Toucan

oddjob_3

Excuse me if this subject has appeared before but am new to the chat line and do not know my way around yet.

My question is...does any member have any knowledge of a telecoms provider called TOUCAN?.
I have just received a call from a lady with a far eastern accent (hope this is pc?) who offered me a saving of 40% against BT and I was prompted to sign up with the promise of unlimited phone calls for £9.99/month. Despite the options already advised on the sight, I am not sure that we (the household) could discipline ourselves to dial a 4 0r 5 digit prefix, so i liked the sound of a fixed monthly payment which was less than the BT £15.00 option I was considering.
I gave her my bank details but baulked at the actual account number. So then had her superviser on to offer me a further discount of £5 if I paid by DD, but again wanting the account number. He was quite persuasive in suggesting that if I paid by cheque, then all the details are on them, but I do not like giving details like these over the phone and suggested that I would welcome their package by post and sign up then. He was very polite and it seems genuine enough but I should like to know if any memebers have opened accounts with Toucan also.
I was given a telephone number to ring for their customer services/technical support (0800 0613 615) and spoke to girl who said that the centre was based in London (the Telesales WAS India). Apparently they are a part of the IDT group and now have some 100,000 domestic customers.
It appears quite legit so await the package with interest.
Hope this may be of help to others!

sergeant121

I think you may have been misled or have misunderstood what you were being offered.

If you sign up for Toucan, you will ALSO have to keep your BT landline.  BT put most of their residential customers onto ‘BT Option 1’ on 1/7/04.  That means ONLY that you have a BT line at a cost of £10.50 per month (£11.50 if you don’t pay by Direct Debit) and then, on BT, your UK calls to STD codes which start 01 or 02 cost 3p/minute (minimum call cost 5p) weekdays and 5.5p for up to an hour in the evening and at the weekend. In other words, Toucan’s £9.99 is in addition to your BT line costs.

It does not mean you have to make your CALLS on BT and that is the part which Toucan (and many other companies - like TalkTalk and OneTel) offers.  They are Carrier PreSelect services but there are also a number of prefix dialler companies like 1899 and 18866.  

When you consider £9.99 is the cost of 999 calls on 18866 (1p per call, fixed rate) – more than 30 calls per day, EVERY DAY - the objection to dialling a prefix dwindles. Buying an inexpensive dialler like the Orchid v4 even allows you to forget about the prefix.

Toucan have been running TV advertising recently and the call may very well have been genuine.  Of course, all the best cons sound very genuine - that's how they get the details they need to empty you bank account.  

Do you realise your story is of RECEIVING a COLD CALL from a foreign country and nearly giving them all your bank account details over the phone - because they "sounded genuine"?

oddjob_3

Heinz, thanks for responding.

Yes that is exactly the point you are making about giving information to unsolicted callers, but of course I did not give them ALL the details.

I have since checked their website on https://www.toucantele.com and again, it seems genuine enough. But this is exactly why I wanted to find other Toucan subscribers.

My reason for getting involved in the first place was initiated by this website. Until I found Moneysaving expert, I had been paying £50 or so a quarter to BT for the line plus an average of about £18 with tele2. This site prompted me to review my costs and i immediately got in touch with BT and am now on the £10.50pm line connection service but have yet to jump from Tele2. Bt were offering £15 for unlimited land line calls (up to 60mins) and I was in the process of considering options when Toucan called! So you can see that £9.99 is a considerable saving on £15 and possibly even at £4.99 by DD to Toucan.
What have I got to lose by signing up to this...upon receipt of the DD gaurantee sceme that is?

sergeant121

If they're offering you unlimited 01 and 02 calls for £4.99 a month, that certainly seems a good deal.  Is that open-ended though, or just for the first few months/year?

Before signing up, it might be worthwhile considering what the MSE article on the subject has to say.  There may be an aspect which 'tips the scale' for you from another provider (as I use 18866 for 1p a time daytime 01 and 02 calls, OneTel's free 118111 Directory Enquiry calls, free weekend calls and no monthly fee did it for me).  However, I know others on here have been particularly impressed with TalkTalk's latest offers for other reasons (free evening AND weekend calls being the main one, I believe).

gt94sss2

However, I know others on here have been particularly impressed with TalkTalk's latest offers for other reasons (free evening AND weekend calls being the main one, I believe).

+ 3 hours of international calls and getting up to £30 for joining (as per my signature)

Regards
Sunil

oddjob_3

Thanks to both for your input.

Problem now is one of too much information i.e. Decisions, Decisions!

My situation is that as I am (semi) retired and work from home, I use the handset as much during the weekdays as at weekends/evenings. Also I like the idea of a fixed monthly charge so I know exactly my outlay. I do not make any internaitonal calls, but occasionally connect landline to mobile (I presume i need to start a separate thread re cheapest pay as you go providers?)

If either of you could advise my best option based on the above, I would be grateful

:-/

allthatmularky

Oddjob - I would be surprised if toucan are offering 24/7 calls for £5pcm - think its probably £5 off for DD, equating to 40 odd pence a month. If you can get it for £5pcm - I would go for it.

However, if not, sign up with TalkTalk (free 12 mths evening and w/e calls) and £30 if you use a referral from Sunil. Use 18866 for daytime calls - yes I know you'll have to put a five digit in but it becomes habit or just get a dialler to do it for you.
On the landline to mobile calls just buy a cheap contract on mobile and pay pennies for making calls.

gt94sss2

My situation is that as I am (semi) retired and work from home, I use the handset as much during the weekdays as at weekends/evenings. Also I like the idea of a fixed monthly charge so I know exactly my outlay. I do not make any internaitonal calls, but occasionally connect landline to mobile

I may have missed this (in which case sorry) but I just wanted to point out that the Toucan offer of a fixed monthly charge will only apply to your calls to landline numbers.

If you call mobiles, they will bill you per minute.and using 18866/1899 is cheaper for these calls.

1. I suggest you join TalkTalk (and get £30 for joining) and get free evening/weekend calls
2. Use 18866 for your daytime calls (1p/call)
3. Use 1899 for your mobile calls (10p or 2p/minute)

I know you say you dont want to dial a prefix but the savings are worth it.

Otherwise buy a dialler as suggested by Heinz - the savings will soon outweigh the cost of buying it and you wont have to remember which prefix to dial when but just remember to occasionally remember to check the prices that each companies charge..

Regards
Sunil

oddjob_3

Thanks to all for your input.

Could someone please tell me what I can expect to pay for the weekday daytime calls, as this is likely to be the bulk of the traffic?

gt94sss2

Thanks to all for your input.

Could someone please tell me what I can expect to pay for the weekday daytime calls, as this is likely to be the bulk of the traffic?

1p *per call* if you use 18866

2.5-3p *per minute* if you use someone like Onetel, TalkTalk or BT.

Regards
Sunil