I’ve been with BT Anytime since it was introduced earlier in the year. Prior to being with BT I was with AOL, NTL and Freeserve. I started off using the BT Evenings service but swiftly changed to the Anytime package as soon as it became available. It made sense for me to switch to ... Read review
Advantages: No extra phone charges Disadvantages: Poor connection, trouble dialling in
I’ve been with BT Anytime since it was introduced earlier in the year. Prior to being with BT I was with AOL, NTL and Freeserve. I started off using the BT Evenings service but swiftly changed to the Anytime package as soon as it became available. It made sense for me to switch to 24/7 access since I was going back to University and would be using the Internet more during the day. £14.99 seemed like a good deal and I haven’t had problems ... ...I received an email from BT asking me to download a new dialler. I thought this was to improve connection or because they had switched their homepage address to btopenworld.com.
My problems only got worse once I had downloaded this new dialler. For the first week I kept getting a busy signal and it took me many tries before I was connected. I put this down to teething problems, because after a week things sorted themselves out and ... more
I’ve been with BT Anytime since it was introduced earlier in the year. Prior to being with BT I was with AOL, NTL and Freeserve. I started off using the BT Evenings service but swiftly changed to the Anytime package as soon as it became available. It made sense for me to switch to 24/7 access since I was going back to University and would be using the Internet more during the day. £14.99 seemed like a good deal and I haven’t had problems with BT until about a couple months ago.
I began having problems with keeping my connection continuous (I have a 56k modem). I kept getting disconnected. I always thought this was because I was on the Internet for longer than an hour. I didn’t really think much of it. About a month ago I received an email from BT asking me to download a new dialler. I thought this was to improve connection or because they had switched their homepage address to btopenworld.com.
My problems only got worse once I had downloaded this new dialler. For the first week I kept getting a busy signal and it took me many tries before I was connected. I put this down to teething problems, because after a week things sorted themselves out and I was able to dial in without any problems. However, now I have a problem of always getting disconnected. It could happen literally a second after dialling in and it normally happens several times when I’m on the Internet. It is extremely frustrating and disruptive.
I also watched Watchdog last Friday and heard the same scenario that I have been through. Apparently, BT has sent out this new dialler to their heavy user customers. In doing this they hope heavy user customers will switch to the Broadband service which costs almost three times as much as Anytime (£75.00 for installation and £39.99 monthly fee). Also, customer advisors have been told not to stop people from cancelling their service (I presume to lessen the numbers who subscribe to Anytime). I guess BT can’t handle their volume of customers. I have read that they have received a high level of consumer complaints recently.
I am hesitant to leave BT as have been happy with their service until now, plus I don’t want them to win (too stubborn I guess). Also, customers are paying for a service and BT should be able to cope and provide that service.
I have tried on several occasion to contact their helpline, but it is always busy, plus it’s not exactly cheap (like most helplines).
~~ BT Internet – packages available
BT Anytime costs £14.99 per month and allows you to have 24-hour access 7 days a week without further charges on top of the monthly fee. BT calls this package the “best value package that works out at just 49p a day”. You get 10 BTInternet email addresses and 50Mb of web space. This package is best for heavy users.
BT Pay-as-you-go is similar to Freeserve in that you only pay for the call charges. BT provides you with the software. This package is best for light users.
BT Surf Package costs from £5.99 and gives you free access from 6pm – 8am, however I think there are additional costs on top of the £5.99.
~~ My recommendation
As I said earlier I have been happy with BT until recently. However, if you are a heavy user like me I would think twice before switching to BT Anytime. Currently they are having problems, and it may cause you more trouble than it’s worth. For £15.00 a month I expect more from BT, hopefully they will improve their Anytime service soon.
At the moment it looks like they’ve taken on more than they can chew.
To read the Watchdog report from last Friday go to www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/reports/reports_wbtanytime.shtml
For more information on BT Anytime go to www.btopenworld.com
~~ Update
Well, I tried complaining direct to BT and they were of no help what so ever. Their helpline is useless, I would recommend instead to send in a letter of complaint to Watchdog. I'm seriously considering changing ISPs.
