UPD Ofcom Intervene to Tackle BT’s Naughty GBP5 Sport Pack Upgrade

Remember when BT introduced the new premium BTSport TV Pack at the start of this month for an extra £5 (here)? Do you also remember how BT then tried to force that pack onto their existing customers, unless they specifically opted-out? Well Ofcom wasn’t happy and neither were many of BT’s customers.

On the surface it seemed simple enough, anybody who wanted to retain the FREE BTSport TV content could simply take BTSport Lite and those who wanted the benefits of European football would instead take the BTSport Pack upgrade for an extra £5 per month. Easy.

But what the original press release didn’t make entirely clear was precisely how this change would be handled. Most of BT’s existing broadband customers will have quite understandably assumed that they’d simply continue to receive the BTSport Lite option, which was roughly the equivalent of the free BTSport content that they’d been receiving prior to August 2015.

In fact what actually happened is that BT wrote (emailed) customers to explain they had 30 days to make a choice, which meant that if they didn’t specifically respond to clarify which option they wanted then BT would automatically “assume they want the [BT Sport Pack] option” at £5 extra.

Now that’s a bit naughty and hard luck if you missed the message or simply never expected that any business would behave in such a way. As ISPreview.co.uk said in June, “There are many reasons why such a communication could easily be missed, lost or forgotten. ISPs should always make sure they gain clear consent for paid extras, not assumed consent.”

Apparently the issue caused such annoyance that it resulted in Ofcom experiencing a spike in complaints and as such the following position has now been agreed.

Ofcom Statement on BTSport Pricing

Ofcom has subsequently spoken to BT and it has confirmed that:

• Customers will have up to four weeks after they receive their first bill that includes the new £5 monthly charge to complain to BT (this includes customers that are billed quarterly); and

• Any customer who does complain will be offered a ‘no quibble’ refund of any charges paid; and the opportunity to downgrade to BT Sport Lite or cancel their BT Sport service.

BT also told us that as part of a planned review of its terms and conditions it is reviewing its BT Sport contract, including with a view to amending its terms to more clearly set out the circumstances in which it may change the BT Sport service and price.

BT has also set up a dedicated webpage to deal with complaints about this issue and customers who have concerns relating to BT Sport are advised to contact BT.

In fairness BT had already said that customers would still be able to cancel the BTSport service without penalty during August if they so wish (assuming they’d spotted the change), although now BT has gone further by offering a no quibble refund to those who complain and seemingly without a time-limit.

Consumers who have complaints about the fairness of terms in their telecoms contracts should raise them with their provider and Ofcom.

UPDATE 11th August 2015

BT has given us the following comment.

A BT Spokesperson said:

“BT Sport has been free for our customers for two years and lots of content including the Barclays Premier League remains free for those that opt for our BT Sport Lite service. We have always been very clear that we would charge for UEFA Champions and Europa League football and are delighted to be able to offer it to customers at far more affordable prices than they were paying previously.

Our research showed most customers wanted the Champions League added to their channels, so we gave them this option but with an easy choice to downgrade to the Lite package. We did this to avoid a last minute rush of customers upgrading and to ensure everyone got to enjoy the start of the season.

We have written to customers several times and anyone who misses the information can still downgrade without paying the £5 up to 30 days after their first bill. Customers can cancel BT Sport pack or downgrade to the Lite channel at any time. It’s never been our intention for anyone to pay for content they weren’t interested in, so we were happy to confirm our policies to Ofcom.“