BT won't be charging exit fee
British Telecom had recently announced plans to charge customers planning to leave their service a controversial administration fee of £5. However, the telecommunications giant has now revealed that it will no longer be pressing ahead with plans to start charging this exit fee. The decision comes after the company engaged in talks with the watchdog Ofcom. The cost of barring outgoing calls from home telephones was also due to be pushed up from £11.50 to £17.50 – a rise of £6 – but BT has announced that this rise will now also be scrapped.
However, despite cancelling plans to make charges for barring outgoing calls and for leaving the company, BT will be pressing ahead with plans to charge customer that pay by cash or cheque additional fees – in order to avoid these fees customers will need to pay by direct debit or by monthly call plan. Those that choose to pay by cheque or cash when they receive their quarterly bill will pay an additional £4.50 per quarter. Late payment fees will also be rising, and will go up to £7.50 from £5.00. These charges are expected to come into force at the beginning of May.
A spokeswoman from SimplySwitch said that she was pleased that customers would not be charged for leaving the service, but that the other charges would probably drive some customers away. She stated: 'BT is a very innovative company and is always trying to find ways to make more money. Consumers looking to find a better deal were set to be unfairly punished and in today's competitive market a penalty for switching would be seen as grossly unfair. '
She added: 'These punitive charges give customers yet another reason to leave and will undoubtedly push many people away. The good news is that there is no penalty for changing suppliers. Switching phone companies is quick and easy and doesn't mean you lose your phone number or need new phone lines installed.'
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