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BT penalty charges
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
British Telecom have recently introduced a £4.50 penalty charge on their phone bill if you don't pay by direct debit. They have told me that this is because the banks are charging them for funds transfers (they're not - at least mine isn't - I checked). Personally I think this is grossly unfair. I've made a complaint to BT, to Ofcom and to Consumer Direct (part of the OFT). Consumer Direct urged me to use the sample letter on the Watchdog site
http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and..._letters.shtml
which I'm going to. I urge everyone else to do the same.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and..._letters.shtml
which I'm going to. I urge everyone else to do the same.
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It's a shame really, because the CAB have been gearing up for a Social Policy attack on BT's shocking behaviour for quite some time now.
I know that many in the advice industry have serious concerns about BT's behaviour, and I know that they are one of the worst creditors to deal with (them and British Gas).
Unlike other utilities, BT only collect what is on the bill, so I don't really see why you would want to dick yourself about paying the bill every month when it can be sorted automatically.
Direct Debits give control of your bank account to a third party, and in the age of corrupt fatcat corporates I don't know why people would do that if they could avoid it. Standing Orders do exactly the same thing as Direct Debits, but they don't give a corporate fat cat company control over your bank account. The Direct Debit guarantee is pretty much worthless.
"I'm alright jack" :rolleyes:
Not everyone can afford to have a direct debit. Not everyone wants a direct debit. Why should I pay a penalty for paying my bill in the way that I want to?
Well, yes, frankly. And what's wrong with that? I don't see why it's perfectly ok for you to mouth off but not ok for me to say that I find their solution acceptable. It works for me.
Eh? The BT direct debit does not cost you more than it would otherwise.
So vote with your feet. Other line providers are available.
So you don't give a shit about wider issues beyond what affects you personally?
Not everyone can afford to have the whole amount taken out of their account at once. Not everyone has a regular income.
I'm going to do so. Unfortunately, a lot of companies do the same thing. There is a wider issue here. It is (IMO) grossly unfair to be charged for paying a bill. The people I spoke to at Ofcom and the OFT agreed with me.
There is very much a wider Social Policy issue here, as most providers charge the same fee, and its grossly discriminatory against the poorest and most vulnerable people in society.
I wouldn't expect you to care about them though.
Perhaps but for three months on the row (yes months not quaters) BT sent me a bill for exactly £70.00 and then took 3 lots of £70 from my account, via super convenient d/d.
When i phoned BT, and explained there had obviously been a mistake as my line rental and inclusive call charges is £20odd - and i have never used the house phone to make a call, because my I use my mobile as it is paid for by work......there explanation was, you must have used calls that aren't covered in the inclusive minutes.
So i argued for 20 minutes, that it was ludacrious to expect me to beleive that for the last 3 months, my call charges and line rental are exactly the same and total exactly £70.00. I couldn't beleive I was actually arguing about it.
So i cancelled the d/d and haven't heard anything since or received any bills. Fucking useless cunts, is the only way I can describe them.
What the fuck? An interesting conclusion to draw. Wrong, but interesting.
Just because someone puts an alternative view to your own, it doesn't mean they "don't give a shit".
But the bill is the same. If what you are saying is actually "not everyone can afford their phone calls" then that's a different issue to paying by DD. If you can afford to pay month by month, then you can afford to pay once in a three month period. Frankly, if you're on that tight a budget, then you should be keeping a close eye on how much you are using the phone anyway.
Well there you go then. If they agree then it'll get sorted out for you. Still doesn't mean that I shouldn't be allowed to say that I think DD works without both you and Kermit jumping down my throat saying I don't give a shit about anyone, as if you two are both love-a-lot bears.
There is an option to pay a set amount each month which is what i have gone for, but it's not convienient and i am not happy being forced to pay by dd. Especially as they want alot more than i actually use!
Just so as I know where we stand.
You haven't grasped the point. Here it is again. NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD TO PAY IN ONE LUMP SOME. NOT EVERYONE HAS A REGULAR INCOME.
For example - when I was freelancing, I couldn't always guarantee that I would have enough money in my account on a particular date to pay bills, so I couldn't have a DD. Clear enough for you?
Its always nice to know where we stand. Have a nice day.
Mist - take note.
There really is no need to shout, you patronising fool. I know perfectly well what you are trying to say.
Yes, it's perfectly clear. You're saying that you couldn't know for sure that you would be able to pay X amount on day Y. However, as I said before, what you're actually saying there is that you don't know if you will ever be able to pay the bill, in which case you should be budgeting in advance of it. There's no practical difference in putting money aside to trying to scrounge it together after the event.
what is you budget for the next three months ahead, and you still don't have the expected money because you have not received a payment owed?
Exactly. Or your bill was bigger than expected, or you had a big unexpected expense. etc
Then you would not have the money no matter which payment method you were using.
If you pay by quarterly bill, you have some leeway as to what date you decide to pay the money. If you pay by DD you don't.
Direct Debit hands control to the corporate organisation- which is why they love it- and for a lot of people it simply is not practical to have that. There is a reason why me, and every other debt counsellor in the whole universe, advise our clients to cancel all direct debits- its because you cease to have control over your banking if you don't. It's not a case of budgeting properly, because we give people proper budgets to stick to, with everything included, its a case of keeping control of your finances.
It's a fairly simple point.
Direct Debits are dangerous, and the Direct Debit Guarantee isn't worth the paper it is written on. And the fact that people still side with the huge corporate conglomerate rather than the most vulnerable people in society leaves me absolutely astounded.
Tis the way of life, you benefit for doing something the way that is preferred.
If you're not happy with BT switch supplier, if on the other hand everything else is ok and their pricing is good for you (based on the total cost) then stick with it. It's not a difficult concept.
No, its not just BT. It's wrong whoever does it. Can you not see why?
BT don't have any bank charges. It's a lie.
If that's not clear, then I meant either the costs incurred through bank charges or by the (extra) time it takes BT to process and deal with other forms of payment.
Slight sideline but I always thought that lots of businesses got charged for cheques/card payments or is that utter rubbish?
Move to another supplier.