Confused! 2nd landline free with BT??

WishI'dReadSooner

Last month when I enquired about a new second land line I was told that I could get a hard wired land line for under £30. I did tell the chap I wouldn't make a decision until this month & he said that was OK.

Today I phoned up & asked for the 2nd landline BUT was told now that it would cost me £120+ as the £30 offer had expired!:mad: WHY didn't the chap I phoned last month give me a hint that this might happen? NOT happy as if I'd have had an inkling it wasn't going to be available I'd have snatched his hand off last month!:mad:

Now I'm TOTALLY confused as the lady I spoke to today said I could have a 2nd landline for free by having my line split with a different telephone number IF I also joined BT broadband. It also would NOT cost me any more in monthly rental - just 1 rental charge for 2 landlines.:j

I didn't jump at the offer - maybe I should have? It just somehow didn't ring true. I asked her if it was Voip or through the broadband BUT she said 'NO!' It was my one phone line into the house split into 2. She told me that each line would be PSTN (looking this up it seems to be hard wired phone) which it appears is what I need.

Am I crazy being cautious that what I was told was the true facts? I would be happier staying with Plusnet BUT if all I have to do is move my broadband to BT to get 2 sep. lines & ONE single line rental fee for 2 lines i.e. NO higher monthly charge than I'm paying now, then I should jump at this offer.

I can't see it mentioned on here. I questioned her well, as I couldn't quite believe it. I needed to check this is true myself before committing to change provider.

IF it is correct then I'll go for it. If it isn't what other option do I have for a 2nd line (not voip or broadband) at a reasonable cost? We haven't got cable here.

chalkysoil

we have BT broadband, and a black phone comes with it, with a different number to our regular landline. I can't imagine how I'd connect up a different phone/ phones to that new number though. ( but then I'm not technical) It searches for the hub when in use. We don't use it but I've had 2 bt sales calls on it so it does work!

ACDeag

WishI'dReadSooner wrote: »

..... I asked her if it was Voip or through the broadband BUT she said 'NO!'

It is VOIP through BT Broadband.

WishI'dReadSooner

That's exactly what I thought too BUT she stunned me by saying it wasn't & then gave the info that it was 2 seperate PSTN lines from my original 1 line.

Is there any way she could be right? I'd never heard of PSTN before she quoted me that both lines would be this - which seem to be hardwired?

BT people here help!!!!

littleboo

It's VOIP.Any reason why you want a traditional PSTN lione instead of VOIP ?

WishI'dReadSooner

Yes there is a reason it HAS to be a landline NOT Voip. She was adamant it wasn't VOIP.

VOIP isn't PSTN so I'd appreciate it if there were someone from BT that could give me the definative answer.

All I'd seen before was 2nd VOIP line - which is why I questioned & requestioned her - IS this a totally different alternative OR does it not exist at all?

Heinz

If it's not VOIP, why do you need to get broadband in order to 'split the line'?

Sounds like yet another poorly trained BT salesperson to me.

GeoThermal

Perhaps she is referring to splitting your line in two using DACS. It is a way of getting two lines out of one, with two seperate phone numbers. BT use it to provide phone lines to homes where they have a lack of main lines. However the last time I looked into it DACS was not compatible with broadband. That was a couple of years ago though so maybe they have fixed that problem.

cheekyweegit

I personally think that the second phone line she is offering you is indeed a VOIP line running through your broadband but she can give you either a geographical telephone number or an 056 number.

The geographical number would be free to call by anyone in a calling plan no matter who their provider is but the 056 number would be chargable to anyone calling you except if they are calling via the BT broadband talk (calls made through the home hub using voip). Again they would only be free during their calling package, and evening and weekend is free is standard as is cheaper international calls via the hub.

You too, will get free evening and weekend calls through the broadband talk, to 01, 02, 03 number as well as 0845 and 0870 numbers for up to an hour and you also have the option to upgrade to the any time calling plan via your home hub so you don't have to pay 4.5p per minute for calls via your hub during the day.

As far as I'm aware you can't get things like caller display or BT answer 1571 added to your hub phone line but I could be wrong on this and perhaps another knowledgeable person could confirm this.

Hope this makes sense.

PS if it is VOIP as I suspect, then if the broadband goes down then so does the second telphone line, so please bare this in mind.

Mike_by_the_Sea

WishI'dReadSooner wrote: »

That's exactly what I thought too BUT she stunned me by saying it wasn't & then gave the info that it was 2 seperate PSTN lines from my original 1 line.

Is there any way she could be right? I'd never heard of PSTN before she quoted me that both lines would be this - which seem to be hardwired?

BT people here help!!!!

Hi WishI'dReadSooner

Here is the link on the BT website, scroll down to the bottom of the page and it shows the difference between an additional line and VOIP - It looks like you've been VOIP'ed.

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=25497

WishI'dReadSooner

Yes - phoned BT again (& again!) it seems the lady was badly trained, rather than offering something that we wanted/required. I thought this was the case but she was adamant that it wasn't!

No way could I get them to budge on the installation fee. I asked them to look up my call last month BUT no joy.

Searched around & I've gone with the Post Office - free calls evenings & weekends PLUS free calls to mobiles and 20 International destinations on the weekend. (Going up to 40 international destinations in June). Cheaper line rental than BT - although it is rising a bit in June.

I'll keep the 2 phone providers for the moment. BT - you lost me on the 2nd line!