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

Melly31

I'm unsure as to why people think that they are missing out because they cannot join the BT Basic package? (I'm also rather confused as to how Ofcom can approve such a money making scheme by BT?)

The BT Basic customers are NOT saving £6 per mth; this is because they are NOT getting the same deal as your average £10.50 pm customer, here's why:

For £10.50 you get: unlimited evening & weekend calls to UK landline numbers starting 01 02 or 03 (from 6pm every evening & all weekend). During the day you get these calls charged at 4p per min + you get 100 texts messages (worth £10) per month, friends & family discount (20% off call charges to your best friend & 10% off call charges to another 10 numbers) & free 1571 voicemail. This amounts to 468 hours of free calls per calendar month (call connection charges are not applied for calls made at evenings & weekends).

For £4.50 you get: £1.50 per month to spend on calls, NO free evening & weekend calls, NO free 1571 (charge of 10p per call), NO family & friends discount & NO free texts + you'll pay 10p per min for landline calls day or night & a connection charge of 3p per call, (all charges applied are deductable from the £1.50 allowance). This amounts to 15mins of free calls per month (not inc call connection charges)

The £6 you are saving per month will only give you 60 mins of call time (not inc call connection charges)

PS. You are in fact eligible for BT Basic if you are registered as disabled, this is stated in BT’s terms & conditions.

Melly31

KimYeovil wrote: »

(What is going on? That's the third time I've thanked instead of quoted.)



See the benefit payments deposited in their banks? They exchange that for free food and fuel.

A family of four with more than £800 per month after housing costs is rich (or at least not poor) in both absolute and relative terms, regardless of what the campaigning special interest groups say.

Have you got nothing better to do than moan about what you're not getting? (what a sad existance that must be)
If you think you're being hard done to, then give up your job & go on the dole!
If that's not preferred then I suggest you get a life (or get on with the wonderful one you have!)

Melly31

KimYeovil wrote: »

Perhaps strangely, I mostly agree with Miroslav. (My only disagreement is I see no hatred.) What is being addressed is the injustice that only certain classes receive help (or subsidy from other customers) and that in a great many cases they are richer than those who qualify.

Are the ones who receive help NOT the ones who qualify???

seilbahn

sian-c wrote: »

i have just sent a complaint to bt as there is nowhere that they help people on disability living allowance who often need the phones as a lifeline, but they will help people who dont need it as a neccesity (obviously not the pensioners, they should have it)

There seems to be some ambiguity here. People are being told by BT that Disability Living Allowance doesn't count but on BT's FAQ it says
'if you're registered as being chronically (long-term) sick or disabled, you may be eligible for BT Basic and some of the restrictions won't apply to you. For example, you can still get BT Basic if you have more than one phone line, whether these are at the same or different addresses.'
http://www.btplc.com/inclusion/phoneservices/services/btbasic/faq.htm#criteria

KimYeovil

Melly31 wrote: »

Are the ones who receive help NOT the ones who qualify???

I corrected my post. Thank you.

KimYeovil

Melly31 wrote: »

I'm unsure as to why people think that they are missing out because they cannot join the BT Basic package? (I'm also rather confused as to how Ofcom can approve such a money making scheme by BT?)

The BT Basic customers are NOT saving £6 per mth; this is because they are NOT getting the same deal as your average £10.50 pm customer, here's why:

For £10.50 you get: unlimited evening & weekend calls to UK landline numbers starting 01 02 or 03 (from 6pm every evening & all weekend). During the day you get these calls charged at 4p per min + you get 100 texts messages (worth £10) per month, friends & family discount (20% off call charges to your best friend & 10% off call charges to another 10 numbers) & free 1571 voicemail. This amounts to 468 hours of free calls per calendar month (call connection charges are not applied for calls made at evenings & weekends).

For £4.50 you get: £1.50 per month to spend on calls, NO free evening & weekend calls, NO free 1571 (charge of 10p per call), NO family & friends discount & NO free texts + you'll pay 10p per min for landline calls day or night & a connection charge of 3p per call, (all charges applied are deductable from the £1.50 allowance). This amounts to 15mins of free calls per month (not inc call connection charges)

The £6 you are saving per month will only give you 60 mins of call time (not inc call connection charges)

IT'S NOT INTENDED FOR SUCH USERS! If you take advantage of the weekend calls or the friends and family etcetera don't apply for it! You are right! They already receive a reasonable package.

If you don't use the telephone like that, you save money. Instead of spending £10.50+£1.25+£1.50 for a line, you get to rent a line for £4.50 per month (which includes a (very) few phone calls). Is a saving of £8.75 (or £7.25 if you don't use the £1.50 of calls) every month not worth considering?

In what way is it a money-making scheme for BT? It is a way to make renting a landline cheaper to those who do not make lots of phone calls. It is not a cheap calls package.

~Chameleon~

KimYeovil wrote: »

Is a saving of £10.25 (or £8.75 if you don't use the £1.50 of calls) every month not worth considering?

Not sure where you get those figures from

KimYeovil

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Not sure where you get those figures from

BT Basic includes printed bills (£1.25 per month to other customers) and does not surcharge for cash or cheques (£1.50 per month).

An Unlimited Weekend Plan with cash payments and paper bills costs £13.25. On BT Basic that costs £4.50. So that's -- oops, you're right -- £8.75 or £7.25 (I blame the notional £11 landline rental for the confusion )

SwissToni_2

I find it totally ironic that the same misguided haters whining about missing out on a BT con, at a cost to everyone else including the recievers of said benefits, who in the past have paid taxes too themselves, think it's totally ok to get other free giveaway items which are also at a cost to everyone else. Nothing is free, ever. If any company puts out a discount, a 2 for 1 or a free offer, their costs for that offer are slapped on every other product by that company. I find hater arguments totally silly, they assume that everyone on benefits have just popped out of nowhere, never contributed a penny to the system and receive monster amounts of cash. This is far from reality, most get sweet FA compared to what they and their families have put into the system. Both my parents have worked all their lives and are now pensioners, they get nothing other than their pensions and I remember specifically that my mother was given a penny week to live on because my father was still working part-time. They are far from rich. This whole argument is totally pointless and aimed at making us squabble between ourselves for crumbs, distracting us from the mess politicians constantly put us through. Meanwhile they pull out monster amounts of cash, which they didn't have for wage rises or better health and school services, to feed the mistakes of the banking and financial system. That's the real injustice, not a silly BT slight of hand trick that preys on the poor. I will not be changing to BT Basic, as screwed as I am I'd rather continue to pay the normal rate as everyone else.

KimYeovil

SwissToni,

Again, no explanation of why a 70% saving is "a BT con" or "sleight of hand that preys on the poor." Please explain such ridiculous assertions.

And £750 per month (after housing is paid) is not sweet FA. It is rich. If you are so wealthy that you regard an income of £750 per month as 'far from rich' then take money out of your own pocket and support your family yourself.