Pre-registering for free caller display may have not worked

Someone I know pre-registered for free caller display but it may have not worked. On logging in to their calling features management page, "BT Privacy with Caller Display free for 12 months" is not ticked.

Probably best if everyone who pre-registered checks their own settings:

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProduc...

Is anyone else who has pre-registered for free caller display seeing that they are not in fact registered for free caller display in the control panel?

why am I not surprised.

with the recontracting that happened at the start of year, most who recontracted to change to true unlimited were seeing no changes in their BT panel on the website but staff said the change was active and called it "it glitches"

I think to this day my panel still doesnt show the right infinity product.

Edited by Chrysalis (Mon 09-Dec-13 23:12:24)

And I forgot all about doing it .

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

And I forgot all about doing it .

Judging by the order form, you can do it at any time.

I have pre-registered 3 lines for Free BT Privacy with Caller Display for 12 months, but they all don't have that option ticked yet, but instead still this one:

BT Privacy at Home with Caller Display

BT Privacy at Home includes Caller Display and the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to help prevent unwanted sales calls. From 4 January 2014, the price will be £1.75 a month.

However I would not expect it to take effect yet. The invitation to pre-register said it would take effect some time after the deadline (6th Dec as I remember it but no longer accessible) and I would hope it will take place on the 4 Jan, or as close as, so as to shorten as much as poss the chargeable period after the 12 months.

At least we now know that if it hasn't appeared by late 3rd Jan, we can do it ourselves.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

And I forgot all about doing it .

But do you have the (unticked) option 'BT Privacy with Caller Display free for 12 months' under your Calling Features?

If so, you can do it at any time and it will prove that pre-registering did not have any effect.

If not, then it must be only offered to those of us who pre-registered and it will prove that pre-registering did have an effect.

Thanks for drawing this to my attention. Did not expect pre-registering to turn up in this way.

Thanks for the heads up.

More confusion. I kept a screenshot from when I pre-registered on 22nd October and it says "We will send you confirmation when the product is added to your account which can be anytime up to 4th January 2014"

So, it's possible the previous pre-register has taken effect but it hasn't been added to the account yet.

I've just applied for it again but it's annoying because it (possibly) keeps pushing the new 12 month contract further on.

John.

I did indeed pre-register, that unticked option was available just now - seems like a typical BT way of doing things. 8/

In reply to a post by John_ON:

So, it's possible the previous pre-register has taken effect but it hasn't been added to the account yet.

In a sense it has been added to our a/c's by making it available under our Calling Features. Maybe that is all BT intended pre-registration to do. We need to find out if someone who never pre-registered and had BT Privacy + Caller ID previously now has that 12 month option in their list?

In reply to a post by John_ON:

I've just applied for it again but it's annoying because it (possibly) keeps pushing the new 12 month contract further on.

How can you apply for it again now? That bt.com/freecallerdisplay link no longer takes you to pre-registration but to starting an ordinary Calling Features Order. Or do you mean you ticked the 12m option?

Don't you want to delay the 12m contract towards 4th Jan as you will already have free BT Privacy + Caller ID until then?

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

We need to find out if someone who never pre-registered and had BT Privacy + Caller ID previously now has that 12 month option in their list

I have had Caller display and Privacy at home for years. In my existing features it is ticked, but includes:-

BT Privacy with Caller Display will cost £1.75 a month from 4 January 2014, but existing customers of the service can pre-register to continue getting it free for 12 months°. Find out more and register at bt.com/freecallerdisplay. BT Privacy with Caller Display will remain free for BT Basic customers.

If I click the link it shows three four radio buttons, first the new free that starts a new 12 months, second with the button selected my existing one that it says again will be charged from Jan 4, third plain Privacy at Home, fourth Cancel Privacy at Home.

As I have a current problem with the order for another feature on my line, I need to sort that out before I confuse the issue by starting a new 12 months. Just keep forgetting.

Or look at Zen.

Edit - correct the fourth option as per XRaySpeX and my reply to him.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 10-Dec-13 13:11:57)

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

How can you apply for it again now? That bt.com/freecallerdisplay link no longer takes you to pre-registration but to starting an ordinary Calling Features Order. Or do you mean you ticked the 12m option?

Don't you want to delay the 12m contract towards 4th Jan as you will already have free BT Privacy + Caller ID until then?

Just received an email to say it's now been activated so I'm free until 11th Dec 2014.

What I didn't want to risk was missing any "free" opportunities so I'd rather miss a free month now than have to pay for the full 12 months from January.

Ideally what I'd like to do is get the broadband and phone in sync so I can cancel both at the same time but I must admit I haven't worked out either the timing or the cost implications.

John.

Edited by deleted (Tue 10-Dec-13 11:37:23)

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Thanks for drawing this to my attention. Did not expect pre-registering to turn up in this way.

