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[Topher]

"Defending" ? um ok. It's something that was communicated to people, is a BT thing. Pointing out the posts turning this into a game pass issue issue isn't 'defending', but ok.

Yeah.....suggesting that people actually did know about this, essentially saying those in the article are lying, is a form of defense for this. I don't know how else to read this post of yours clearly mocking people affected by the problem.

'UnKnOwiNgLy'

I stated it as a nothing burger because BT have clearly been sending out refunds, customers have been receiving emails that have been charged for it and it'll show up on their monthly bill.

Ok, lets not read our emails then. Or check our bills, because that would be the responsible thing to do.

Nah....responsible thing to do is not charge folks for a service they didn't ask for. I'll agree that folks better damn well check their email and bill when dealing with this company. They can't be trusted.

 

[StereoVsn]

Not entirely the same, but I'm suddenly reminded of a change in New York's auto insurance law. Last year, providers were required to offer supplemental spousal coverage on their policies, but here's the catch: They automatically enrolled everyone. At least State Farm did - I don't know about everyone else. At least I got a letter about it, but being notified that I, a single man, was just having spousal coverage added to my policy against my will and more importantly that my rate was going up for it is not something I took kindly.

Well, hold on, State Farm was doing a public service. They are trying to keep population age demographics to skew younger by encouraging folks to have more children.

By charging you more money for a spouse you don’t have, they are reminding you to get married and have kids. And there is a Supplemental State Farm dating service that has been including in your policy for almost free!

What a great deal and I salute our heroes at State Farm!

 

[foamdino]

Did you actually read that screenshot?

"Buy a qualifying package and we will send you details on how to activiate Xbox Game Pass Ultimate"

You do realize that the problem here are those who didn't activate a damn thing, right?

I bought full fibre (max rate) *before* this was ever presented on the page - I got a deal as soon as it was rolled out (fibre to home) in my area - you know because I work from home in computer networking & systems programming... (oh and downloading games at 900M+/sec is nice)

I'm super interested in games and would have noticed a giant fuck off gamepass add on the sign up page - it didn't exist when I paid for my package and I was auto subscribed when that was added - I'm literally the person this article is talking about - I didn't know, my bill didn't change so I didn't notice (yeah it was "free for 12 months"). I noticed as soon as an email was sent saying I would be charged extra.

It's not hard to understand that some people would be blind-sided by this strange activation - it is not a malicious article attacking golden child Microsoft, it is an informative article that is useful for people who may not be aware.

I mean fucking hell - how to say your consumer friendly "you are too dumb to read an email -hurr durr".
Go simp for trillion$ companies more...

 

[StereoVsn]

Am I really defending a giant corporation when all I'm saying is "shit happens".

And before you say yes because its a giant corporation and these things shouldn't happen... the simple fact is they do.

If the article had said BT did this on purpose or they did this and purposely hid it from everyone (in which case no email would have been sent) then there you have a scandal.

Of course this stuff happens , and corpos try to pull shit all the time. So what it means that every time it happens we should be sure to complain against these corporations and take side of regular customers.

Shrugging this off just gives them more excuses which is why it’s good that BBC is bringing attention to this even though it’s highly unlikely that regulators will take any action.

 

[adamsapple]

Yeah.....suggesting that people actually did know about this, essentially saying those in the article are lying, is a form of defense for this. I don't know how else to read this post of yours clearly mocking people affected by the problem.

None of my posts in this topic even attempted to make it about Microsoft, that "both sides" is something you've done yourself. .

The posts I quoted meanwhile ...

 

[rickybooby87]

That's what I call organic growth

 

[GHG]

Fine... I'll re-write what I said.

This article is overblowing or overhyping a situation that is being resolved by a way refunding the customers. Customers are being informed that they are being charge (wrongly or rightly) by an email sent directly from BT. The charge will appear in their bill.

So the news are "overblowing" and "overhyping" people who are being charged for something out of the blue without their consent or them signing up to it?

That's a new one. In anyone else's world that's a pretty serious issue.

 

[Schmick]

Yeah.....suggesting that people actually did know about this, essentially saying those in the article are lying, is a form of defense for this. I don't know how else to read this post of yours clearly mocking people affected by the problem.





