Cheapest Home Phones Article Discussion

purplestar133

Heinz wrote: »

www.18185.co.uk www.call1899.co.uk and www.18866.co.uk are indirect access providers (in fact they're all the same company but their call rates differ). If you have an account with any of them and pay line rental to a company which allows access (only BT must do so but Sky, for example, will shortly bar such access), you can use their 4 or 5 digit prefix to make cheap calls.

Just one example to keep it brief. If you had a BT line and their lowest calls package (the Unlimited Weekend Plan), you would pay 9.9p connection + 5.9p/minute for a weekday call to an 01, 02 or 03 number (a just under 10 minute call would cost 68.9p). Using the 18185 prefix, that 68.9p call would cost 5p.

Do you know whether TalkTalk offers access to these indirect access providers?

Heinz

purplestar133 wrote: »

Do you know whether TalkTalk offers access to these indirect access providers?

I know that Talk Talk bars them.

However, they cannot bar their 0808 gateway numbers so, although not quite as cheap as using the prefixes, cheaper calls can be made using those routes.

purplestar133

Heinz wrote: »

I know that Talk Talk bars them.

However, they cannot bar their 0808 gateway numbers so, although not quite as cheap as using the prefixes, cheaper calls can be made using those routes.

Thanks, I'll look into these.

smiggers

Phoned to cancel & BT dropped the line rental to £9.54. Said they couldn't go any lower even though I mentioned Primus & O2 and the agent was just about to cancel the line. Decided that £2 per month discount was better than nothing. Always very hard to play hardball in these kind of situations.

hollie.weimeraner

smiggers wrote: »

Phoned to cancel & BT dropped the line rental to £9.54. Said they couldn't go any lower even though I mentioned Primus & O2 and the agent was just about to cancel the line. Decided that £2 per month discount was better than nothing. Always very hard to play hardball in these kind of situations.

I rang BT on 0808 100 2425 and they put me through to retentions when I said I was moving line rental to Primus.

Anyway the upshot is that I am now on their Anytime plan with call waiting, call divert, anon call reject, caller id and the reduced price mobile calls for 18.72 per month with first 3 months of anytime free.

They have given me the £36 credit for line rental up front (make line rental £8-54) along with £18 credit for the mobiles bolt on so I'm pretty pleased as I can now get rid of my orchid dialler as well.

BernardM

deanos wrote: »

Im looking for a new provider for my mum and dad after the terrible service from Talk Talk recently they want to move.

Is BT the best option of £4.99 with unlimited calls the best + £11.54 line rental, they dont want to use prefixes or anything.

Could the o2 Home package with any discounts that may become available beat it deanos, and also better my current Primus CPS (for calls) and BT (for line rental) and 1899 for Daytime and mobiles.

If o2 does restrict calls in the day to 1899 then for less hassle the anytime calls for an hour inclusive plus calls to America (including mobiles) and 0845s an 0870s is quite tempting.

http://broadband.o2.co.uk/downloads/O2_Home_Phone_Price_List.pdf

http://www.o2.co.uk/broadband/homephone/

OldGreyFox

BernardM wrote: »

Could the o2 Home package with any discounts that may become available beat it [URL="http://"][/URL]

But its no good unless you have or take O2 Broadband unlike BT ,Primus, or other providers they dont offer O2 Home Phone on its own.

molerat

I am currently with BT Weekend and Primus Saver2 cps. I don't call overseas and don't get a very big bill, usually less than £1 a month as most of our calls are eve / we anyway, but this has seen a drastic increase since Primus instigated their 4p connection charge, I used to get some calls charged at 1p. Would I be better to

a) Change to BT Evening & Weekend and 18185 (downside remembering that evenings start at 7pm and free calls limited to 1hr)

b) Stick with Primus and add 18185 (downside remembering (or getting OH to remember) to prefix 1280 at weekends and 18185 during weekdays)

One factor will be if Primus are going to bar access to prefixes in the future. I don't really want to move away from BT as I have read too many horror stories and the comparison sites give me very little choice on my exchange anyway.

Nils083

Dear all.
It seems there are some great reviews and debates here.
Our wireless dongle with 02 will expire in July, and we'd like to get a plumbed in phone line.
BT are doing a great offer at the moment (about £30 for the line installation), but then tie you in to a 18month contract, with broadband on top.
Plusnet also have a good offer (similar price), and with cheaper phone and broadband. However, l've looked for reviews of Plusnet and came across this shocker:

www. reviewcentre. com/reviews92709.html

Essentially 170 folk saying that Plusnet is rubbish.


I'm after a cheap setup, phone and broadband package.

Does anybody have any good ideas or recent experience with PlusNet?

Cheers

Nils

mapex

molerat wrote: »

I am currently with BT Weekend and Primus Saver2 cps. I don't call overseas and don't get a very big bill, usually less than £1 a month as most of our calls are eve / we anyway, but this has seen a drastic increase since Primus instigated their 4p connection charge, I used to get some calls charged at 1p. Would I be better to

a) Change to BT Evening & Weekend and 18185 (downside remembering that evenings start at 7pm and free calls limited to 1hr)

b) Stick with Primus and add 18185 (downside remembering (or getting OH to remember) to prefix 1280 at weekends and 18185 during weekdays)

One factor will be if Primus are going to bar access to prefixes in the future. I don't really want to move away from BT as I have read too many horror stories and the comparison sites give me very little choice on my exchange anyway.

This is the advice i'm looking for....new to all this different providers, the 18185 prefix and i dont want to rush into making a choice to quick.
I have my tv and free calls with sky, tv costing only £23 but last months
bill was £67 and we pay BT line rental.

I always though free eve and weekend call meant the calls cost nothing
and if you stuck to that u would only pay the cost of the TV, but sticking
to the free calls, maybe phoneing a place during office hrs it wold be
cheap but 67 quid i called sky and cancelled the free calls and ended
up here.

The 18185 prefix ? explain in short please........

Time to call Orange and see how long my broadband deal has left and
maybe look for the whole package......but dont want a letter telling
me my downloading is breaking that fair play agreement like orange
sent me 2 years ago.

Its all new to me this but its got me interested i saw a page
last night with connection charges, so free calls mean when u
phone u still pay for the connection then the duration of the calls
free but connection charges apply ? is this correct.


thanks

Mark