I'm now wondering if all the telephone numbers and postcodes are now sitting in a spreadsheet waiting for a team in India to go through them one by one and submit them via the calling features form. It would explain why BT gave themselves a month to add it to everyone's account.

In reply to a post by John_ON:

Just received an email to say it's now been activated so I'm free until 11th Dec 2014.

Had we known the option would appear in the control panel we could have just done it ourselves at a time of our choosing!

Just to be clear, your Calling Features look like this, but with slightly diff wording for the 2nd ticked one?

Phone: Calling Features

Our optional Calling Features let you personalise your home phone service � from managing your calls to taking a message. Just choose the features you want and click 'continue'.

---

BT Privacy at Home .............................................................................. Monthly

o BT Privacy with Caller Display free for 12 months .................................. £0.00

Includes the option to register for the Telephone Preference Scheme (TPS) to help prevent unwanted sales calls. A new 12 month line rental contract applies
Learn More

* BT Privacy at Home with Caller Display .................................................. £0.00

BT Privacy at Home includes Caller Display and the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to help prevent unwanted sales calls. From 4 January 2014, the price will be £1.75 a month.
More about BT Privacy at Home

o BT Privacy at Home ................................................................................ £0.00

Registers you for the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to help prevent unwanted sales calls.
More about BT Privacy at Home

o Remove BT Privacy

Looks like, despite not pre-registering, you can still take up their 12m free offer.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

Looks like, despite not pre-registering, you can still take up their 12m free offer.

The way the pre-register form was worded, it seemed like it was a one-time offer for people pre-registering. Now it looks like an offer in the control panel which can be activated whenever the customer chooses.

I have a feeling this will be an ongoing offer, so I can't see any disadvantage to opting in now for those who want piece of mind it will be activated on 4 Jan without having to check any further.

Hmm, dunno! As I posted above, I registered today and the 12 months starts tomorrow despite having pre-registered in October. None of the options were selected on the order form.

With Christmas and the New Year coming up, I thought it better to get it out of the way. Hopefully, I'll have more interesting things to think about for now

Their whole system seems a mess to me - a miracle anything works at all!

John.

In reply to a post by John_ON:

Hmm, dunno! As I posted above, I registered today and the 12 months starts tomorrow despite having pre-registered in October. None of the options were selected on the order form.

Oh right, I got the impression from your last post that you were registered purely as a result of your pre-registration.

Like I say, I suspect a team at BT will plod through the pre-registrations and sign them all up individually.

It's exactly like that. I was mistaken about the fourth option being a tick box. It's a fourth Radio button.

Whereabout in your existing features did you read this:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

BT Privacy with Caller Display will cost £1.75 a month from 4 January 2014, but existing customers of the service can pre-register to continue getting it free for 12 months°. Find out more and register at bt.com/freecallerdisplay. BT Privacy with Caller Display will remain free for BT Basic customers

if not there?

This page, (which you will need to be logged in to see your version), which lower down shows what else I can add.

Calling Features

Calling features available with your calling plan:

BT 1471
Just dial 1471 to find out the telephone number of the last person who called you (unless the number is withheld, unavailable or came from a switchboard extension number).

BT Answer 1571 voicemail
BT Answer 1571 is a great, easy to use voicemail service � just dial 1571 from your home phone to check your messages. From 4 January 2014 you'll be able to save more messages for longer, retrieve them remotely and the service will cost £1.75 a month.

BT Privacy at Home
BT Privacy at Home gives you more control over incoming calls by registering you for the Telephone Preference Service which helps stop unwanted sales calls.

BT Privacy with Caller Display will cost £1.75 a month from 4 January 2014, but existing customers of the service can pre-register to continue getting it free for 12 months°. Find out more and register at bt.com/freecallerdisplay. BT Privacy with Caller Display will remain free for BT Basic customers.

They all have ticks except the final paragraph, and in association with the ticks "available" can only mean I have them, as they aren't offered in the next section:-

Ways to get Calling Features

You can sign up to just one of these Calling Features, or for bigger discounts choose two or more to create your Calling Features Pack.

Calling Feature Packs (Extra Optional Features) (Pay-per use)

1 feature £3.30 /mth | 2-4 features £6.60 /mth | 5 features £8.80 /mth

Call Diversion
Divert your calls to another landline phone or mobile. Calls that can't get through to your home phone will still reach you on another fixed line or mobile of your choice.

Reminder Call
If you need a repeat reminder every day or just a one-off call reminder. Push a couple of buttons to activate the service and enter the time and date you want to be reminded.

Call Waiting
Call Waiting gently bleeps to tell you that a second call is on the line. You can either put the first caller on hold and speak to the second caller, or end your first call and speak to the second caller.

Ring Back
If you make a call to an engaged number, just dial '5' and Ring Back will call you when the number becomes free.

