bt-broadband (BT Broadband)

Member Name: joannabelle88

Product:	BT Broadband
Date:	13/11/09 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good service provided

Disadvantages: slow at producing bills, unable to communicate amongst departments

As a household we have been with Bt for our calls and broadband for just over 2 years now, and on the main part have been happy.

Originally we chose bt after being messed around by Orange when attempting to set up broadband after moving into our home. The package we were offered was unlimited download, free evening and weekend landline calls and a home hub and phone for £24 a month, with the first 3 months at £18. This was on an 18month contract. Probably not the best deal on the market, but it included line rental, so we figured not all that bad.

Bt got into our good books straightaway by delivering and connecting us when they said they would, something Orange had failed miserably at. We didn't pay the set up fee, as installation didn't seem all that difficult, and to me this seemed a bit of a money making scheme.

The broadband and home phone were set up easily, as expected, and soon we were happily surfing the net. Having requested at the time of ordering that we would like to set up a monthly direct debit, and having given our details to do so, we assumed this would be done, and awaited confirmation through the post.

After a month of nothing, and no money being taken from our account, we telephoned bt, who informed us it was being set up, and we would receive correspondance shortly. Another month later, nothing. Eventually after several phone calls a bill arrives in early January, stating it must be paid by Jan 12th- no sign of direct debit. Having been expecting to be charged for the 3 months previous, we were imagining the bill would be around £54- given we had not made any out of hours calls. It was then quite a surprise to be charged in the region of £135- £54 for the last 3 months, £72 for the next 3, and £9 for not paying by direct debit- £1.50 for each month. Outraged we telephoned bt, who claimed to have no record of our direct debit request, and thus would not refund the charge.

Despite the payment issues, we have been pleased with bt as a company- the service provided is very reliable, and our broadband has never gone down in 2 years due to a bt fault. The connection speed is mostly very good, and aside from being very slow at producing bills, they have been very good, hence why we renewed our contract last March for another 12 months.

One word of warning to anyone thinking of using bt though, is aorund contract renewal time, ensure you give them plenty of notice if you wish to cancel, as family members of ours have been caught in automatically renewed contracts, which are costly to get out of.

Summary: a good service overall, just watch out for their traps