I've just received my latest telephone bill and contained within it is BT chief propaganda leaflet, BT Update.
Why is it that it is always behind in those pesky price increases? No mention of the latest; the minimum charge going up. However there is talk about the increase in line rental of 50p. Shouldn't this have been printed at least three months ago
before the increase?
The booklet starts with a message from Ms Jillian G Lewis, Customer Services Director, entitled "Important information for BT customers - our commitment to value." The first paragraph mentions the aforementioned increases:
Quote:At BT, we are committed to providing great value for all our customers, by constantly developing innovative new products and delivering high quality services. To continue to do this, it's occasionally necessary to raise some of our prices a little. So from 1st January 2006, our basic line rental price increased by 50p for some customers. We understand that price rises are never welcome, so we will continue to innovate and introduce new products like BT Privacy and Friends & Family Auto Update, which give you extra benefits and help you save money.
Let's look at this statement in more detail:
At BT, we are committed to providing great value for all our customers, by constantly developing innovative new products and delivering high quality services.Business speak for "We are providing a service."
To continue to do this, it's occasionally necessary to raise some of our prices a little.Just how
occasional are price rises that seem to be occuring every month? The sentence ends by saying that prices are being raised "a little."
So from 1st January 2006, our basic line rental price increased by 50p for some customers.So all of those little
but occasional changes have resulted in BT's effective basic line rental increasing by 50% within two years.
We understand that price rises are never welcome, so we will continue to innovate and introduce new products like BT Privacy and Friends & Family Auto Update, which give you extra benefits and help you save money.More business speak for "We will allow certain 'reductions' to counteract those price increases for those customers who generate the most revenue for us." BT Privacy being a new 'innovative product' combining caller display that has been charged for all these years and inclusion on the Telephone Preference Service list, something that any UK citizen may register for regardless. Friends & Family Auto Update, a service that conveniently excludes 0845 numbers such as those used (by fewer and fewer) pay as you go ISPs.
Now I agree with Ms Lewis that price rises are never welcome. However, the common ground stops there. If the water companies put up rates and made an effort to curb leaks by taking on extra staff, then I think we would agree that the increase is a worthwhile one.
But BT waffles on about creating 'products' which, IMO, aren't worthy of such increases and are invariably ways of charging the low user more and giving the benefits to high users.