So, how much will my next bill be?

[#1]

Up until now I've paid for the line rental saver every year. This one is due to end 20th Feb. A couple of years ago I renewed everything a month early (to make sure I did it on time since I was stung with being charged for broadband out of contract in the past) and for whatever reason this wiped out the final month of my broadband contract (the new contract ending Jan 20th) while retaining the full length of my line rental saver ending Feb 20th - meaning I will never get to use that last month of line rental saver unless I pay for the broadband out of contract for that month (customer support confirmed this when I queried it although there was nothing they could do about it).

This is where it gets confusing. Last month I searched all over the website for where I can view my upcoming bill. The best I've found is when you click "product change" - which shows my current package is £15.99. Ok so I thought from Jan 21st to Feb 20th this year I would be charged £15.99 then I could get my line rental & broadband back in sync (even if this means the true cost of that month is much higher when you factor in that the line rental had been paid upfront). However I was only charged £2.01 - the same as previous months. Good news of course - but the product change page still says the same this month. I know my line rental saver is due to end, so how do I find out how much next month's bill will be if I do nothing?

Also if you refer to the screenshot you can see the special offers available to me at the moment. It seems if I upgrade the new price will be £13 a month, it also says "fixed price broadband & line rental" so does that mean line rental is included in the price or does that just mean the price of the line rental will be fixed? I assume the former but I want to make sure. (Is any of it is truly fixed, considering the contradiction of that diamond shaped addendum?)

And if I want to select "keep this product" for £11 a month there is no mention of line rental. This is way more complicated than it should be!

[#2]

Hi @Sarah23

Thanks for getting in touch with us.

I apologise if there has been any confusion caused by the information provided via the website.

I have responded to your query via a support ticket on your account here

Please get back in touch if you have any questions.

[#3]

 Hi, thank you for your answer. Apologies for the slow reply, I am chronically ill and this is a lot to deal with for me.

I made a mistake earlier - I've checked my bank statements and actually last year I wanted my broadband and line rental in sync so I was charged £16.98 out of contract for Jan-Feb 2018 (for which line rental had already been paid via line rental saver) so last month's charge was indeed correct. (I do wish I had been told at the time when renewing I would have a month wiped out at the end of my contract though - I feel this is very unfair being charged extra because I renewed early a previous year).

Anyway so you said:

"In relation to your contract, when this expires on 20/02/19 your next bill will include a £18.99 charge for line rental along with £15.99 for Unlimited Fibre. From the screenshot you have provided, the deals offered appear to be taking into account that you have an active LRS which is why you have been given the costs for broadband only. However, if you were to take out a fixed price contract your monthly costs would be fixed for your broadband and line rental over the duration of the contract."

This is a very steep rise, last years line rental saver was £197.88 for 12 months (16.49/month) plus £1.01 per month broadband (which went up to £2.01 per month mid contract) so currently it is £18.50 total.

Can you tell me how much it would be with a new line rental saver? How much is a 12 month LRS this year and, if it exists, an 18 month LRS? Since on my account the only product change I can make online is an 18 month contract.

You advised me to call customer services, however it is difficult for me to use the phone. I have tried multiple times over the last month and your online chat keeps saying all your advisors are busy, try again later. Has the online chat actually been disabled? I've kept trying again but to no avail. Is there no way to deal with this online at all? (Seeing as my product change page is only showing me false prices for an 18 month contract because it is not taking into account that my LRS is about to end).

[#4]

Hi @Sarah23 

Thanks for getting back in touch with us. 

We only have 12 month LRS packages on offer, and they are at the price of £197.88 for the full period. 

I'm afraid that I am unable to add much more information to the post contract pricing than you have already received and quoted above. Apologies if you feel the charges steep, but unfortunately those are correct and valid. 

Online Chat has not been disabled, there are are Customer Options Team agents manning this support platform daily - I am sorry if you have had difficulty contacting one of them. 

I apologise if this reply seems a little sparse, however, there is not much more than can be said which has not already been discussed with you and I would not wish to provide any false or incorrect detail. 

I know you said that discussion this on the phone is difficult, however, should you still be unable to contact an agent via Live Chat I am more than happy to attempt to arrange a callback for you at the best possible time that would suit your needs? 

Kind Regards, 

MoR 

[#5]

Thank you for your kind response,

A callback would be much appreciated as it would at least reduce the time on hold. Any time from now would be good, thank you. (If you can't fit me in this evening though, please don't arrange one for tomorrow as I can't predict how well I'll be feeling one day to the next).

[#6 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for getting back to us @Sarah23.

I've sent the request off for a call back this evening and this should be picked up shortly and will be carried out tonight.

Let us know if you need anything else

[#7]

Thank you for sending the request.

[#8]

Not a problem. Just let us know if you need any further assistance

[#9]

All sorted with the phone call. Thanks so much!