Utility Warehouse - account cancellation

Hello, I am in the process of cancelling my UW account in full which included home phone.I have ben a member for about 5 years which included a call diverter in the form of a pink pig (shape of their logo), however these were made obsolete when new technology routed the calls without the diverters.Consequently I removed it and I think got binned. They are asking for it back or £29.99... in the era of free 'throwaway' routers,(usually after fulfilling a contract period) it seems a bit over the top for something that is only fit for the bin. Is it worth speaking to offcom or are they as useful as the pink pig. Is there any way around the fee? I would be grateful for any sensible suggestions...thanks
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Comments

  • BexTech
    BexTech Posts: 4,772 Forumite
    That's UW for you.
    It's PAC not PAC Code, it's MAC not MAC Code, it's PIN not PIN Number, it's ATM not ATM Machine, it's LCD not LCD Display, it's DVD not DVD disc... It's no one not noone, It's a lot not alot, It's got not gotten... Panini is the plural of panino - there is no S!!
    (OK my English isn't great, the sciences, maths & IT are my strong points!)
  • Heinz
    Heinz Posts: 11,191
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Car Insurance Carver!
    Forumite
    BexTech wrote: »
    That's UW for you.
    Here's what Martin had to say about them:
    "Utility Warehouse. The multi-utility provider (also called Telecom Plus) has sometime been the cheapest energy provider. It is a ‘network marketing’ organisation, which means it's sold by current customers, who are paid commission, to their friends and family.

    This means its customers often evangelise about its pricing unbeatability, based on marketing info. Yet, this simply isn’t true. The pricing structure involves discounts the more utility services are taken. However, Telecom Plus’s home phone service especially should be avoided as it is uncompetitive (see Cheapest Home Phones)."
    Time has moved on (much quicker than it used to - or so it seems at my age) and my previous advice on residential telephony has been or is now gradually being overtaken by changes in the retail market. Hence, I have now deleted links to my previous 'pearls of wisdom'. I sincerely hope they helped save some of you money.
  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
    The only silver lining to all this is that you will recoup the £30 in next to no time in the savings you are now going to make by moving everything previously with uw to proper utility companies. (You save at least £21 a year by not paying their "membership" fee).

    Also use quidco or energyhelpline etc for as many switches as you can to get some cashbacks to offset the £30.

    And make sure you tell everyone to avoid the uw!
  • jhp
    jhp Posts: 2,342 Forumite
    Heinz wrote: »
    Here's what Martin had to say about them:

    Didnt Martin write that ages ago ? ,before they changed their homephone prices.

    Leaving aside the dreaded membership fee for one moment.

    BT Connection Fee £125 . Telecom Plus £99.99p
    BT Calling Feature,s apart from caller display £1.50p. Telecom Plus Calling Features. £1.
    BT Line Rental Paper Billing £11.00. Telecom Plus Line Rental Paper Billing £9.99p.
    BT Peak Geo Call 3.25p a min. Telecom Plus 2.5p a minute.
    BT Off Peak Geo 4.5p a call 60 minutes. Telecom Plus 3.5p a call for 75 minutes.

    Same 0845/0870 rates as BT and Free 01/02 calls to other members.

    Home Phone Prices not as bad as you might think,reading your quote.
  • thanks everyone
  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
    Peak calls via T+ 6p connection fee then 2.5p/min (All plus VAT)

    Peak calls via BT with 1899 5p (inc VAT) connection fee then free for as long as you talk.

    Off peak calls via BT and Primus are totally free.

    T+ won't allow you to use Primus or 1899!

    And you left aside the membership fee "for one moment", then forgot to return to it.

    It's at least £1.76/month.
  • Heinz
    Heinz Posts: 11,191
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Car Insurance Carver!
    Forumite
    Didn't I read somewhere that their customer contact departments recently all changed to 10p/minute 0871 numbers too?
    Time has moved on (much quicker than it used to - or so it seems at my age) and my previous advice on residential telephony has been or is now gradually being overtaken by changes in the retail market. Hence, I have now deleted links to my previous 'pearls of wisdom'. I sincerely hope they helped save some of you money.
  • jhp
    jhp Posts: 2,342 Forumite
    Heinz wrote: »
    Didn't I read somewhere that their customer contact departments recently all changed to 10p/minute 0871 numbers too?

    According to their site they now use 0844 5p numbers,or its free if you pay a bit more for your membership.

    https://www.utilitywarehouse.co.uk/store/contact.taf?exref=
  • jhp
    jhp Posts: 2,342 Forumite
    Quentin wrote: »
    Peak calls via T+ 6p connection fee then 2.5p/min (All plus VAT)

    Peak calls via BT with 1899 5p (inc VAT) connection fee then free for as long as you talk.

    Off peak calls via BT and Primus are totally free.

    T+ won't allow you to use Primus or 1899!

    And you left aside the membership fee "for one moment", then forgot to return to it.

    It's at least £1.76/month.

    Yes i am fully aware that that their are cheaper suppliers if you mix and match, and dont move your line rental away from BT. My point was their Home Phone Prices were not as bad as you might think reading the very old quote.
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