Broadband News

BT Direct Debt Charges Hit Broadband Users

(30-04-07) - ADSL broadband customers could lose out this week, when new BT charges for customers who pay by cash or cheque are introduced on May 1st.

BT will add £4.50 to the quarterly bills of those customers who don't pay by Direct Debit, and late payment fees will rise from £5 to £7.50.

Most UK broadband ADSL customers still pay BT directly for their line rental. Around 5.5 million households currently pay BT by cash or cheque, accounting for around a quarter of the company's customers. Unsurprisingly, the announcement of these new charges earlier in the year was met with a huge customer and media backlash.

The attitude of penalising those customers who don't switch to Direct Debit, has been seen as a money-making ploy. BT stands to make up to £24.75 million per quarter from the non-Direct Debit charge alone.

Chris Eagle, Commercial Manager for www.BroadbandChoices.co.uk, commented: "We always recommend customers pay via Direct Debit as they will be offered additional savings versus paying on receipt of a bill."

He added, "BT line rental customer could take it one step further and switch suppliers altogether. There are some great deals on line rental: YourCalls charges £9.99 a month, and Toucan £8.99." (visit www.yourcalls.net / www.toucan.net)

BT charges £10.75 for line rental if you manage your bills online. As long as you still pay line rental, switching suppliers will not affect your broadband connection (unless you are with, or switching to, cable supplier Virgin Media).

Update - Post Office Broadband offers free cash and cheque payments (www.postoffice.co.uk)