Mail Online reports BT to advertising watchdog
Close examination of the small print of BT’s basic broadband deal reveals a catch that means customers will be hit with a 33% price increase after one year if they fail to switch at the end of the 12-month term. Money Mail, which spotted the crafty wording, has reported it to the advertising watchdog which is investigating the claim. Money Mail said the BT contract is a glaring example of how the telecom giants use a complex web of special offers and crafty charges to sell expensive broadband packages and make it impossible for customers to work out the cheapest option. The paper compared the cost of available broadband deals to find a stunning £589.95 difference of a three-year contract between BT and Vodafone. TalkTalk was the sixth most expensive of the eight companies compared.

A sneaky catch buried in the small print of BT’s basic broadband deal means customers will be hit with a 33 per cent price hike after one year.

BT’s standard package is currently advertised at £13 a month, with a price rise scheduled for July 3 taking the monthly cost to £15.

But hidden in the terms and conditions it says that after a year the price will rise even further to £20 a month. On top of this there is a monthly £18.99 charge for line rental.

Sneaky catch: BT’s basic broadband deal will cost you £38.99 a month if you fail to switch after 12 months

That means anyone who fails to switch to a different deal when their 12-month contract ends will be left paying a whopping £38.99 a month for basic broadband.

Money Mail has reported the catch to the advertising watchdog, which is investigating.

The BT contract is a glaring example of how the telecom giants are using a complex web of special offers and sneaky charges to sell people expensive broadband deals.

Their tactics make it impossible for customers to work out the cheapest option. Attention-grabbing offers normally last six to 12 months, but most people don’t want to go through the hassle of switching broadband provider every year.

The headline rate also fails to include the cost of line rental and delivering the equipment to your home.

To get a clear picture of which broadband deal truly is the cheapest we looked at the total cost of deals from the major providers over three years.

We discovered a startling £589.95 difference between the priciest deal at BT and the cheapest at Vodafone.

We compared the price of basic broadband as most households do not need the superfast fibre deals pushed by telecoms giants that cost around £40 a month.

Basic broadband provides customers with a speed of 17 megabytes per second (Mbps) for transferring data.

This is perfectly suitable for a family of four to send emails, download files and watch a film online each day, according to the experts at comparison website Cable.co.uk.

BT’s Unlimited Broadband deal, which offers speeds of up to 17Mbps, will cost £15 a month from July 3. But this does not include the £18.99 a month you have to pay for line rental or the one-off fee of £7.95 to deliver your router.

Then there’s the 33 per cent price increase after 12 months, which is not listed anywhere on the page advertising the deal. Instead, you have to scroll to the very bottom of the webpage and click on ‘broadband’. The charge is buried there.

In total over three years customers will pay a massive £1,351.59 for broadband. That makes the true average monthly bill £37.54.

By comparison, if you take out Vodafone’s basic broadband deal, which ties you in for a minimum of 12 months, you will pay £761.64 over three years - an average of £21.16 a month.

Small print suprises: But from October 31 all providers will have to display the all-inclusive monthly cost of their broadband deal

Vodafone charges £2.50 a month for broadband for the first year, after which the price rises to £5 a month. Line rental is £16.99 a month - but Vodafone provides a free router.

Altogether you would save a huge £589.95 over three years compared with the BT deal.

The second cheapest provider is energy giant SSE. It already advertises its 12- month broadband deal with a clear monthly cost, including line rental, of £21.49.

This makes working out the £773.64 three-year cost very simple.

Yet many customers will be put off because £21.49 a month sounds more expensive than other deals touted for as little as £1 a month - which is what EE advertises.

Look at the small print under EE’s attention-grabbing deal, however, and you’ll see that after the first year the monthly charge rockets to £9.95.

There is also a £17.50 monthly line rental fee and a £6 delivery charge, taking the total three-year cost of the deal to £886.80 - £125.16 more than Vodafone.

Sky and Plusnet go a step further and offer free broadband for a set period. After 12 months with Sky the price jumps to £10 a month; after 18 months with Plusnet it rises to £9.99.

TalkTalk offers half price broadband for the first 18 months. You also have to pay up to £6.99 for a router and up to £17.70 every month for line rental.

The advertising watchdog is clamping down on these tactics. But companies will not have to spell out the true cost of their broadband prices until new regulations come into force on October 31.

From then on all providers will have to display the all-inclusive monthly cost of their broadband deal.

This means line rental can no longer be shown separately, and greater prominence must be given to contract length and cost after the initial offer expires.

A spokeswoman for the Advertising Standards Authority says: ‘It is important that advertisers are completely transparent about their costs so consumers aren’t misled. This includes making it easy for consumers to see all the costs of their product.

‘We are aware this is currently not happening as often as it should. That’s why we have made the change to how these packages can be advertised.’

A spokesman for BT says: ‘We support the aim of the ASA to make things clear for customers and will adopt the new rules they have outlined.

‘We follow the current rules on advertising and always try to ensure our customers know exactly what they’re getting for their money.