Switching Tiscali (TalkTalk) to Post Office Home Phone

oxymore

Hi, i've been trying to look into options from switching from Tiscali as my monthly line rental + broadband package with them has now risen from £14.99 to £18.48 since they were overtaken by TalkTalk. I'm aware there are some cheaper packages now such as BT/other line rental + O2 broadband (works out ~£15/mth) so this is my primary reason for switching.

I mainly make evening/weekend calls and usually to 0845/0870 numbers which made Post Office particularly attractive, also with their inclusion of weekend mobile calls though this isn't particularly important. However, I rang their customer services twice and each time they said they would have to charge me £110 to have the line switched over. I don't really understand this as when I've entered my postcode and phone no. on BT and Uswitch website, it says:

"There are no set costs and an engineer does NOT need to visit your home."

So I can't really see why this is different for Post Office? They say that I'll need to return to BT first if I want them to do the free connection, but to do this, I would have to enter a 12 month contract with BT..

I'm utterly confused about all this switching! It seemed so much easier when I moved from BT rather than moving back.. it also seems that I will be without telephone/broadband for 10-15 days! I'm not entirely sure how you can join a phone provider after this period if you don't have a phone line to call them! :

"If we cancel your account in the standard way (i.e. without a MAC) there will be a period of 10-15 days AFTER cancellation for the broadband markers to be removed from your line (this is done by a BT engineer at your exchange). After this period you can sign up to a new provider."

If someone is able to make some sense of this, I'd really appreciate it. I'm very confused and wondering if switching is actually worth it

Thank you

OldGreyFox

When you moved to Tiscali they unbundled your line (LLU) so the only option you normally have is to return to BT the donor Free Of Charge, or pay for a new connection with another supplier.

ACDeag

and in returning to BT your broadband is ceased and you cannot apply for new broadband until your line is re-classified as a BT line. When it is re-classified you can apply for new broadband which then takes 10-15 days to put on the line.