Trenod wrote on Dec 19
th, 2010 at 11:07pm:
castleinc wrote on Nov 1
st, 2010 at 7:05pm:
Though, you can still take advantage of this discount by opting for Line Rental Saver and pay the rental for 12 months in advance @ £9.49/month.
Which, of course, is exactly what BT wants you to do. And, of course, you can only take the Line Rental Saver option if you pay by direct debit. A bit of a problem if, like me, you distrust electronic payments - especially those on a recurring cycle, which make me feel as though my bank account is not my own.
On the back of all their phone bill envelopes, BT now has this message in large print: "The majority of our customers pay their bills by direct debit. Why? Because it's easier that way."
Erm, no BT - it's because you BULLY them into doing it that way by putting penalty charges on them if they do not. You slimy, manipulative, self-serving pigs. Making the paperless discount exclusive to direct debit customers is just another bully-boy tactic (sorry, *incentive*) to make people do things YOUR way, for YOUR convenience. To hell with anyone who thinks and feels differently!
I believe the Post Office is the only telephone provider that does not charge a premium for paying by cash, cheque or one-off bank transfer. It's just a shame they don't offer an 'Anytime' calling plan; though at least their off-peak time still starts at *6pm*, making them the ideal choice for people who work Monday to Friday, nine to five - the standard working day. All the other providers just follow whatever BT does like pathetic little sheep. Is this the kind of "choice" that "competition" was supposed to bring?
Unless I have missed something I was not aware of the NEED to pay for your line rental by Direct Debit. BT like a number of large companies requests it's customers to pay via Direct Debit to ensure it gets paid on time. For the record NO I am not sticking up for BT on this point, it's a general one for any company I deal with on a month-month basis.
YOU make a choice NOT to pay for by Direct Debit, and not BT or any other company. It's a private enterprise which is entitled to request it's users pay on time.
Personally I was much happier to pay BT upfront for the line rental as 1: It's cheaper and 2: it's one less thing to think about for another year.
On a side note after searching for a new Broadband deal as I had come to the end of my 12 months with BT I decided to call them, and I am glad I did.. I now pay £14.49 inc reduced mobile calls and "unlimited" landline calls and "unlimited" Broadband for the next 12 months! Which is £10 less than I was paying and then I only got 40Gb of data!