlawful charging and monthly fees for the choice of how you pay.

[buzby]

Nobody can blame BT for jumping on the bandwagon started by Sky then NTL Telewest, as they attempt to steal financial control from customers. This is bullying, pure and simple, and anyone paying using home banking does not cost the company any more to process the payment. MPs should be looking at this sharp practice and outlawing it - if I ask a painter to paint my house, why should the price I pay depend on the method I use to reward him? It's outrageous, and the sooner customers stop accepting this as inevitible, the better.

 

As with my previous court action for this type of charge against Sky, BT will similarly be asked to refund such additional charges, I hope others will do the same.

[RichardM]

A neighbour of mine has not yet received her latest phone bill, but BT have already tried to take payment which has resulted in her incurring bank charges for a failed DD.

 

She has contacted BT to complain, but they have fobbed her off saying that it is not their responsibility if the bill hasn't arrived and to complain to Royal Mail. However, although my own bill was available if I logged onto bt.com on the 6th of February, I did not receive an email to say it was available to view until the 13th, and the bill arrived on the 15th (postmarked the 14th so it was not delayed in transit). Payment was then due by the 17th.

 

I have already logged a complaint with BT regarding late billing and being given only two days to pay on my own account.

 

Can BT be held liable for the incurred bank charges and what is the best way to go about it.

[buzby]

They've broken the terms of the DD guraantee. You must have a sey period (10 days comes to mind) from recieving the notice/bill and the debit taking place. Virgin Media bills take a week to arrive (from the date of printing the bill) and this leaves 4 days to query the errors before the funds disappear from my account. That wasn't on, and the DDM was cancelled.

[jimbob2]

Contact your bank, your entitled to a full and immediate refund

 

Direct Debit - Your rights

 

BT havent told you within the 10 days how much the DD was going to be for and when it would be taken.

 

The only way you may not get this resolved, is if your BT bill is for a fixed amount each month and on same date

[davethorp]

Going off topic but I tend to get a good week and a half notice on my virgin media bills before they take the direct debit

[Thermometer]

Under the rules of the Direct Debit Scheme, should any money be taken in error, then the customer's bank or building society must, on request, make an immediate refund to the customer's account. This is the Direct Debit Guarantee. This covers situations where the originator has not given the required advance notice regarding a change of amount or date. It also protects customers should an incorrect amount be debited or if a debit occurs earlier than the specified, agreed date, or in error.

 

With a variable direct debit the originator must provide enough advance notice of the amounts and dates of payment, or any changes to them, in sufficient time to allow the customer to raise any queries prior to payment. This is defined as at least ten working days from receiving the notification.

[RichardM]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, which I will pass on to her.

 

It's also interesting to note to BT, are not complying with the Direct Debit minimum notification policy even if bills are delivered promptly.

 

My own bill was issued on the 6th of Feb with a payment due date of the 17th. Allowing two days for the bill to reach me, that only leaves six working days before payment would be taken if paying by direct debit.

 

And they want to force everyone to pay by direct debit!

[buzby]

And you wonder why...?

[mollington]

mm i wonder would the 2 days to and its counted as being delivered thing apply here,

[RichardM]

In July of this year, as protest against the introduction of the £4.50 charge by BT for paying by non direct debit, I decided to move my broadband. It was not something I really wished to do because up until then, I had received few problems and had a very stable connection that would stay connected for days. When I asked for a MAC code and told them why I wished to move, I was offered the option of reducing my monthly rental to £21.99 saving me £5 per month, and having my line upgraded from the 2.2mbps that I was on.

 

I agreed to stay with BT, on those terms, and included my own conditions that I would agree to an 18 month contract PROVIDING that my connection was unaffected and the billing was correct (I even ensured that this was made clear for the benefit of any recording and asked for it to be recorded in my records).

 

Since the upgrade, my line has been dropping out repeated from about 16.30 to 23.00 every night, reconnecting at a low speed each time, suggesting that their line speeds are unsustainable. I registered this as a complaint a month ago.

 

I've now received my bill and noticed that I am being charged £63.80 per quarter for my broadband, in advance and that VAT is being charged on that. This means my monthly charge is £24.98 per month, not the £21.98 previously agreed.

 

Have I got a good case to go to BT and insist that they release a MAC code as originally requested. Contacting BT by phone tonight, I finally got through to the Customer Options Team in Newcastle who basically told me nothing they could do and write to Customer Services in Newcastle and hope.

[Conniff]

I agreed to stay with BT, on those terms, and included my own conditions that I would agree to an 18 month contract PROVIDING that my connection was unaffected and the billing was correct (I even ensured that this was made clear for the benefit of any recording and asked for it to be recorded in my records).

 

So was it recorded??

 

It's a shame you didn't get this in writing.

[buzby]

You'll find you have no 'right' to modify BT's terms an conditions of service 'on the fly'. They should certainly provide the service you've maid for at the agreed price, but if it was a 'deal' you need to have proof it was offered to you and not applied. As for the bad service quality, if you've kept a log of the times you have complained refer to this and ask for bill credits to cover the period service was unavailable.