Small Business Telecoms Discussion Area

MrsElliot

We decided to move our phone and broadband for a better deal to another provider in the last couple of weeks only to find out that Chess Telecom automatically renewed our contract (ARC) back in April 2012 for 2 years ending in 2014 without our knowledge!!. Thing was they didn't inform us that the contract was coming to an end or even tell us that they renewed or try to give us a better deal until we tried to switch provider. I feel like we have been conned.

I admit checking our telephone expiry dates was the last thing on my mind as my grandad - a director of the company was very ill and between March - August we took it in turns to visit him in hospital daily until his subsequent death in August.

In September we had an independent consultant come in check/update our computers and he was shocked at the low par standard and limit of our broadband (2g - yes its been a while since we looked at our broadband), he advised us to look for a better supplier and we found a cheaper backage for broadband and phone so we decided to merge the phone and broadband into one package from one supplier. Our current broadband provider was excellent and gave us the MAC code and info in good time and found they were excellent, our phone provider Chess on the other hand, have been a nightmare to deal with.

I got a bill from chess quoting we have to pay them £1500.00 (One thousand, five hundred pounds) to terminate our contract. Surely this is extorniate amount is against Fair trading and Ofcom standards. I have asked for a copy of the original contract and they stated it was verbally agreed to in April 2010 and they state they can't provide the recording as it has to be destroyed after 6 months due to ofcom rules and they automatically renewed the contract as per their terms and conditions.

Ofcom have banned putting home and small business customers new ARCs from 31st december 2011 and should not be putting existing customers on ARCS from 31st December 2012, as we appear to fall in the latter category we are now stuck with a contract we are desperate to get out of for the next 18 months or pay the greedy company £1500.

I have contacted ofcom and they suggested legal advice however we are a small firm with little money to spare. What can we do?:mad:

HiMyNameIsLauren

I do a lot of international calling, so I use a VoIP service. It's a "conference call" service I use, i.e,. and it's been priceless for me just to use my regular phone to call via a 3rd party number to call in (as do the other side of the call). While there's some big players out there, I like to use http://www.meetupcall.com as the quality is great - main reason for this being that I think their resource isn't overly bogged down with users, so making the most of this, while it lasts. However, of course, if they become hugely popular and don't keep up with resource power, then it'll end up like many of the other, a poor quality service.

buglawton

You can also try Skype, so long as you have some credit, it has a nice way to organize conf calls:
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA2831/making-a-conference-call-windows

Here's a free & simple one not requiring a computer:
http://www.unitedconferencing.com/international-access/united-kingdom/

Above 2 have no commitments, no contracts

Of if you need to do an on-screen presentation while conferencing, try:
https://join.me/ but this is a subscription service.

lottie3000

I'm after some advice, I'd really like to advertise with a landline referenced number eg 01 and have it always diverted to my mobile. I already have a home landline number but would like to advertise with a different number. Would a VoIP telephone system do this for my and if so are they easy to set up and does anyone have any recommendations? Or do I actually need a new landline from BT? I've seen the vodaphone deal but don't really want to have that.

Worthingchappie1983

Hi,

I have started my own new business venture, plumbing, and have taken on x7 people.

I obviously need a mobile phone for each of them and one more for myself.

Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful in getting a contract as a business customer as its a new venture and my own personal credit rating is poor.

PAYG is not workable as its inconvient and so expensive.

Can anyone give me any tips in how I can get a
Contract for 8 phones.

I have seen that O2 "Lease" phones to businesses but havnt looked into it much yet, so don't know if this is subject to a credit check too? Anyone had any dealing with leasing phones
From o2?

Thanks

Emanation_Websites

woottonite wrote: »

I am the owner of a payroll company and have been in the same premises for 6 years. During that time I have been receiving an ever increasing number of unsolicited sales calls on the office number, despite it being ex directory. I also have a local voip number on our internet site. Anyone who calls on that number trying to sell something is told that we can only handle payroll enquiries here, and no, we can't provide another number. The business is shortly moving into new premises with a new phone number and I was wondering what I can do from the outset to prevent the sales calls. It crossed my mind that if I bought an 09 number and used it when making enquiries or ordering things online - instances where you have to give a phone number or you cannot proceed any further, would that deter unsolicited callers do you think? Any ideas much appreciated

This is a classic problem seen many times and the best way I have seen is using a box like an easy call blocker which has a build in list of nuisance numbers it will block. You can also add your own numbers or press a button on the box to 'remember' a number 'in progress' which will also be added.
They're about £60 and well worth it.

MrOverheads

lottie3000 wrote: »

I'm after some advice, I'd really like to advertise with a landline referenced number eg 01 and have it always diverted to my mobile. I already have a home landline number but would like to advertise with a different number. Would a VoIP telephone system do this for my and if so are they easy to set up and does anyone have any recommendations? Or do I actually need a new landline from BT? I've seen the vodaphone deal but don't really want to have that.

This is possible and I'm surprised no one has answered you in 4 months! You dont need a telephone system to do this or a new line. You need a telecoms provider that can offer a service called myinbound (there are many telecoms companies that offer this product and I can happily recommend one if need be).

