Advice please regarding daytime calls to spain

Legacy_user

There are so many threads giving so much information,yet still I can't find exactly what I'm looking for.

We have a BT line. As far as billing is concerned, we are on talktalk but only use them weekends for free calls.

The invoice from BT is for line rental only.
The invoice from talktalk is non-existant.

Mon-Fri all day & evenings, we dial 1899 and they collect their money via my account

Do we simply use any of the prefix numbers which appear in callchecker to phone spain whatever time of day or night? and that the money I owe them will appear on my BT invoice ?

Please, don't say read this read that, my head is swimming with info and I've got to present an answer to er indoors pretty quick, or else.

and finally, is the charge to any of the providers, ie Best Minutes/Budgetcom/DialAround the same, whatever time of day or night,weekday or weekends?

pricefighter

Cheapest supplier of calls to Spanish Landlines is https://www.18185.co.uk which works like 1899.(Calls 0.5p a minute.4p connection)

If you call one of the 1p a minute dial through numbers Eg Budgetcom 08448 612 612 your charged 1p a min whatever time of day.But you start paying as soon as you hear recorded announcement, so if the number is unobtainable, a minimum call charge of 5p applies.This sort of call will appear on your TT bill as you have cps your calls to them to get free weekend calls.TT charge the same as Bt to dial these numbers.

Heinz

Totally agree with pricefighter's 18185.co.uk recommendation - my OH is on the phone to her sister in Menorca for at least an hour each week but, at 4p connection and 0.5p/minute at any time, I never worry.

They now offer DD payment facilities too.

gavinp

Another vote for 18185 for calls to Spain.

We also use VoIP over our broadband for free calls to Spain but unless you already have the equipment, it will take a long time to recover the cost given 18185's pricing.

Thanks

Gavin

System

Well guys, I've just joined 18185 and am waiting for the email of confirmation. Wife wants to ring tonight so I will have to hope it's through, otherwise it will have to be BudgetCom. Thanks again.

PS Confirmation email in.

System

Our experience last night with 18185 was as follows:-

quick connection, but my wife asked me to engage in the conversation to experience a time delay. After I'd spoken, there was a silence as if my words might be a second or two being heard, consequently both parties spoke over one another.

An example might be, when you are viewing on terrestial television and then you switch over to freeview on the same channel, the last few words are repeated. There is a time delay, that was exactly our experience.

I will be interested to hear if anyone else has experinced this. I'd like to think it was a one-off. Already I'm hearing "lets go back to one of the others.

I know it's digressing, but so may people moan about e7even, but for me they are great, so maybe it is one of those things that happened. Heinz, over to you?.

Heinz

Yes, I've had that too but it is VERY rare.

To be fair, when choices were fewer and about the only 'cheap' option (4p/minute) was OneTel (this was pre-CPS and I was using their 1877 prefix service then), what I call 'the satellite echo effect' (the delay meant you could hear your own words coming back) was a regular occurrence.

redux

They send the calls over the internet, and you'll get a slight delay or sometimes faint echo of yourself. It isn't usually too bad though; in about 10 calls to USA or Canada it was only obtrusive once.

As many companies will route like this, we'll probably have to get used to it. It happens on mobiles as well - get two phones, ring one from the other, hold one to each ear and say hello - about 1/2 or 3/4 second delay.

System

I'm inbetween the devil and the deep blue sea!.

My wife aint too keen on 18185 after last nights event. Ma-in-law didn't help matters by continually saying "there's something wrong with this line". When I said this is a new provider and they only charge 1/2p per minute, you could almost hear her choking on my words. (1/2p ? is that all I'm worth?).

Er indoors feels we should pay BudgetCom or any of the other 1p per min providers and get a clear line with no echo.

All "I" want, is peace and quiet and not pay 22p to BT.

I accept there must be many people who are quite satisfied with 18185 and many who either don't get or can live with the echo. As I cluck away (don't call me chicken), I think I will maybe give 18185 another chance and if they are not satisfied, pay 1P. Thanks anyway for your time and trouble.

redux

Try a few more times; it will probably even out in quality between several providers. But as you imply, the last 15p on a half-hour conversation isn't as important as saving the first £6.

rapido

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