Broadband customers charged up to £90 a year to keep email addresses after they switch providers

Some telecoms firms are charging ex-customers up to £7.50 every month to continue using their old email addresses, an investigation by BBC Radio 4’s Moneybox uncovered. 

BT charges customers up to £7.50 to hold onto their address, equivalent to £90 annually. Meanwhile, TalkTalk charges previous customers £5 each month to keep their old email address – or £60 a year.

The investigation found that Virgin Media deletes customers email addresses 90 days after they leave, meaning they will need to save any information from their account before time runs out. 

Sky is the only large provider which allows its customers to keep their email addresses when they decide to switch supplier.

Some households are being charged £7.50 a month for keeping their old email addresses

A TalkTalk spokesperson said: ‘We have made significant investments to our email platform to improve the user experience. 

‘TalkTalk Mail is free for our broadband customers, while all others are required to pay a small fee to help cover operating costs – £5 per month or £50 per year if paid upfront.’ 

A BT spokesperson said: ‘BT Broadband customers receive a free email service as part of their package. 

‘If they decide to switch broadband providers, they can continue using the BT email service, free of charge, through a web browser and ensure they log-in at least once every 150 days. 

‘Alternatively, if they want to keep access to premium features like multiple inboxes and access through email apps they can continue to use the premium version for £7.50 a month.’ 

BT said customers can cancel their email address and the service will cease after 60 days. 

Alternatively, customers can keep their account without paying but they can only log in through a browser and will have to do so once every 150 days. 

BT customers are charged £7.50 a month for their old email accounts - whilst TalkTalk also charge

Extra charge: Ex-BT customers are charged £7.50 a month for their old email accounts

A Virgin Media spokesperson added: ‘Our email service is included as part of the overall services a customer with broadband takes from us. 

‘If they decide to disconnect their services, their email account will be disconnected, too.

‘Our policy states that customers have 90 days from the point of disconnection to access their mailbox – providing time for them to save contacts, emails, etc., before it is deleted.

‘This is clearly stated in our website, as well as in an email that is sent to customers when they cancel their contract, too.’ 

BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin supply 90 per cent of the UK’s internet-using homes with broadband, suggesting that thousands of customers could be paying monthly for their old email addresses. 

Virgin Media customers who switch will have their email address' deleted 90 days after leaving

Virgin Media customers who switch will have their email address’ deleted 90 days after leaving

Could Ofcom take action? 

The decision by BT and TalkTalk to charge customers has led to the telecoms regulator suggesting it might investigate whether action needs to be taken.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: ‘We can’t see a reason why you should have to pay these amounts to keep your email address. 

Off-putting

Many people have had the same email address for years – or even decades.

They may be worried about closing an address down, with plenty of useful info being stored in those inboxes, along with contacts.

This might deter some from leaving their current broadband provider.

BT is [email protected]

TalkTalk is [email protected]

Virgin is [email protected]

Sky is [email protected] 

‘So we’re looking at this to consider whether we need to step in and take action.

‘Last year we also secured commitments from companies to treat customers fairly, so we’ve asked them to explain how this fits with that promise.’  

Not only is the added fee an annoyance for ex-customers but it also means the cost of paying for the old email addresses could outweigh the cost benefit of switching supplier to save money for many consumers. 

For example, anyone looking to move from BT to a cheaper supplier offering savings of £7.50 or less per month, may reconsider their choice if they want to keep their old email addresses as they wouldn’t actually be saving any money. 

BBC Radio 4’s Money Box spoke to one customer, Wendy Small, who has paid £160 since leaving BT two years ago. 

Initially, she was charged £5 a month from January 2018 before this was increased to £7.50 a month in October 2018.

She said: ‘If you’re switching to save money, but then you suddenly find that you’re going to have to pay to keep your email address so you don’t have the inconvenience of changing everything that’s linked to your email address and it’s going to cost you up to £7.50 per month, then those savings disappear.’

Another customer, Dave Currie, said: ‘I had to change every online account that required an email address as a login and there were over 100 of them. 

‘Having had to do it once, I would certainly be put off changing service providers, even for a much better deal. It just involved too much time and effort.’

Ofcom has recently rolled out a set of rules designed to stop households paying more than they need to on their bills. 

It announced earlier this month that phone, broadband and pay-TV providers will be forced to alert people when their current contract is coming to an end. 

The rules mean that those with contracts ending soon should get an ‘end of contract notification’ as of today, while operators will have a few months to stagger notifications to those customers who are already out of contract. 

It said the new measures could save households more than £150 a year.  

 

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