BT phone line deposit?

Question

I am moving into a flat next week its the first time ive moved out and not sure what im doing. We want to get sky but we needed to reconnect the BT line first there was a line there already. I rung them up and asked to just have the cheapest package as we dont use the phone much and he said he had to do a credit check, i said ok, when he came back he said there will be a deposit you have to pay usually no more than £25 so i agreed then after he took all my details and stuff he told me its £50 charge he did say ill get it back though my bills. Is this right? And if it is has anyone else ever got this and got there money back cuz were on a very low budget and paying £50 right away is quite a large ammount of money. Also he said something about they will bill me £19 incase i go over the £11 line rental but i had already told him i dont use the phone much, do i have to pay more than the line rental?

Thanks

Answer 1

we had bt phone line and broadband,a couple of months ago we were 2 weeks late paying the bill.they cut us off and we had to restsrt the whole thing again as  if we were new customers.

They charged us £25 fee which would be credited to our account,it was paid as promised but i,d check it out as i think there just looking for easy money,bt love to make profits courtesy of the common people like us :)

Answer 2

I moved into my current house and there was no line installed. It cost me over £100 for the install itself, plus £50 deposit, which I haven't received back yet. There is no way around the deposit I'm afraid.

On the monthly bill, they will charge you for the line, plus the cost of some calls, to ensure that you don't build up a debt with them.

Answer 3

The credit-worthiness of the former occupants of the flat shouldn't iun theory affect you as there are no such things as 'blacklists' against addresses held with credit reference agencies - only against individuals.

That said, BT can sometimes get picky about reactivating lines in premises where there has been an unpaid bill, especially with shared occupancy houses - as otherwise a house of four flatmates could theoretically remain connected for four quarters (1 year) by using each of their names and then move on (very popular with students).

The deposit will show as a credit on your BT bill and you can call them free at any time to confirm it is still there.  After 2 quarterly bills (or 6 months if you are to be billed monthly) give them a call and ask them to review it.  They will usually release the deposit against future bills which will save you money.

BT don't normally report out their customer's details to credit reference agencies, so to improve your personal credit rating you might want to establish a credit record with someone else, and of course get yourself on the electoral roll at your new address as soon as you can.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

ive never heard of paying a deposit for the line it might be that the flat you have moved into they have had problems with getting the bill paid and to add that this is your first flat you credit rating might no be at the best yet

i would keep an eye on it and make sure you get the money back it might be like a deposit on a flat so if the bills not paid they have some money there for it

im sure £19 is okay as £11 is just for the line not the calls so they are sayig £8 per month for phone calls i think that sounds ok , give it a couple of months and see what your bills like if not using the £8 ask them to bring bill down

Answer 5

BT have found out that this is a high risk address this is down to a company that BT (and other companies) use, obviously this is down to the previous tenants, but it is not uncommon for certain individuals to not pay their bill and then get their partner to re start the line in their name and say they have just moved in. ( Not in your case ), so BT are protecting themselves and I feel this is fair as other companies may not enter into an agreement with you or make you pay extra for an insurance so they can claim their money back.