BT line installation reduced from £125 to £29.99 until the end of September

Former_MSE_Archna

What's the deal?

Until the end of September, you can get a BT line installed or reconnected for £29.99 - much cheaper than the usual £125. However, this involves signing up for an 18 month contract, rather than the usual 12, and you'll need to make at least ten calls per month but these can be inclusive calls from your package.

Having said that, the saving on the installation should dwarf any call costs. This isn't available online; to get it you need to ring 0800 800 150.

Any catches?

As mentioned before you'll be locked into an 18 month contract but once you have a BT line there are ways to cut the bill, particularly slice through the cost of calls. (see the Cheapest Home Phones article).

If you do try and cancel your agreement before the 18 months is up, you'll have to pay the remainder of the contract.

This offer isn't open to those that want a second line in their home.

See the terms and conditions.

For full info on how to slash the cost of your home phone bills read the Cheapest Home Phones article.

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P.S. Thanks for those that posted the offer originally on the forum. We've started a fresh thread for explanation and discussion for the weekly e-mail. You can read the existing discussion here.

utilitybroker

You dont have to make 10 chargeable calls as suggested in the original post . They can be inclusive calls.EG you could use your inclusive geographical calls to meet this requirement.

Its also worth noting the T&C if you attempt to cancel in the 18 month period. I quote:

"Customers ceasing service during the minimum period of the special offer will be asked to pay, as a single payment, a sum which is equal to the total of the standard line rental charges (currently, £11.75inc. VAT per month) left in the 18 month minimum period."

hungryhamster

Hi

I was jsut wondering, i have taken up the BT £29.99 installation offer (which i was still billed the full £124.99 for - i did ring up and get £95 discounted off my bill - but was still annoyed and worried that i was going to be left with a huge bill)
My question is though, do i still have to take my calls through BT? or can i switch my calls to Sky talk or tiscali or do i have to stay with BT for the whole 18 months????? i want to swap to sky talk cos you get a discount off the connection charge for free Sky broadband, but i dont want to get stuck with a huge BT bill for breaching their terms and conditions....

thanks
:-)

Heinz

Welcome to the MSE forums hungryhamster.

Although there is considerable confusion on the matter at the moment, it appears that Sky is one of the CPS calls providers which now ignores the 1280 prefix. If so, that will mean that, if you opt to pay BT line rental and to use Sky as your CPS calls provider, you won't be able to make any calls via BT - and will therrefore breach BT's T&Cs.

In any case, Sky Talk's charges for 0845 and 0870 calls are excessive, so not having 1280 access to BT would be very costly for such calls.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1072413

http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/sky-talk/24482-1280-no-longer-work-even-if-you-pay-bt-line-rental.html

qbazdz

Terms have changed recently and you need to get the basic call package so the total with line rental is around 13.50 a month if paid by DD. Its a shame that you can't take 6 month contract at the end of the 18mth to make it 'straight' 12 month counts again

Teresa_Small

I wonder what happens if one moves house within the 18 month contract. I suppose you would have to pay the difference!!!!

Decemoto

Quick additional to all this...

If you were looking to go with an 'all in one' phone and broadband provider such as Orange or TalkTalk, beware! These companies charge you for line rental as well as call packages so if you've just connected with BT, you'll be cutting off ties with them and will be liable for a disconnection fee or worse, paying off the rest of your contract.

The irony is that without BT connecting you first, you can't switch to one of these providers, as they can't connect the lines themselves. What this means for the consumer is that if you don't have a phone line yet and need one connected, your options for phone and broadband provider are quite limited

jonny602403

Please be aware that not everyone needs to use this deal - i have just moved into a new flat that had an existing phoneline that wasnt connected - and it only cost £2 to reconnect.

Also, the Post Office can reconnect phone lines as well as BT, and they dont have a fixed contract (i.e. you can cancell after 1st month) and they cost the same as BT (£10-11/month).
So, its best to connect with the PO then move to a service provider that does cheap BB/phone packages (talktalk/ tiscalli, etc)

hope this helps

adr0ck

jonny602403 wrote: »

Please be aware that not everyone needs to use this deal - i have just moved into a new flat that had an existing phoneline that wasnt connected - and it only cost £2 to reconnect.

Also, the Post Office can reconnect phone lines as well as BT, and they dont have a fixed contract (i.e. you can cancell after 1st month) and they cost the same as BT (£10-11/month).
So, its best to connect with the PO then move to a service provider that does cheap BB/phone packages (talktalk/ tiscalli, etc)

hope this helps

jonny - how do you get connected for £2?

deklan99

Decemoto wrote: »

The irony is that without BT connecting you first, you can't switch to one of these providers, as they can't connect the lines themselves. What this means for the consumer is that if you don't have a phone line yet and need one connected, your options for phone and broadband provider are quite limited

Nope, any provider can arrange connection if they want to, not just BT.
It's not a case of can't connect more a case of won't connect . Far cheaper for them to rip off companies like the Post Office who will connect customers with no minimum term contract.

smacsx

I moved into my house 9 months ago and want a phone line installed so I can use my pc again, I miss it sooo much. So I have to go with the BT line for 18 months before I can change to someone else thats bad news, was going to go with the Tiscali package eg, phone line, broadband. 18 months thats long isnt there any other way to go?



Why isnt the post office mention here someones said you can have a phone line reconnected by the PO and only have to stay with them for one month!?

Decemoto wrote: »

Quick additional to all this...

If you were looking to go with an 'all in one' phone and broadband provider such as Orange or TalkTalk, beware! These companies charge you for line rental as well as call packages so if you've just connected with BT, you'll be cutting off ties with them and will be liable for a disconnection fee or worse, paying off the rest of your contract.

The irony is that without BT connecting you first, you can't switch to one of these providers, as they can't connect the lines themselves. What this means for the consumer is that if you don't have a phone line yet and need one connected, your options for phone and broadband provider are quite limited