BT call display charge: breach of contract?

There has been some discussion of BT's increased charges which come into effect next month. I have a contract until July with line rental paid in advance. From January 4 I shall have to pay £1.75 per month for caller display which I have had free on my existing contract.

If I want to keep this free service I shall have to take a new 12-month contract; this implies that my existing contract has been changed. In view of this change, would I be entitled to leave BT without penalty ?

In reply to a post by Malwaremike:

There has been some discussion of BT's increased charges which come into effect next month. I have a contract until July with line rental paid in advance. From January 4 I shall have to pay £1.75 per month for caller display which I have had free on my existing contract.

If I want to keep this free service I shall have to take a new 12-month contract; this implies that my existing contract has been changed. In view of this change, would I be entitled to leave BT without penalty ?

It would depend how the Caller Display was described in your existing Contract.

If it described it as a a free-add-on, then it might not necessarily be regarded as part of the existing Contract.

But if it describes the Contract as specifically including the Caller Display, then you could possibly argue the case!

However, it is likely that BT has had their Lawyers go through the small-print very thoroughly!

In reply to a post by johnjburness:

It would depend how the Caller Display was described in your existing Contract.

I don't think BTP+CD was ever written into the contracts, it was just a free extra for those who were eligible.

All Calling Features are separate add-ons, some chargeable some not, to your Line Rental and Call Plan contracts. BT are changing the charge for BT Privacy + Caller Display (not Caller Display alone which is already chargeable) from free to £1.75 pm from 4 Jan, unless you sign up for a new 12-month Line Rental contract.

It will depend on whether BT will allow those on LRS to sign up and. if so, how it will work. BT could easily say that those on LRS are not eligible, but haven't seen anything on BT.com to say either way, and they would be within their contractial rights.

Do your Calling Features, from http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProduc... , contain an entry:.

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

If so, presumably that are allowing you but you need to speak to them to find out how it affects your LRS. If it is not there, presumably you are not eligible.

In reply to a post by Oliver341:

I don't think BTP+CD was ever written into the contracts

Nor are the chargeable Calling Feature, e.g. Caller Display itself or Call Minder. It is no diff from those.

In reply to a post by Malwaremike:

There has been some discussion of BT's increased charges which come into effect next month. I have a contract until July with line rental paid in advance. From January 4 I shall have to pay £1.75 per month for caller display which I have had free on my existing contract.

If I want to keep this free service I shall have to take a new 12-month contract; this implies that my existing contract has been changed. In view of this change, would I be entitled to leave BT without penalty ?

I can't see how they could claim that this wasn't material detriment, so according to OFCOM they should allow you to leave:

In reference to consumers.ofcom.org.uk/tell-us/telecoms/contracts/:

... if you believe the change will cause you material detriment, your provider should consider this and, if they agree, allow you to end the contract without penalty.

If you believe your provider has not followed these requirements, contact their customer services department and explain your problem.

If this doesn�t resolve your problem, ask your provider for a deadlock letter. This enables you to take your complaint to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.

This is no more detrimental than any other BT price increase affecting all of us.

The additional amount for caller display and/or 1571 is a huge percentage of the line rental, in effect being added to it.

Complain to BT, if they persist with the charge, get them to send you a deadlock letter, and send it to Ofcom.

Do any mobile phone companies charge for caller display? and how would you feel if they started charging?

The best long term strategy is to quit BT.

Thanks for your views, folks, you confirm my own views. From my BT accounts page:

Included in your phone package
Unlimited calls to UK landlines all weekend
Inclusive calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers all weekend
Get BT privacy, BT answer 1571, and BT 1471 calling features at no extra cost

Caller display has always been part of my contract. I have been offered free caller display but this is tied to another 12-month contract, so nothing doing, come July I'm off!
Just another example of a big company assuming its long-term customers will pay up regardless at renewal time. Sad to see BT join the insurance companies on the trophy list for killing the geese that lay golden eggs