Sort of !

- I'm not sure the answers from BT and Plusnet are the same wrt LRS. Plusnet accepted the right to cancel the phone and broadband as a package due to the price increases, but said no to refunding unused LRS as part of this right. BT seem to be saying there is no right to cancel the phone and broadband as a package, the customer has to cancel phone voluntarily and as a result this means no refund of LRS and other charges. This BT case then raises a different issue when it comes to Ofcom regulations.
- I didn't contact Ofcom to ask if it fitted with the rules, I was much firmer than that!
- I don't think its true to say Ofcom see it is against the spirit of the rules, if not the letter. The rules say the ISP must "allow its Subscribers to withdraw from their contract without penalty". In my view, refusing to refund upfront payments for services in that contract is a clear penalty, and I believe this is what Ofcom are looking at.
- You are right, Ofcom did contact Plusnet.
- I wasn't with Plusnet, it was a relative's account which I was helping out with, and just the one account. Not my parents' either.

Thanks.
That should help people here on ways to approach it.

Just one query though. "BT seem to be saying there is no right to cancel the phone and broadband as a package, the customer has to cancel phone voluntarily and as a result this means no refund of LRS and other charges.BT seem to be saying there is no right to cancel the phone and broadband as a package, the customer has to cancel phone voluntarily and as a result this means no refund of LRS and other charges".

Surely, as it's the phone charges that are going up, then that is where the GC9.6 release comes into play. Exactly as your relative's account.

Wrt to the broadband part, as I understand it the customer's argument in many, if not all, cases the line is compulsory in order to buy the broadband, so it is all one contract when bought as a bundle.

Existing line rental customers adding broadband might find the wicket a little stickier than those joining on the bundle, but I think that has been discussed before and came down in favour of the contracts being closely linked.

I think BT show them separately on invoices, but that is irrelevant.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 05-Aug-15 00:41:50)

In reply to a post by Apprentice:

This any use?

http://business.bt.com/voice/phone-lines-and-numbers/

Thank you for this information which is assumed to be the current charges, I'm looking for the forthcoming rental rises as well. Can you help on that as well please?

I've often wondered why their should be a different rental rate between a domestic and business subscriber. Can anyone throw any light on that one?

Yes, I didn't say BT are right. I said it's a different answer that raises a different issue. There's a crucial difference between an ISP refusing to refund unused LRS where it is not accepted there is a right to penalty-free termination, and an ISP refusing to refund unused LRS where it is accepted there is a right to penalty-free termination.

Thanks for the responses. Yes BT were effectively arguing that it was not sold as a package, and the BT line rental is not increasing. This is despite it being nearly impossible to find another provider to provide me with Broadband only service.

vimto_girl, how long did it take you to get the resolution? Did you just switch and then go through the process with Ofcom? Did you need to get a deadlock letter from Plusnet before you could contact the regulator - I called Ofcom today and they said I would need to do that but made a record of my issue.

BT are also saying that I would need to pay the £130 connection fee I got for free back in February because I haven't been with them for 12 months. This seems really underhanded since they're the ones putting their pricing up.

Are you a customer of BT, if so have you not had an email yet from them detailing the new 20th September price increases (assuming they apply to buisiness accounts too of course)?

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/54004...

If you're a BT customer you could try this:

https://www.bt.com/static/wa/account/pricechanges/lo...

Hi dustmaker, a deadlock letter was not needed and the resolution was offered before the 30 day deadline to switch and before we actually initiated the switch.

As for the issue of whether you should have the right to terminate the phone line penalty-free, this is totally different to my issue so my experience cannot directly help yours I'm afraid.

As for the £130 fee for leaving prior to 12 months, is this for terminating the broadband service which BT agree you can do penalty-free? If so, my advice would be first to check whether such a term even exists in the contract. If it does, then enforcing it in this situation would seem to be a penalty (in effect an early termination charge).

In reply to a post by Apprentice:

Are you a customer of BT, if so have you not had an email yet from them detailing the new 20th September price increases (assuming they apply to buisiness accounts too of course)?

http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/54004...

If you're a BT customer you could try this:

https://www.bt.com/static/wa/account/pricechanges/lo...

Was due to be connected today but it was a no show by the engineer. Obviously I have been told what my commitments are and the tie up with the Price List that you have drawn my attention to.

In theory I should be able to log onto my BT Account details but part of the authentication process requires the account number shown on the BT bill but no accounts have been rendered yet.

No I haven't been advised of any price increases and I would be very surprised if the September rises only apply to domestic customers. Why is it so dam difficult to find out what will be charged for a Value Line with ADSL broadband as from, say, October so one can budget ahead for an increase?