Nah....responsible thing to do is not charge folks for a service they didn't ask for. I'll agree that folks better damn well check their email and bill when dealing with this company. They can't be trusted.

People should be reading any email or bill from any company they are a customer with.

 

[Schmick]

So the news are "overblowing" and "overhyping" people who are being charged for something out of the blue without their consent or them signing up to it?

That's a new one. In anyone else's world that's a pretty serious issue.

If BT did not offer a refund or the applying for a refund posed challenging then that would be serious.

 

[Gambit2483]

Its was part of the deal for 12 months, like how you get a 12 month free Anti-Virus as part of the package but need to cancel after 12 months if you don't want to pay full price for the Anti Virus after that.

Just read the e-mails.

I don't like these kinds of "deals" because they are predatory and rely on the customer forgetting that they even have the service and never canceling.

Unless a customer specifically decides to opt into a deal then it's a scam imo.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

not surprised by this, last place I worked had some forma BT guys that worked at BT for like 20 years. Total brown nose cunts type of guys that chase for sales numbers.

 

[Topher]

None of my posts in this topic even attempted to make it about Microsoft, that's something you've done yourself. .

The posts I quoted meanwhile ...

Eh....your rep proceeds you, but fine. And no, I did not make this about Microsoft at all outside of quoting the Game Pass advertisement from the screenshot.

People should be reading any email or bill from any company they are a customer with.

The problem has been going on for months, but since they send emails......it is ok.

Whatever man.

 

[adamsapple]

I don't like these kinds of "deals" because they are predatory and rely on the customer forgetting that they even have the service and never canceling.

Unless a customer specifically decides to opt into a deal then it's a scam imo.

It is what it is, unfortunately. I agree that not everyone takes the time (or can) read the fine print, but if you're signing up for a long-term commitment like this, you really ought to do it for yourself.

I recently changed to a new phone service which offered a very good / low plan price but only if I pre-pay for a full 12 months, I read that and made the judgment to stick to it since I don't plan to change services 3 months down the line, but if they start charging more for 12 months after this year, I'll be canceling too.

 

[Team Andromeda]

I don't like these kinds of "deals" because they are predatory and rely on the customer forgetting that they even have the service and never canceling.

Unless a customer specifically decides to opt into a deal then it's a scam imo.

Yeah, getting GamePass free for a year is a terrible deal and a scam . Unless you can be bothered to read your contract that is *rollseyes*

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

I don't like these kinds of "deals" because they are predatory and rely on the customer forgetting that they even have the service and never canceling.

Unless a customer specifically decides to opt into a deal then it's a scam imo.

The issue here though is that people are claiming they didn't sign up for any deal and have had it added to their accounts.

Big difference than forgetting to cancel something you voluntarily signed up for.

EDIT: yes I see the screenshot where it says how to activate it if that's the case then fair enough but if they didn't sign up or activate 'the deal' and it was still added to their account, that's shitty.

I'd be saying the same if it was PS+ or Nintendo Online - it is nothing against GP, it is BT that are the shits here.

 

[Beechos]

Same thing prob happens with those doriots and mountain dew xbox promos. Get gamepass free for a month and if you don't cancel get billled, just like what happens with any free promo nowadays.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Same thing prob happens with those doriots and mountain dew xbox promos. Get gamepass free for a month and if you don't cancel get billled, just like what happens with any free promo nowadays.

But again, customers are claiming that the haven't activated the offer - so it isn't the same as mountain dew or doritos - it has been added without redeeming any code or clicking any activation link.

 

[DJ12]

Thanks for the heads up, but there's an auto renew button, it's not like they are randomly adding it, it was probably mentioned when people got the voucher but they forgot.

 

[Topher]

I'd be saying the same if it was PS+ or Nintendo Online - it is nothing against GP, it is BT that are the shits here.

Agree. I see no evidence that Microsoft is in the wrong here. It is BT's system.

 

[Clear]

Part of the issue is that recently BT and EE (UK's largest mobile provider) fully merged. And EE have been offering Xbox/GamePass as free or paid monthly bonus on their contracts for years, so I can well imagine people rolling off their subs and it simply ending up tacked onto their landline/internet contracts through sloppyness as its not particularly obvious how these billing elements are connected.

