BT charges for UK call centre help

BT has been charging customers extra to talk to call centre staff in the UK rather than abroad.

If customers want guaranteed access to staff based in the UK and Ireland, they must sign up to the premium package, BT Plus.

Starting at £61.99, this costs twice as much as BT’s standard broadband package at £27.99 a month. However, the telecoms giant pledges that from 2020, all customer service calls will be answered in the UK and Ireland.

BT, which has 30 million customers, added that only around one in ten calls is dealt with by staff abroad.

Martyn James, of complaints website Resolver, said: ‘This type of two-tier service is completely unacceptable, particularly as customers on cheaper packages may be more vulnerable.’

Since November 2018, BT has offered ‘dedicated support’ from staff in the UK and Ireland as a perk for BT Plus customers.

A BT spokesman says: ‘We are the only major broadband provider bringing customer service back to the UK and Ireland and we are delivering on this promise for all of our customers one year ahead of schedule in January.’