Urgent warning for BT customers as an error sees them being charged up to £12/month for an Xbox Game Pass without their consent – here’s how to check if you’re affected

If you’re a BT customer, make sure you check your bill again this month.

Some customers are being signed up for a subscription service without their consent or knowledge, the telecom giant has confirmed.

Those affected have received an email suggesting they have signed up for the premium tier of Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s gaming subscription.

One person said they were ‘not happy’ after being told they would have to pay £12 a month for the service, despite having ‘never played on an Xbox’.

BT has apologized for the problem and says that customers known to be affected have received refunds, but have not confirmed how much.

“We are very sorry that the customers mentioned in this article have added Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to their account without their knowledge,” BT told MailOnline.

‘We encourage all our customers to remain vigilant and if they notice any suspicious changes to their account, to contact us as soon as possible to report them.

‘We will support and guide them in taking steps to ensure their account is secure.’

BT is now investigating the cause of the problem.

To check if they are affected, customers should check their emails and receive a notification from BT saying ‘Your subscription is ready’.

Then it says “Thank you for activating your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription,” as if the customer signed up for it themselves.

BT customers can also check bills for unusual charges, or log into their BT broadband account and view the ‘Your products’ page.

According to the BBCa BT employee said it was ‘a known issue’ when speaking to an affected customer, as it has been happening for months.

Some people received an email (pictured) that made it look like they had signed up for Xbox Game Pass when they hadn’t

One of those who unknowingly signed up for Game Pass in October shared his experience on the community page of BT’s website.

They said they were charged £12 for Xbox Game Pass, despite never signing up or even owning an Xbox.

They wrote: ‘About an hour ago I found an email from bt.com sent around 5.30pm this afternoon stating that I had signed up for an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and would be charged £12 per month are being brought.

“The problem is I didn’t sign up for anything like that. I’ve never played an Xbox in my life! Live alone, no kids, and no one else has access to my account information.”

The user checked the ‘Your Products’ page on their BT Broadband account and found the unwanted subscription listed there.

“Sure enough, there’s now a ‘content partners’ section and a box where I can manage the Game Pass subscription, which I had never heard of until tonight, and certainly never asked for!” they added.

‘Presumably the initial charge will appear on my next online bill, which I believe is due on Tuesday. I am not content.’

Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service that allows people to download and play video games for Xbox consoles or Windows PCs

Another of those who unknowingly signed up for Xbox Game Pass, Sue from London, said she noticed the charge when she logged into her BT account.

“They charged me an extra $10 and that money was taken from my account,” she said the BBC.

“Xbox Game Pass was added to my accounts without my permission – I thought that was so strange because I don’t even have an Xbox.

‘I actually thought I’d been hacked, so I called them… and they explained it was a BT bug.’

Another customer, Matt from East Sussex, said he eventually got his money back after receiving no response from BT customer service on X.

Customers can contact BT at the online support page or by calling 0800 800 150.

Does this mean the end of traditional television? MailOnline is getting started with BT’s new TV subscription service

MailOnline has tried out EE TV, the latest subscription platform offering content under one roof.

EE TV – from the telecoms provider owned by British giant BT – brings together movies and TV shows in one slick interface.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s the live broadcast from BBC One or Channel 4, or the latest on-demand show from Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime.

Unlike Sky Glass, EE TV is not a real television, but a new subscription package that combines an app with a set-top box of your choice.

On the EE TV app homepage, users will see the content they’ve been watching from the different apps, all in one place – whether it’s BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video – along with shows going live broadcast

The cost of EE TV depends on the package you choose. For example, the sports package with four TNT Sports channels giving access to the Premier League costs £18 per month.

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