BT Phoe-charge Rip-off

[Dingerbell4]

From May 1st BT are going to charge al who do not want to pay their quarterly bill by Direct Debit or monthly payment plan �4.50 for using any other payment method! Is this legal???

[Ethel]

Yes - a lot of companies have been doing for it years.

I get discounts on my gas, electric, and broadband bills by paying by direct debit - and house insurance.

[joko]

these are extra charges to none dd payers, not discounts for dd payers.

i have been using telewest for about 12 years - before this EXTRA charge - and my bills have only ever gone up little by little as you would expect, no discounts, just got a bill with the extra amount added, first �2, then �3, now �5.

[nanscamp]

this is a copy of a letter from a web site recommended by watchdog.


[YOUR ADDRESS]

[ADDRESS OF COMPANY � list of company addresses are below]



Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to protest about your penalty charge for customers who do not pay by direct debit.

I think this charge is unfair and does not reflect the true cost of processing my payment. It seems to me simply a way of increasing your revenue.

Provided I do so on time, it is my right to pay my bill however I choose. Why should I pay more just because I don't use your preferred payment method?

I urge you to reconsider this unreasonable charge. But if you insist on continuing with it, I would expect you to demonstrate that the charge is justified. You will be aware that the law says penalty charges must be fair.

I do not believe that this is the case with yours, but look forward to hearing your explanation.

Yours faithfully,

My work mate sent one and got a reply from BT

[Dingerbell4]

Thanks for your reply nanscamp,I'll fire one off to the "thieves" straight-away.If the general public get on to this like the bank-charges (claiming back of) fiasco then just maybe we could get a bit of fairplay

[madman06]

join talktalk �20 a month for line rental and broadband 01 &02 numbers free ,im with 1tel for phone if everybody leaves BT it serves them right