"Reformed" BT email etc

[DracoM]

What the HECK have BT done?
Tried to open my email and the whole thing has become 10 times more complicated to access.
In one fell swoop.................good grief!

[gurnemanz]

What the HECK have BT done?
Tried to open my email and the whole thing has become 10 times more complicated to access.
In one fell swoop.................good grief!

Plenty of feedback here, to which I contributed my tuppence worth. I've more or less got used to it now. No improvements and several annoyances on what is called an "upgrade". A disadvantage, for instance, no longer to be able to have several emails open on separate tabs. Also, contacts were mucked up.

I'm not inclined to move to another provider, as some have threatened, because of hassle involved and also because I am generally happy with them. Broadband speed is pretty fast and I got a good price for my package which includes a discounted price for sim free mobile deal and a reduction for BT Sport on TV.

[DracoM]

I tried an email to a regular correspondent.
Hitherto all I had had to do was type in the first two or so letters etc and the right address would come up.
NOW, it offers me THIRTEEN - yes 13 - different addresses from all over UK and Europe from which to choose, NONE of which I recognised, and NONE of which responded in any way to this correspondent.
SO
I now have to write down and memorise whom I wish to contact so I can contact them.

And THEN - blow me! - in the process, I discover that the ACTUAL email address I then had to get [by bloomin' well phoning them to check!] turns out NOT to have been one of the 13 offered by BT...!!!!!

How preternaturally crazy is that? With our wonderful email system, says BT now, use a PEN to write down an address that for ten years plus I had had no need even to remember, let alone PHYSICALLY note.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I follow a forum for another interest. One of the posters there worked at a senior level in a BT division. The email system as part of the package was introduced years ago to compete with other providers who offered it. Also, it ties customers to BT doesn't it - evidenced here. But the email provision (IT, support) is very much a low priority and his advice has been to remove important material and go to an email service which isn't tied to a phone or broadband system. Think about all those messages and information you are accumulating there, relying on BT protecting it adequately?

I use email addresses on my Virgin account for purchase accounts and others where I'm going to get a steam of marketing etc emails (I use Virgin for landline and street cable broadband). I only access the emails ocasionally and often there is some glitch or change which wastes my time. I keep meaning to close them off.

For a holiday property we took out a contract with John Lewis (plusnet service) installing broadband for the first time. It cost the same as the BT line alone (for the first year, in June 2021 I'll need to switch again when the price goes up). The BT 'phone account was closed and transfered - but there was no email account to worry about.

[Pulcinella]

If you did indeed get an alternative email account, as you say you did in message #26 here: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?21697-BT, then why don't you ditch using your BT email even if you keep them as your service provider?

Email all your contacts that you want to keep in touch with (hoping that they are still 'uncontaminated'; their correct emails should surely be accessible without too much trouble and without the system giving you useless completion suggestions) from your new account telling them to use your new address (and delete all record of your BT address as a previous recipient in their own systems) and just accept that you'll have to migrate to that new account.
You might even be able to set up something (I'm sure someone here would help!) to redirect any email addressed to your BT email to your new account as easily as you can set up an 'out of office' reply.
Yes it'll be a hassle, but once done....

[DracoM]

So, in their 'reform' , they have managed to deter you from using them?
There are nearly 2000 complaints on the BT website in a matter of hours.

[french frank]

Do people access their accounts from the BT website or from their computers via an email client? The latter, in my case and I have no difficulty with my BT emails**. It's Apple Mail that accesses my contacts and autofills the addresses.

** Correction: I do sometimes have difficulties, but it's with Apple Mail itself, not BT.

[Frances_iom]

Do people access their accounts from the BT website or from their computers via an email client? ....

Can users not use Thunderbird (supposed to work on Windows) and store their emails on their own computer - leaving them on a BT site means they are potentially open to all - Google has already read all your mail so gmail is equivalent to posting a copy to google advertising anyway - BT at one time were in bed with yahoo have they moved again ?

[gurnemanz]

Do people access their accounts from the BT website or from their computers via an email client?

I used Thunderbird for quite a while and found it to be good but now far prefer to use webmail and not fill up my laptop with emails because a) download speeds nowadays are so fast as not to be a factor in accessibility b) I also want to access mail from phone and tablet - both Samsung using the same pretty good Samsung email app. BT also have a webmail app but I tend to prefer Samsung.