Call Barring
Call Barring lets you decide which types of calls can be made from your phone so you're in control of who uses it and how.

3 Way Calling
Talk with two other callers at the same time. 3 Way calling lets three of you have your say on a call, wherever the other two callers are in the world.

Change your calling features

Better laid out than that of course, but taking a couple of screen shots and loading them up for ever didn't seem necessary.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 10-Dec-13 16:48:09)

Ah, I know that page well; it is the one that leads me to viewing / changing my Calling Plan or Features.

However, you have misinterpreted it. It is summery of the features you could have (available) not what you actually have. By the time I reach that page I have not yet selected which of my 2 lines I'm interested in, yet it shows me the same green ticks that do not apply to both lines (I dropped 1571 on 1 of them recently due to the price rises). Indeed, you don't even need to be logged in to see the same green ticks. There is no apparent reason for the 4th para not to be ticked. Indeed, we both currently have the 4th para but not the 3rd para. The green ticks seem to mean you can have them for free, at the mo', but not consistantly.

I'm still really [censored] off that I have to sign up for another year in order to get this 'free' service.

I did wonder about that, but seeing as they are currently included free on request I came to the conclusion I did . Obviously I was wrong.

Also, if you click "Learn More" you learn the following:

Signing up to BT Privacy with Caller Display will also update your marketing preferences so you may receive the occasional call from BT Group companies letting you know about special offers relevant for you. You can change your consent at any time by calling us free on 0800 800 150.

So by signing up for the TPS (to stop unwanted calls), you also give the BT Group companies permission to call you, with no opt out option apart from calling them to change your consent. Is this even legal? I thought you were always supposed to be given an opt out option.

Rather than reply to some of the earlier posts in the thread individually, I'll just summarise here.

Trying to use the option to change calling features on our BT Basic account doesn't work but just gives a message saying that it's not possible to change said features online, so please call 0800 ...

Previously having had the old 'BT Privacy at Home' service, I went through the motions of pre-registering for free 'BT Privacy with Caller Display' for the next 12 months on 5/12/13 but wasn't really sure if anything had registered as I didn't receive an emailed response. I repeated the registration on 6/12/13 with the same result, so I thought I'd just wait and see what, if anything, resulted.

The good news is that today my partner (the bill is in her name only) received a letter from BT stating that BT have reviewed their proposed charge of £1.75 per month for 'BT Privacy with Caller Display' and have decided that it will remain free for BT Basic customers.

At the bottom it states;
You don't need to do anything.
You will continue to get BT Privacy with Caller Display for free.


So there you have it

Edited by Rastus (Mon 16-Dec-13 14:26:14)

In reply to a post by Rastus:

At the bottom it states;
You don't need to do anything.
You will continue to get BT Privacy with Caller Display for free.

Thanks for the info - my aunt who has a BT Basic account received some rather confusing communications from BT Retail, a month or so ago, regarding BT Privacy with Caller Display and now it seems that she will continue to get it for free.

Hopefully she will get a similar letter...

In reference to www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?top...:

BT Privacy with Caller Display will cost £1.75 a month from 4 January 2014, but existing customers of the service can pre-register to continue getting it free for 12 months°. Find out more and register at bt.com/freecallerdisplay. BT Privacy with Caller Display will remain free for BT Basic customers.

As I read it BT Basic is a plan for customers who have low incomes, so presume it does not apply to "regular" customers

You almost read it correctly, but 'regular' customers who pre-registered, or even those who didn't, can continue to get it free for 1 year if they select that option in their Calling Feature and commit to a 1 year line contract.

All 3 lines that I manage and had pre-registered for BT Privacy + free Caller Display for 12 months had previously had the option:

o BT Privacy with Caller Display free for 12 months....................................................... £0.00

Includes the option to register for the Telephone Preference Scheme (TPS) to help prevent unwanted sales calls. A new 12 month line rental contract applies

added to their list of Calling Features but unselected.

Today that option was selected w/out any intervention from me.
EDIT: Also the previous, selected, option, for BT Privacy + free Caller Display w/out the 12 months contract but with the warning that it goes up to £1.75 pm from 4th Jan, was removed.

Another line that hadn't pre-registered for BT Privacy + free Caller Display also had that option added previously but it wasn't auto selected today (altho' it may yet be).

So it looks like the action of pre-registering caused the 12 month line rental contract for BT Privacy + free Caller Display to start just before the chargeable deadline of 4th Jan and not, as many believed, just after the pre-registration deadline of 6th Dec.

Also it is not too late for those, like you, who didn't pre-register to take up the BT Privacy + free Caller Display for 12 months offer by manually selecting that option before 4th Jan, or maybe just after, if they so wish.

Edited by XRaySpeX (Wed 01-Jan-14 00:07:46)