BT Mobile Charges Customer GBP235 for No Charges PAC Switch

BT (BT Mobile) has apologised and refunded one of their UK Mobile customers after their system informed him that “there won’t be any charges to switch your service to another mobile provider,” only to later hit him with a bill of £234.97 after having done exactly that. Customer support then refused to help, until we got involved.

The situation began earlier last month after one of BT Mobile’s customers, Mohammed Faraz Shakir, requested a PAC code through the operator’s website (the ‘My Mobile’ section) so that he could see what charges might be imposed and then choose to switch to a different operator if he so desired.

However, despite being three months away from the end of his contract, Mohammed was informed by the operator’s website that “You don’t have any contract charges to pay” because, apparently, he wasn’t “in contract with us anymore.” The message was reinforced further down the same page with the message: “Your total cost for switching today will be £0.00.”

So far so good, until a few days after the switch had been actioned, when the customer suddenly found himself facing an unwelcome bill of £234.97 for “stopping your services with us … before the end of your contract“. Upon querying this with a member of BT’s customer service team, Mohammed was told that the operator would not honour the original promise of “no charges” and blamed the issue on a mistake in their system.

ISPreview.co.uk had previously seen some sporadic gripes that sounded like a similar issue, although these were quite rare and lacked enough detail to pursue. But in this case we had enough information to take the matter up with BT, which to their credit have since apologised and refunded the customer.

A BT Spokesperson told ISPreview.co.uk:

“We’re very sorry for Mr Shakir’s experience with switching mobile providers. There was a technical issue on his My BT App and incorrect help to term charges were given when he requested a PAC code. Our customer service experts have contacted him to apologise, and we have waived the charges.”

All’s well that ends well. But as this case goes to show, if you’re ever uncertain about the cost of switching away to another operator, then check with a member of the company’s staff first, just to be doubly sure (and do like Mohammed did – always keep a record, such as screenshots).

However, most people will usually wait until they’re out-of-contract before switching away, thus such faults should be quite rare. But if any other BT Mobile customers have had a similar experience, then feel free to comment below.