Disabled Not Stupid

Question

I am Disgusted with the treatment I am receiving from BT. I am being told several different stories and not getting a straight answer and being expected to pay a huge extra sum of £47.06 on top of my normal bill. I have spoken to sevral advisers and emailed and I am getting no where and no answers.
Last Month I changed my contracted with BT and took the bar of my phone so I could call out, I set up a call plan so I could call out any time of day to any UK land line for a set price. AnyTime Calls Add on package. I also paid for a special phone that was more suitable for my disabilities.
When my new phone arrived I asked my carers to set it up for me, and they did,, how ever after a few days of me using it a friend pointed out it was coming through to her phone on a different number to my home number which worried me so I asked carers to unplug the new phone until my sister came down at Christmas to have a look.
When I received my phone bill I did not understand why I was being charged for making calls on a second line and called BT they asked if I had plugged in second phone, I said yes and explained what had Happened. They sad that the second phone was plugged in wrong and that made my calls go out on my broadband line. I explained to them, that I felt this was unfair, as for me to have an accessible phone and broadband I needed to have both the home hub phone in and the new accessible phone. And they wouldn’t drop the charges.
Later on my carers pointed out to me, that my new phone was only plugged in for 5 days and the bill shows weeks of phone calls on the broadband line, so that the new phone was not the problem at all. The problem was BT was not ensuring all my calls where going out on my landline and my calls where going out on my broadband line instead meaning i got charged, when I was making calls thinking they where going out on my land line, under the agreed and paid for call set up I have with them. I Emailed a complaint originally about the fact I felt it was discrimination that I could not have an accessible phone with out it going out on the wrong line. As when I tried call I was so upset in tears they said they call me back later. And then when the carers pointed out to me (later that night), that actually, the phone was only plugged in for 5 days and the bill shows weeks of call charges, I tried call BT again the following day to talk to them. They sent me through to a technician who help’t me set up the new phone, as they say, correctly. The thing is, they told me to do it, same way the carers had set it up. The only thing the technician did that is different, is he at the end, cancelled my broadband line so that this mess can not happen again, which is something me or my carers could not have done ourselves, that had be done by someone from BT
My normal Bill with BT is £35.60 and this months bill is £82.66 an extra £47.06 for calls that went out on the broadband line instead of the landline, that I feel is not my fault and that I should not be made to pay for, I pay for a service to make calls to UK land lines any time of day on my land line so when pick up my phone to make a call, I expect for my call to be sent out on my land line and free as part of my pre paid package, not to be sent via a diffrat phone line that I didn’t even know could make calls on
I have tried to talk to BT several times myself and I am getting nowhere, I have tried email complaints to and no replies. On Thursday I cancelled my direct debit payment for BT at my bank, and I paid BT the £35.60 of my normal Bill that I do not dispute owing them, via my BT payment card. But I do not feel I should be paying the £47.06 For the cals that went through the broadband line and not my lad line.
Today 12thDecember, I went down to my local CAB, and one of the advisers there tried to help me, he called BT on my Behalf, He to was messed around on the phone by BT. At fist he was told BT will be refunding the £47.06 to me, but that I had to pay it first, which he tried to make clear was very hard for me to do. As I am
on disability benefits. Then he was told that there was going to be no refund tat it as a mistake. He was being told, the problem was I plugged the phone in wrong, He Explained that I had not. That the phone was only plugged in for 5 days ad that does not explain the weeks of call charges and the phone was plugged in how the BT technician had explained for me to do it. He was the told it was because I cancelled my phone line services and my new services did not start till the2nd December, which is untrue, they stared on the 2nd of November 2011. He to was also getting no where, but he did then get offered for £10 to be taken of my account. But was then also told I would also be charged £15 more in late payment charges so in fact I be losing more not saving anything.
So far I have been given no good reason as to why my calls went through my broadband line and not my landline.
BT has bee told by the CAB and me that I am a severely disabled young woman and my phone an internet is my life line an communication aid, and to lose it would put me at huge risk.
But I paid for a landline, with anytime, call package so I could call wherein the UK any time of day or night. And all my calls went out on my broad band line instead. No one can tell me why, and I keep going in circles and I do not fee I should be paying for something when I paid for a services i didn’t receive.
I then came home and called BT again myself, to say, that no, my new cal plan started on November 2nd 2011, I was then told, that its because I cancel my broadband line. I said but BT advised me to do that and that was done after these calls. Was then told, it was because you plugged the phone in wrong, then was because I didn’t have landline call Plan, I was again going round in circles. He then said he would get his manger to call me with in a hour, ich he did, and again got the same story. But this time I caught him out.
He said to me it was because I plugged the new phone in wrong. I said I didn’t I know i didn’t because I proved that with technical
department, he said i must have I said ok, so say I did, if i did then why is the bill over several weeks, when the phone was only plugged in for 5 days. He then said because the Home hub phone is a broadband phone, and goes out on broadband line, I said but no on told me that and that’s not wrote anywhere. He then changed his story again, and said the Home hub phone was attached to my Landline, an when I plugged my new phone in, I plugged it into the broadband line, I said ok,, let me just clarifire this and I repeated this back to him 3 times to make sure I had this correct ‘my home hub was attached to my land line and my new phone got plugged into the broadband line’ he said yes all 3 times, I said good, now we have that clear, please explain to me, why when my new phone was only plugged in for 5 days have I got a bill for near 4 weeks of broadband calls… I couldn’t get a straight answer
No one can give me an answer, yet I am expected to pay for something that isn’t my fault? I have done everything BT has asked of me, as a customer, to try and fix this, I went through technical department to see if there was problem and there wasn’t I cancelled my broadband line ad then that was used against me to say why it all happened to. This is al now starting to affect my health and make me sick. BT is not respecting me as a customer, but is trying to treat me as if I am stupid, no one is giving me a clear answer. As far as I am concerned I pay for a service, of broadband for my internet. And landline with an add on package of anytime calls. So when I pick up my phone to make a call my call should go through my land line and I should not be charged any more. and I certainly should not be being treated like this when I try and contact BT
If i lose my phon and internet i lose my life line and comunication, i am housebound most of the time and my family all live the other side of the UK, i wouldnt even be able to call for help if i fell out of my wheechair. I woldnt mind so muuch if made mistake but i didnt mae any mistake and the treating me as if i am stupid.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Answer 1

I am pleased that your problem has been sorted. I guess that you were making calls using Broadband Talk, which where not included in your calling plan. This is not the first time this has been raised as a problem.
If you find in future that you do not need the extra phone number, it can easily be disabled. That would avoid having to dial the "5" before the number, to make sure the call goes out on your normal line.
Its possible that David Moon has already arranged this with you.
David is part of a hard working team that aim to resolve problems that cannot be sorted out by other people on this forum.
He does make an regular appearance on these forums.
Please do not hesitate to visit here again should you need any help.
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.