Eclipse Ripoff

We are going to Spain for several months and cancelled our broadband with Eclipse well in advance of their 30 day period then got an email saying "If you are ceasing a broadband service (as opposed to using a MAC) you will incur a charge of £25.00 (£30.00 inc. VAT). This is what BT charge for clearing the broadband from the line."

We have been with Eclipse since 2005 and upgraded to their Home Broadband Option 1 in April 2006 then apparently to their Evolution Option 2 in Feb. 2007 though I don't remember doing the last one at all and can find no emails from them about it even though I keep records of everything.

There was no mention of any such cancellation charge in the terms and conditions when I upgraded in 2006 and I am wondering whether I was automatically upgraded in 2007 to make me subject to new terms and conditions. If so this is pretty dishonest practice.

Does anyone know when Eclipse started making their customers pay for this ?

It is a charge Eclipse has to pay and is applicable to all ISP. Always been there, I believe There will then be another charge for enabling again.
It may be cheaper to just change to the 2gb tariff, if you will require broadband on return ie £60 for 5 months or maybe negotiable if you ask.

Edited by flippery (Tue 28-Aug-12 15:47:24)

I have just found a log I kept of my telephone contacts with Eclipse and found that I did call them about upgrading to Evolution Option 2 and upgraded on 8 Feb 2007. I also found a file of the same date in my archive with their terms and conditions that were obviously applicable on that date.

There is no mention of any such charge for 'clearing the broadband from the line' therefore it seems to me that they are trying to pull a fast one. It has not therefore always been there.

A broadband cease involves a BT engineer attending the exchange and physically disconnecting the broadband side of the line from the distribution frame for which they charge the ISP £25 which all ISPs then pass on.

To be honest i dont see anything about a charge on there website so tell them you wont pay........
Things like that should be made clear on any isp site.

If its a Market 2 or 3 exchange, you could migrate to Plusnet with a MAC instead, but with the phone as well. That would get you line rental at £12.99, or £9.49 if paid a year in advance, and 6 months broadband at £3.24pm rising to 6.49 after the six months.

TopCashBack offering £38.38 if done through them. (There might even be £28.28 for broadband only, so you wouldn't need to move the phone as that would cover it. But it may be "Extra" rather than "Value". It isn't clear).

Bear in mind that nearly all ISPs will also have a connection charge if it's a new supply rather than a migration in.

Edited by RobertoS (Tue 28-Aug-12 18:13:57)

In reply to a post by techguy:

A broadband cease involves a BT engineer attending the exchange and physically disconnecting the broadband side of the line from the distribution frame for which they charge the ISP £25 which all ISPs then pass on.

There is a difference between any expenses, like this, an ISP may incur and what the customer is contracted to pay for.

Customer has no contract with BT.

In other words, regardless of what an ISP pays out in servicing its customers, it cannot pass on that expense unless it is covered in the T&Cs.

Having said that, altho' the OP says it was not in T&Cs at time of taking contract, the T&Cs almost certainly have a clause that changes to them can be made at any time by ISP upon notice and are taken to be accepted unless rejected within a given period.

From their FAQ support pages

What is a BT cease charge?

A BT cease charge is made when you cancel the service. This covers the cost to remove the broadband at the exchange. This is not charged, however, if a MAC is requested and used by the new ISP.

Not easy to find.
In my day with Eclipse their T&Cs were more transparent and a "cease charge " was mentioned.

Fortunately I had downloaded the terms and conditions on the day I upgraded our package and they did not mention a 'cease charge' (as they do now). Eclipse therefore have agreed not to charge us for that, though I still think their behaviour in this respect is a bit dubious since this only happened because I did save the terms and conditions and I very much doubt that most people would do so.

They undoubtedly have records of when their terms and conditions change and since all their customer data is in a database there is no real excuse for applying this charge on a blanket basis. Still, at least they must be given credit for putting their hands up in the end.

As the saying goes 'caveat emptor'!