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Ripped off for out of warranty hub 5 router.

Magnetoman
Member

Does anybody know where it states that the warranty for the Hub 5 router is 1 year?

I've had an open reach engineer come to my small business and replace my Hub 5 and been charged £245 + Vat - £294 I'm not vat registered.

I have a 24 month contract with BT

During the conversation with the lady when I asked for help fixing the "dropping out" issues she did mention that if the problem was an out of warranty router or a non BT router or anything other that BT issue I would be charged £245 plus vat

At no point did I think that a router sold as part of a 24 month deal would be out of warranty! I'm 18/19 Months into my contract when the router was installed. 

So I call up BT and try to explain the issuie only to be told " You signed the T&C's  ... which is true. You agreed over the phone ... blah blah, again is true. However I feel that I have been cojoled into a corporate venus money trap. 

I'm seething because this could have been avoided if someone had actually told me my router was out of warranty and therefore no longer property of BT.

£30 quid off ebay and new router ... no problem. Instead I follow the path of a 23 year BT customer and call up to get my router changed - usually every 3/4 years and never a charge in the past. 

I have explained to the BT customer services that I will be leaving at the end of my contract as I really don't believe they can justify this extrortionte rip off! This amounts to a weeks wages for me in these hard times. 

Anyone think I have a case?  
 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

Magnetoman
Member

Ok here's the update. I asked BT to return my router so it could be tested. They were unable to find it and offered to refund me the £250 plus vat. I'm pretty relieved but I'm still of the opinion that they should be more straightforward and open when discussing charges relating to warranty of equipment they install.

They will be pleased to know I may be staying as a custoner at the end of my contract.

Thanks Bobby for your advice.  

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5 REPLIES 5

Bobby
Super User

Hey Magnetoman,

 

Sorry to hear that you were charged for that engineer appointment due to a faulty Hub, that's definitely a pain.

 

The routers are under a year warranty (this is noted in the BT Business terms of service), but it would have been helpful if the advisor let you know over the phone that the router was out of warranty before going ahead with that appointment. It may be that, during your call, they didn't suspect that the router was to blame for the issue.

 

In any case you are free to leave when your contract is up as you've mentioned, but it's unlikely you'll be able to waive those charges that were applied by the engineer. The best route for this would be to call up and raise a complaint to express disatisfaction. 

 

Thanks, Bobby

Magnetoman
Member
I think you’re right. I knew it was the router. It almost always is in these cases so really the onus should be on them to let me know that it was out of warranty. It really does seem like a typical rip off cash cow, offering 24 month deals but only one year warranty on their installed equipment.

In my job I give all information related to cost and warranties, so there are no shocks or nasty surprises.

I’ve asked for the router to be returned and will have my tech check it out. The engineer had no clue and just changed it as a last resort after called ng 5/6 other engineers for advice.

Hi Bobby

Thanks for the reply.

There is a possibility of it not being faulty, despite replacing it resolving the issue. We’ll see.

For what good it will do, I will write a letter of complaint despite the BTadvisor rudely telling me it would come to him anyway.

Really unhappy with BT.

Bobby
Super User

Hey Magnetoman,

 

I believe BT Business generally follow a standard year warranty rule with their electronic products, except for equipment such as phone sytems where an ongoing maintenance fee is charged. I can see why the warranty doesn't extend the full contract length because the router is maintained internally and can be subject to damage that way, but I think we're in agreement that they certainly should have let you know that the Hub was no longer in warranty. 

 

In terms of raising a complaint, I feel like you're better doing this over the phone - the person that you speak with must raise a complaint for you on request and address the issue. That way, they can take ownership of the case and hopefully get a satisfying resolution for you. 

 

Thanks, Bobby

Magnetoman
Member

Thanks Bobby, I'll do that. I doubt i'll get very far as BT only seem to care about getting customers but not keeping them happy. Loyalty counts for nothing 😕 

 

Magnetoman
Member

Ok here's the update. I asked BT to return my router so it could be tested. They were unable to find it and offered to refund me the £250 plus vat. I'm pretty relieved but I'm still of the opinion that they should be more straightforward and open when discussing charges relating to warranty of equipment they install.

They will be pleased to know I may be staying as a custoner at the end of my contract.

Thanks Bobby for your advice.