 

[Ceadeus]

Some people on BT forum report that they've bought a month of GP on G2A and now they're stuck with a recurring GP sub even though they're not using BT service at all. They're pretty much getting GP on the expense of BT/EE clients without their consent.

 

[GHG]

If BT did not offer a refund or the applying for a refund posed challenging then that would be serious.

So it's ok if I steal some money from you every month, as long as I promise to give it back to you if you notice it?

 

[Topher]

So it's ok if I steal some money from you every month, as long as I promise to give it back to you if you notice it?

"I took money from you without your consent. It's your fault. Read your email, dumbass"

 

[King Dazzar]

All you need to do is read the e-mail and the contract that you signed.

I will say that since the days of COVID and people working from home Admin, HR teams have been a waste of space and trying to get a hold of anyone or at least talk to a person over the phone to raise an issue, is a complete nightmare and BT are one of the worst, like SKY.

Yes. If it all works as intended. But the additional issue I'm also aware of, prior to this BBC article. Is that when the free deal period came to an end. You couldnt get rid of the fact that the sub was tied to your BT account's payments . It was causing lots of hassle for people trying to get free of it. And as you then go onto agree, speaking and trying to get competence from the admin teams can be a journey through hell. With them directing you to MS and then MS directing you back to BT. In short, I personally would try to avoid the BT deal at this time. Its not worth the hassle if its problematic.

 

[King Dazzar]

"I took money from you without your consent. It's your fault. Read your email, dumbass"

Its weird, but anything going Pete Tong to do with a certain X brand always seems to be the customers fault. Really endearing stance isnt it. Just makes me feel all warm and cosy inside.

 

[DJ12]

Did you actually read that screenshot?

"Buy a qualifying package and we will send you details on how to activiate Xbox Game Pass Ultimate"

You do realize that the problem here are those who didn't activate a damn thing, right?

I took out a BT contract in December and didn't activate the voucher until March, auto renew was set for March when it ran out not when I took up the contract. So on that basis, if you don't activate it, you won't be renewed.

 

[Schmick]

So it's ok if I steal some money from you every month, as long as I promise to give it back to you if you notice it?

Can you prove that BT did it on purpose? Or was it a IT malfunction?

 

[GHG]

Can you prove that BT did it on purpose? Or was it a IT malfunction?

It really doesn't matter.

People should be able to trust companies (of any size) to not take money (or automatically charge them for something they did not ask for or agree to) without prior consent.

 

[Team Andromeda]

Yes. If it all works as intended. But the additional issue I'm also aware of, prior to this BBC article. Is that when the free deal period came to an end. You couldnt get rid of the fact that the sub was tied to your BT account's payments . It was causing lots of hassle for people trying to get free of it. And as you then go onto agree, speaking and trying to get competence from the admin teams can be a journey through hell. With them directing you to MS and then MS directing you back to BT. In short, I personally would try to avoid the BT deal at this time. Its not worth the hassle if its problematic.

You're trying to point score, Bye bye.

 

[Schmick]

It really doesn't matter.

People should be able to trust companies (of any size) to not take money (or automatically charge them for something they did not ask for or agree to) without prior consent.

I know all this.... but I've said this before "shit happens". And I apologise for the simplistic take on it all but I've become a cynical middle aged bastard when it comes to the media and their need for drama.

 

[Topher]

Its weird, but anything going Pete Tong to do with a certain X brand always seems to be the customers fault. Really endearing stance isnt it. Just makes me feel all warm and cosy inside.

The responses here are a bit mind boggling, that much is certain. None of this is the fault of the customer and yet the fingers are pointed squarely at them. It will be interesting to see how they respond if/when different companies are involved. Time to bookmark this thread.

 

[King Dazzar]

You're trying to point score, Bye bye.

lol, seriously I wasnt trying to. I genuinely looked into the deal a few months ago, as I was looking at upgrading from my 500mb plan to 900mb+. And my GPU expires in March. But it read like a nightmare for some on BT's forums.

The truth is the truth man.

