I think you should complain to them till you are blue in the face. Im having to do this on behalf of my mother they said they explained the charges (no they didnt) they only have part of the phone conversation and this bit isnt on.

I will not stop complaining and will go to the top of the organisation and Ofcom if I have to, never ever call for a BT engineer unless you are fully aware they will charge through the nose. for 5 minutes work. Always check your home phone and try a different phone before you ring them.

Basically I would never recommend using BT their charges are outrageous.

A couple of years ago I had an external problem when I was with BT - Openreach attended. The guy who attended was very helpful when I asked about charges. HE SAID did any operative say look at the front of the Phone Book and read the section which I think now reads Fault repairs... The key in my case was the master socket and unscrewing the plate and plugging into the socket inside as a test. I said no and he said they can't charge you and if they do tell them etc... They charged me £170 and as far as I could see I owed more than half and I phoned and said the magic words. Now remember this was when BT was losing customers like it was going out of style. They agreed a £60 odd charge should be deleted AND then called me back and said I shouldn't pay any of it and were profusely sorry and did all the paperwork correctly and quickly refunded. I am in no doubt that the operatives were interpreting badly a memo effectively from the board saying don't lose customers.

Now you didn't authorise the call so I wouldn't think they've a leg to stand on.

In closing may I add my voice to those who think BT is a dreadful company!

BT seem to have lost any idea of good customer service. The calls Originally made by my father in law were to an indian call centre too. I have been firm so far and will persue this as I know I have been unfairly charged. I was talking to my mum earlier and she was saying my uncles had same problem in his house and BT changed the box (same as they did to ours) but he didnt get charged. So why is it one rule for one person and different for another? or do the engineers take advantage of people they think wont complain? (as even though im 25 I still get asked for id to buy lotto lol and my partner wasent home when he came round.so did he think I was younger i dont know)

Are BT that desperate for money?i doubt it.

I changed my phone provider from BT and they sent me a bill for £105 and said it was a charge for cancelling within 18months. I phoned them, first to india, they transferred me to england, they put me on hold for 20 minutes then cut me off (she obviously hoped i'd go away). I called again, told them why i was calling - guess what - they cut me off again. Third time i called i was furious and not very pleasant to the person in the indian call centre. I told her my problem again, she said it was because i cancelled before the 12 month period! So one said 18m and other said 12m! Anyway, i told her i was not paying a rediculous fee for something that was very poor service and expensive as i got it far cheaper elsewhere. She said i have to pay as it was in the contract, I told her i did not sign a contract and never received anything to tell me i would have to pay if i changed service provider. She said she would put me on hold to speak to her manager, i said don't you dare put me on hold cos you will cut me off! She apologised, she spoke to her manager without puting me on hold then came back - she apologised and said she was going to drop the charge. I told her i want it in writing and a reference number to confirm this has been done. She said it would take a few minutes to do and she will call me, i told her i would wait on the phone until she does this. 1 minute later, she gave me a reference number and said a letter would be sent out. 4 days later i received a letter to confirm charges dropped and a cheque would be sent out for £13 pounds - don't ask me why they gave me money back - i have no idea - but i certainly wasnt going to complain (not this time).

If you are not happy about a companies charges, phone them, be very firm and ask for them to be dropped. If they refuse, keep pushing, if they still refuse, ask to speak to their manager and be firm to them as well. Always remember to ask for the names of the people you are speaking to and use it in conversations with them.

A couple of weeks ago when i picked up my phone there was a huge noise down my phone line, i then noticed no connection on my internet either. I contacted my father inlaw via my mobile to ask BT what was happening.

He contacted them and also gave them my mobile number as they asked so they could update me, they told him it was an external fault and they would get someone to repair it the next day.

The next day, i got texts from BT saying someones fixing the problem and IF an engineer was to come to the house theyd LET ME KNOW. I got no warning from BT when the engineer knocked at my door, he was here about 10 minutes and decided to change the main box on the wall.

In the whole instance i NEVER got told Id be charged anything for this 10 minute work in my house. The first time i heard about it was when £252 came out of my bank account (as i pay direct debit-£29 was regular payment)

I feel I have been RIPPED OFF big time, its like they tried to hide the fact Id get charged. Ive now got to leave it in their hands for 7-10days to work out if they can take the charges off. but im still furious, were struggling to get out of debt,were private rent tenants, we have maxed out both credit cards, constantly over a grand overdrawn and only one of us is working at the moment as ive hurt my back. we get no government help from any benefits at all, not even tax credits as we owe tc, i couldnt afford nappies for my toddler last month i had to borrow off my dad.if id known theird be a charge id not have let them in.

Can they do this? If they decide i cant have the money back what can i do next? im stressed alot at moment and this BT thing has me in tears. Someone please help, S