Have i been double billed?

[12384]

I have been paying for broadband on a copper landline on a first addition brighbox since EE took over Orange. As of 2026, this had risen to 24 pounds. My contract was with EE; another family member was paying BT for a landline phone only on the same line, with a call plan at 40 pounds per month at the most recent billing since 1998. Have we been paying line rental twice? Could I ask for compensation, or was this correct? I have since cancelled with EE broadband this month and am now on  BT broadband and digital voice service, and me and another family member are both sharing this service under one name now.

[garybs29]

In short, no.

In the past it was possible to have bb & landline with different providers & be charged separately. No double charging has occured

[12384]

On the statements I can find, and a recent one, it says standard EE broadband and landline. There was also a landline being paid to BT. Am I right in saying the line was being paid twice, and that was the correct setup? Could EE have just charged me for broadband at a lower rate if a line rental was already being paid, or was this not possible? Thanks

[Schockwave · Accepted solution]

@12384 , I would suggest speaking to customer service and they can take a look for you, as we have no way of seeing your online account here.

[XRaySpeX]

@12384 : You will have only 1 landline that is provided by BT. EE will be providing you with BB-Only hosted on the BT landline. This is a legacy EE product that EE took over from Orange & EE is honouring your original contract for it. Orange sold it for a time whereby you took out BB-Only from them & you supplied them with an existing landline no. from another provider which they could host the BB upon. They would only charge you for the BB, not the landline which is charged by the other provider.

Your EE BB is either FTTC or ADSL, probably the latter as you only have the original BrightBox 1 router. I've had both over time with Orange & then EE, hosted throughout on the same BT landline, which incidentally I still retain altho' my BB from EE is now Full Fibre (FTTP).

1 way to check is to see that you don't have 2 master phone sockets in your home.

£24 pm does not seem an unreasonable fee to be paying for partial Fibre (FTTC) or ADSL BB-Only nowadays.

[12384]

I ran it through AI

AI Overview

Yes, it is possible to get a refund if you are being charged twice for the same copper line by EE and BT

, as they are separate companies (despite both being part of the BT Group). This scenario is known as "double billing" or a "shared metallic path facility" (SMPF), where broadband is supplied by one provider (EE) and the voice service (landline) is billed by another (BT

i was paying about 26 pound to EE a month for broadband  the other family member was paying BT 40 pound a month for landline phone with a call package a month, both using the old copper landline non digital as of Feb 2026

[12384]

[JimM11]

@12384 There is NO double billing going on, EE are offering you a solution to have it all as one system connected BB and the Landline which you would need to look at the Call Package you want to take with it, all your choice to do whatever is best!

[12384]

I was paying for a landline, and so was the other family member paying for a landline on the same cable. I thought I was paying for just broadband, but didn't realise there was a landline rental built into it. After doing some research, there were other options, but I don't think either company alerted me or the other family member or me to much cheaper alternatives. Now, there is just one account for broadband and phone line, plus calls for less than half the 66 pounds that were being paid. also its quicker FTTC I think they should have reduced the 26 pounds a month broadband if line rental was already being paid on the same line.

@ JimNo, they didn't alert me to have it all as one system. I would have done it, as it would have been much cheaper. Their alternative was just to upgrade my ADSL service to include PAYG calls, but there was already a home phone with a call package in the house, I also had an EE mobile 

[XRaySpeX]

Yes, EE are offering you an upgrade to Standard BB (ADSL) + a landline as any upgrade now cannot be to BB-Only as they no longer sell it. However as they say in 1st para, you can stay on your current plan of BB-Only for £22 pm (rising to £24 in April), still at least £5 pm less than an upgrade to ADSL BB + landline.

No, EE were not charging you for a landline when you were with them for BB-Only, but they would've if you had taken any upgrade with them. So, you have no case for "double billing".

Duh! I forgot all about SMPF as the term for the legitimate sharing of 1 landline between voice & BB from diff providers. The AI is rubbish to suggest that SMPF is synonymous with "double billing"!