Originally Posted by -GONZO-:
“To be fair they're not targeting existing BT Infinity 1 customers from any of the ads I've seen.
Im not so sure BT are completely at fault in this case as apart from the new 'up to' speed, the product you wanted was exactly the same as you currently had for the same price.
If you'd of asked to have Infinity 2 and they'd proceeded with the order then yes they'd be totally in the wrong due to charging you more for something you couldn't get when there's a cheaper product that falls within your maximum line speed.
To a certain extent as an existing customer you have to take some responsibility for not asking what your maximum line speed is before you agreed to be locked in for another 12 months.”
I don't agree. If I go to the BT Broadband website right now and choose 'upgrade my broadband' as an existing customer, then I'm presented with 52Mbps as an upgrade option.
If I put my phone number and postcode in, it says I can get up to 40Mbps of the 52Mbps. Since I currently get around 29Mbps that seems like a decent-ish upgrade.
It was specifically sold to me as an upgrade by the sales person on the phone; i.e. It was clearly described as a benefit and a consequence of entering a new contract. This is disingenuous at best and, at worst, just plain dishonest. At no point did he say "Actually, you might not even be able to get speeds that are any better". Why wasn't he checking to see what my actual top speed was before starting a new contract?
So they're being dishonest on loads of counts; describing the new speed as an upgrade that can be specifically applied to an existing account, lying about the estimated speeds, and not bothering to check before signing the customer up to a new contract whether or not it's even possible.
When I called to complain this morning the speed with which they told me my line couldn't cope was astonishing. I wonder why that information was not immediately available to the sales person I spoke to a few days ago?
What they should have said when I called to place my order was "It's not an upgrade as such, it's just a slight benefit to those whose lines can cope with it. Let me just check your line for you...Ah, no, sorry your line can only cope with 29Mbps so there would be no point in me starting a new contract"
Instead, they played along with my expectation that my ordering of the product, which entailed entering into a new 12 month contract, was the key to getting the increased speed. I fail to see how that's my fault, and I bet there will be plenty of people who'll be hoodwinked and not bother to check or cancel within their 14 day cooling off period. It's simply dodgy.
Edit: Oh, and the person who I spoke to this morning said this happens a lot - people being sold an upgrade that isn't suitable.