BT Basic Line Rental: Get a landline for £4.50/month

Bogof_Babe

We make lots of shortish local calls these days - I was shocked at the long list of them on the account!

I think we will get our money's worth out of the Anytime plan, as nowadays we do make a good few longer distance calls too.

Bit disappointed to read above that 0845 and 0870 have now been replaced by 0844 and 0871, as these aren't included in the Anytime package .

Bogof_Babe

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

In the past, people were offered BT LUS if they were low users, it was assumed that they must be low income too.

How ridiculous! Maybe they just didn't have many friends! (Or made all their calls from work ).

PlutoinCapricorn

Bogof_babe, 1994 when the LUS was implemented is a very long time ago. In those days, the people who did not make many calls were often older people, most of whom did not have jobs. Perhaps their friends and family phoned them, to keep costs down. Probably the majority of LUS people were legitimate at first, but then people started to abuse the system: second homes, broadband on the line etc.

You say that you were transferred automatically from LUS to BT Basic 3 months ago, without any notification. Did you get the letter with the tear-off slip for the unlimited evening & weekend tariff? If so, perhaps they waited to see if you signed up, then transferred you when you did not.

Apparently the LUS cannot be closed until 600,000 people have signed up for BT Basic, so perhaps the automatic transfers are to build the numbers up.

Bogof_Babe

I did have a letter saying changes were afoot, but must admit I didn't take much notice of it - I know, head in sand syndrome . I certainly didn't send anything back.

I'm surprised to hear that LUS only started in 1994 as we seemed to have been on it forever (married nearly 35 years and don't remember ever being on anything else!).

Anyway all sorted now. Hope the rest of you are managing okay - it is a bit complicated, as are most things in life nowadays!

Froglet

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

I checked my account and calls list online yesterday and was horrified to find I'd been switched from LUS to Basic three months ago, without any notification, and consequently had a string of calls @ 10p per minute + 3p connection charge.

Anyway this morning I had an email to say my bill was ready, and on looking at it I find they have credited back £34.35 due to something to do with advance charges already paid on the LUS. This makes the bill cheaper than it would have been on LUS!

I'm not complaining, but am completely confused as to what that's all about. I'm now changing to the Anytime package as I can't be doing with all this muddle. (I'm not on benefits so goodness knows why I was on LUS in the first place .)

Exactly the same thing was happening with my mum,when she got changed over to the basic plan.It was only through some research here on the net that i was able to warn her what she was paying for each call.I gave her all the options,cos at nearly 80 she would not have understood all the waffle from Bt.We decided between us that it would be cheaper and less of a worry in the long run if she went onto the Anytime plan,like you have done.She did have a big bill just after she changed,but the last one she knew what it was going to be,and since registering her account on the internet under my email address i can let her know just how much she is saving by switching.she is now more than happy,as she now pays by direct debit and has opted for paperless billing.

Bogof_Babe

Don't forget to tell your mum to watch out for 0871 and 0844 numbers as these are not included (despite the fact that 0870 and 0845 now are). Also if she is in the habit of ringing your mobile, I'm pretty sure those calls will be extra too. Easy to get caught out if you are elderly and ringing a tradesman on a number from the paper, which are often mobiles.

miller

I have just called 0800 800 150 to move my dad onto the BT Unlimited Weekend Plan before he goes to Sky (incidentally this pretty much immediately removed the LUS "tag" from the line using www.samknows.com to check, so that the broadband order will go through OK with Sky).

Those with relatives who are hard of hearing may find it hard to understand the call centre. But then again most MSE'ers will probably be sorting it out on their behalf from what I gather on this thread.

MiserlyMartin

I wonder how many of you have been moved over to BT Basic? A couple of my friends and family have been. I'd say its better than the Light User Scheme as it at least lets people make a few calls without it costing them anything at all.

Bogof_Babe

MiserlyMartin wrote: »

I wonder how many of you have been moved over to BT Basic? A couple of my friends and family have been. I'd say its better than the Light User Scheme as it at least lets people make a few calls without it costing them anything at all.

£1.50 a month doesn't go far though, and I'm still not sure what rate the calls are charged at within the £1.50 allowance. I mean if they are 20p a minute or something, you'd only be able to make a couple and then you'd be into the 10p+3p charges.

KimYeovil

The primary problem with BT Basic is that the majority of customers for whom it is a sensible option will not be able to take advantage of the calls allowance. That is, they will effectively be paying £4.50 per month line rental PLUS the costs of a few calls instead of £3 line rental and £1.50 of bundled calls. This is because the only calls most such customers make are excluded from the included calls - that is they'll be making occasional 084xx or mobile or 03xx calls. Not many will be calling landlines - if they were telephoning landlines regularly in the first place they would subscribe to a standard BT package.