In January, BT somehow managed to convince my 75-year-old mother that it would be a good idea for her to switch her landline over to its new Digital Voice service. As far as I can see, she has been overcharged ever since.
And then it got worse. After an engineer’s visit a week ago, she was left without a working phone line or access to the internet. She lives on her own and has a heart condition. She is unable to order her shopping or sort out her finances. Normally she is incredibly capable and keeps up with technology really well.
There is very poor mobile phone reception in her village in Cambridgeshire. We encouraged her to get an Apple watch a few years ago as she can use it in an emergency if she falls, but I am concerned this just won’t work.
I don’t know where else to turn. BT keeps saying it will update her the next day but nothing happens.
NS, Stockton-on-Tees
The good news is that after I raised your case BT very quickly stepped in and restored your mother’s service. The less good news is that I suspect we are set to get a lot more letters like this over the coming months, as the move to switch all the UK’s old landlines over to digital gathers pace.
Last December the government told BT and the other telecoms firms to stop forcing digital phone lines on to elderly people after a series of problems. Concerns were raised that they don’t work in a power outage, and other households being moved across have lost service, like your mother.
It seems households are being switched when they sign a new or renew an existing contract, so you may want to consider that if you’re being offered a new deal.
Equally, if you (or a parent or relative) relies on their landline to link an emergency call system to the authorities, you should tell your phone provider about this. It is then obliged to take this into account.
In this case BT says your mother agreed to take the Digital Voice service as part of her new contract. It has also says it will make sure her bills are correct as part of the complaint resolution.
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