 

[Jayjayhd34]

This is because anyone who joined fttp got 12 months free. it was clear when signing up that if ypu didn't want it after the 12 months just turn auto renewal of.

 

[Topher]

This is because anyone who joined fttp got 12 months free. it was clear when signing up that if ypu didn't want it after the 12 months just turn auto renewal of.

No, people were supposed to activate the 12 months of GPU free themselves if they wanted it. Instead, some were activated automatically even if they didn't want it. As foamdino explains....

I bought full fibre (max rate) *before* this was ever presented on the page - I got a deal as soon as it was rolled out (fibre to home) in my area - you know because I work from home in computer networking & systems programming... (oh and downloading games at 900M+/sec is nice)

I'm super interested in games and would have noticed a giant fuck off gamepass add on the sign up page - it didn't exist when I paid for my package and I was auto subscribed when that was added - I'm literally the person this article is talking about - I didn't know, my bill didn't change so I didn't notice (yeah it was "free for 12 months"). I noticed as soon as an email was sent saying I would be charged extra.

It's not hard to understand that some people would be blind-sided by this strange activation - it is not a malicious article attacking golden child Microsoft, it is an informative article that is useful for people who may not be aware.

I mean fucking hell - how to say your consumer friendly "you are too dumb to read an email -hurr durr".
Go simp for trillion$ companies more...

 

[Jayjayhd34]

No, people were supposed to activate the 12 months of GPU free themselves if they wanted it. Instead, some were activated automatically even if they didn't want it. As foamdino explains....

Yes it needed activating as per the email

Great news. Your broadband package has Game Pass Ultimate 12 months included at no extra cost, and you can start using it straight away.

You can activate it from tomorrow, if you try and activate it before then you might be charged.

To start using your pass, log in to My BT, head for the Content Partner section, and click Add Now.

Once you've accepted our terms and conditions, you'll be taken to the Microsoft log in page. Make sure you log into the account you'd like to add your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to.


The problem here is to activate you need xbox console or app. Or bt screwed up and charged people for add ons you where not using. Just checked my bill to see if rhere charging me for netflix that dont use abd haven't been

 

[Topher]

Yes it needed activating as per the email

Great news. Your broadband package has Game Pass Ultimate 12 months included at no extra cost, and you can start using it straight away.

You can activate it from tomorrow, if you try and activate it before then you might be charged.

To start using your pass, log in to My BT, head for the Content Partner section, and click Add Now.

Once you've accepted our terms and conditions, you'll be taken to the Microsoft log in page. Make sure you log into the account you'd like to add your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to.


The problem here is to activate you need xbox console or app. Or bt screwed up and charged people for add ons you where not using. Just checked my bill to see if rhere charging me for netflix that dont use abd haven't been

Yeah, pretty sure the issue is BT screwed up. They are the middle man between the customer and Microsoft. If no one activates anything and still gets charged, then that is BT's responsibility.

 

[laynelane]

The responses here are a bit mind boggling, that much is certain. None of this is the fault of the customer and yet the fingers are pointed squarely at them. It will be interesting to see how they respond if/when different companies are involved. Time to bookmark this thread.

I was thinking that this article is informative for people who are experiencing issues or contemplating signing up with BT. It sounds like it's been an ongoing problem for months now and, since it's not being resolved (ie. it keeps happening), a spotlight on the issue could be very helpful for the customers who are being impacted. The attitude change from some because Game Pass and MS is involved is not exactly surprising, but distasteful nonetheless.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

If they won’t subscribe willingly they’ll have just have to be subscribed “accidentally”

 

[Beechos]

But again, customers are claiming that the haven't activated the offer - so it isn't the same as mountain dew or doritos - it has been added without redeeming any code or clicking any activation link.

I'm going to go with my original hunch. People call bt customer service for help and the customer service people add it their account unknowingly as a free promo to get their little commission which never gets cancelled. I've had shit like that happen to me on more than one occasion with my isp, mobile phone and insurance companies

 

[The Fuzz damn you!]

I've become a cynical middle aged bastard when it comes to the media and their need for drama.

Try being cynical towards large corporations and their profitable “mistakes” instead.

 

[foamdino]

Oh but customers are big dumb dumbs.