Also, for those that are interested. mbmb11 left the following statement in my guestbook which I think is very interesting: "did you know that BT have just suspended the services of around 200 users who they say are 'abusing' the anytime package by being online for longer than 18 hours continuously in any one day? (this info could be added to your op!!) I say lets all leave BT!! mbmb11 x"
Advantages: None at the moment Disadvantages: BT have a monopoly on UK communications and should be stripped of it forthwidth
Fact: BT are taking money from anytime subscribers and deliberately withholding from them the service they have paid for. Fact: No one in government seems to care about what I think should be a HIGHLY ILLEGAL practice. At the very least, they should be sued under some piece of consumer legislation which states that if you take someone’s money in return for providing a service, you should provide that service or give the customer their money ... ...Let me explain…
BT Anytime is, as the name suggests, a monthly subscription ISP which is supposed to deliver 24/7 access at 14.99 per month. Their slogan when advertising this service is ‘surf whenever you like, as often as you like with no Internet call charges’. Sounds pretty clear to me.
I signed up to this some time back and was very happy. Then recently, I started to have problems logging in and would often try for half an ...
sandrabarber 19.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Anytime
Advantages: No call charges whilst connected. Disadvantages: Frequent disconnection.
...provider (ISP) recently, from the BT surf package, to BT Anytime surf package. This was mainly because I was off work with a long-term illness, and what better to do whilst at home but to indulge in a spot of surfing without the worry of running up a huge phone bill in the process?
BT Anytime currently costs you 14.99 per month, and this has to be paid separately from your BT phone bill, using Visa/Delta or a MasterCard. This is apparently because ... ...For this measly payment, BT Anytime promises that you can access the Internet at anytime of day or night and incur no telephone charges. What a great idea!
You can phone BT in order to sign up, but you will find the sign up information online at www.btinternet.com. Here you can download the dialer software, and set up your payment.
The connection speed via our 56k modem is a fairly average 45,333 bps. It can become very slow at times, usually in ...
Shufflebum 27.02.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Anytime
...I was subscribed to the BT anytime package, I saw it advertised on T.V and thought "Wow that sounds good, and BT are hugh, they must know thier stuff"
I paid £14.99 a month for access to the net at anytime I wanted. It was a 24 hour package.
All you need is a BT phone line and a Credit or Debit card and your away.
I did ask an advisor about putting the Internet monthly bill on my phone bill, but they do not do this as it's seperate accounts, so ... ...I got a letter from BT telling me that BT were moving some of thier anytime users to another dialler to improve thier access to the internet, and I was one of the chosen lucky ones that would be using this new number.
So I did did what the letter asked me to and downloaded the new dial up number from the BT web site.
Big Mistake!
I had trouble connecting, I had trouble staying connected, it was an absolute nightmare. I did nothing about it as ...
jennylou 17.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Anytime
...month to do, and what BT were advertising..connect free to BT Anytime, when you want for as long as you want, with a 2 hour cut off but you could immediatley reconnect without any penalty
~~~0o0o0o~~~
in Mid-September I got an email from BT saying that I should download a new connection file which would give me a better, faster and more reliable service, it said that I should do this within a set time limit as the old number was going to be defunct, ... ...four Emails of complaint to BT customer Services and to date have not had the courtesy of a reply..I refuse to ring their 50p a minute help line and have spent some 2 hours today attempting to connect to write this short ( for me) Op..
~~~0o0o0o~
Following hundreds of complaints to BBC Watchdog they reported on BT Internet Anytime two weeks ago ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/reports/reports_wbtanytime.shtml ...Mid September) and they were told ...
Dalesman 30.09.2001 (02.10.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Anytime
Advantages: Good at first Disadvantages: It didn't last
...a light user rebate. BT Freecall (unlimited 6 p.m. till midnight and all weekends) for £9.99 per month was ideal, if a little restricting.
One thing I took exception to was their insistence on payment by Credit or Visa Card. Not having either at the time, only being the proud owner of a common garden Switch card, I had to hotfoot it to the bank and apply for them, only to be told that as my annual income barely nudged £10,000 (my salary at work ... ...case.
In April 2001 BT Freecall was 'upgraded' to BT Anytime (unlimited 24/7, subject to 2-hour cutoff) for £14.99 per month. More expensive, but I didn't begrudge the extra cost for added convenience. And 95% of the times I tried to log on, I did so at once without any trouble. It was extremely rare not to get online the second time I typed my password in.
Then around mid-August, I noticed that at busy times - particularly late afternoon, or early ...
JOHNV 12.10.2001 (28.10.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of BT Anytime
