So I cancelled my BT service after moving out of my uni house in May and we left some money in our joint account I have with my housemates to pay the final bill. Once the final payment went out we closed the account as it was empty. I've received requests from them to pay an extra £34.74 (which is £3 more than we paid per month) as a cessation charge.
We were never told about this charge until we had ended the contract and I have begun to receive threats from BT, where they threaten to blacklist my credit score, pass the bill to a debt collection agency and possibly even take me to court if I don't pay the bill. This seems akin to blackmail to me and I'm hesitant to pay it, but I also don't want to have a blacklisted credit score as I'm only 21.
Is there anything I can do? I feel like this 'cessation charge' is essentially a means to blackmail people into paying for at least, what is essentially, an extra month on top of their contract length or to bully them into staying with them and I feel slightly violated by it.