In simple terms you'll get a virtual 01 or 02 number which can be for any town in the country e.g. you could have a Leeds number in Birmingham you then "redirect" this number at your home phone number, so that anyone dialling the virtual number rings your home landline but doesn't know the number.
It's also self service so if you pop out, you can instantly redirect the 01 number to point at your mobile instead and then redirect it again when you get home.
It's relatively low cost as well, £10 to £20 pcm depending ont eh provider and then a pence per min rate for each call received.

MrOverheads

Worthingchappie1983 wrote: »

Hi,

I have started my own new business venture, plumbing, and have taken on x7 people.

I obviously need a mobile phone for each of them and one more for myself.

Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful in getting a contract as a business customer as its a new venture and my own personal credit rating is poor.

PAYG is not workable as its inconvient and so expensive.

Can anyone give me any tips in how I can get a
Contract for 8 phones.

Is the business a Limited Company or a Sole Trader?

Do you just need SIM cards for the plumbers to provide their own hardware? Or are you providing the hardware as well?

Are you trying to get "free" hardware? If you are happy to pay the full cost of the hardware upfront (cheapo Nokias could be £30 each say) then you'll only need a contract for the line rental etc and because you've already got the hardware the monthy rental will be less, so credit should be easier to obtain.

MrOverheads

MrsElliot wrote: »

We decided to move our phone and broadband for a better deal to another provider in the last couple of weeks only to find out that Chess Telecom automatically renewed our contract (ARC) back in April 2012 for 2 years ending in 2014 without our knowledge!!. Thing was they didn't inform us that the contract was coming to an end or even tell us that they renewed or try to give us a better deal until we tried to switch provider. I feel like we have been conned.

I got a bill from chess quoting we have to pay them £1500.00 (One thousand, five hundred pounds) to terminate our contract. Surely this is extorniate amount is against Fair trading and Ofcom standards. I have asked for a copy of the original contract and they stated it was verbally agreed to in April 2010 and they state they can't provide the recording as it has to be destroyed after 6 months due to ofcom rules and they automatically renewed the contract as per their terms and conditions.

I have contacted ofcom and they suggested legal advice however we are a small firm with little money to spare. What can we do?:mad:

You can find Chess's termination fee's on their website chesstelecomDOT com/terms_and_conditions 2/3rd's of the way down the page. The follwoing may be relevant:
Minimum Term = 12 months unless contract says otherwise
Clause 3.1 Rollover = same length as minimum term
Clause 3.6 Reduced usage is also relevant if you try and get round it with VoIP

Yes they look exorbitant (BT is 20% of remaining Line Rental as standard in simple terms vs Chess that is £28 per line per month remaining (for a line that might cost only £10 to £15 per month line rental)

However in my experience (disclaimer: this isn't legal advice) if they can't prove the contract exists then they can't enforce it, however they can be very obstinate and prevent you porting your telephone numbers to another provider.

If you aren't precious about your numbers and are happy to get new ones then give Chess 30 days (recorded delivery) to prove the contract before you stop paying. Install new lines (or go VoIP) and stop paying Chess. Make them take you to Small Claims Court for the £1500. (Again I'm not a lawyer)

Why do you want to leave Chess anyway? Would you save more than £1500 before the contract end by moving elsewhere? What is your annual bill with Chess?

Get this checked by your lawyer (or someone like the FSB or IOD that has a free legal helpline)

Brassedoff

holidayfund2012 wrote: »

Hi, I work for a small charity and we have been experiencing problems with our telephone provider for a LONG time now (major UK telecom company!). We have a system which uses something called a VOIP line and calls go through a server, in a similar way to Skype. Has anyone come across this system and how has it been? We are looking to change the system, because it cannot carry the amount of 'traffic' we require (ie 1 person using the internet while 2 others are making calls!) and the system keeps crashing. We are also looking to possibly change provider> is anyone using Opal and how efficient is it?
Thanks for any comments
(PS if I could remember how to put a winking smiley in, it would go here.......)

You are most likely not getting the best from your VoIP due to incorrect set up.

Unfortunately too many company's end up with a couple of soft phones and a broadband line.

I am currently swapping 42 doctors surgeries tht have the same issue. Companies should do the correct carrier testing first. They should monitor the traffic so they can see what is happening.

There is a newish type of VoIP available that can take up to 1800 lines and its crystal clear. It's known a "Pure Cloud Telephony Solutions". It's called that because there is no hardware, apart from the phone. Everything is in the cloud, hence the trade use of the term.

You have your normal ADSL (maybe 1 in 10/20 contention ratio) (which means share the same line)VoIP, then higher up you get SL= Symmetrical Line, FTTC = Fibre To The Cabinet, EFM = Ethernet First Mile, right to Fibre to network. We only now install phones. These systems no longer fit a phone system in the premises, which means the cost of having a really good line is set off against the cost someone like BT/Opal etc would charge.

You can get these systems from the companies that don't act like a telesales shop and from more specialists.

Just google what I have said above. There are 20-25 UK companies now doing this type of telephone/broadband/one number systems.