'BT hit me with a surprise £194 bill – so I took it to the small claims court'

John Mimpriss said BT had misled him over email addresses that he feared losing - Jeff Gilbert

In late 2016 I was misled about the consequences of leaving BT. 

I wanted to retain our BT internet email addresses, short term and free of charge. We have four. I was given the impression that we would lose them on the day I left BT. 

Subsequently I discovered I could retain them for 30 days after leaving at no cost. Otherwise I was told it would be £5 per email address per month. 

I then found myself locked into a 24-month contract without my knowledge. For 14 months there was no mention of the contract in any correspondence, or, more importantly, on any bill submitted to me.

Indeed, in an email in November 2017 concerning price rises the option was given to leave BT free of charge without penalty if you were on a contract. If it had said “contract ending Dec 5 2018” I would have given notice to leave within the 30-day period. 

John Mimpriss, Surrey 

You had had many email connection problems and ultimately a new hub was ordered. BT told me this was free but in fact you say you paid £57 for it. 

Originally you had begun to organise a switch but were persuaded to stay with BT. A large discount had been offered and, on the presumption that the email addresses would be stopped at once if you moved away, you accepted it.

 

Not realising you were on a contract, you did not cancel in December 2017 when notification of price rises was given and you could have left free of charge. When you then decided to leave two months later, £194.54 was taken from your account by direct debit. 

You felt that BT had been underhand in its efforts to retain your custom. BT was not prepared to discuss this with you and was dismissive with me when I repeatedly took it up.

You put in a small claim for £194.54 and paid the £25 court fee. Mediation then took place. You are not allowed to disclose details but you are allowed to tell me that you are pleased with the outcome and that all is now, eight months after you first wrote to me, finally settled.

You believe BT should be more careful about how it treats members of the public, especially with regard to what it says when attempting to retain customers and then how it deals with customer complaints.