the cheapest landline subscription?

soledad82

Hi everyone!
Iam new on the forum and Iam glad I have joined as there are plenty of useful tips and advice!
Iam French and Iam currently living in France but Iam moving to England in a few weeks. My family here in France has access to free calls to British landlines so when I get to England I'd like to subscribe to a landline provider but it will be to receive calls only. So at the end of the day i'll have a bill with no calls to pay for but only the subscription. Do you know which provider would be the cheapest and how i'd have to pay per month?
Thanks a lot for your help!

Heinz

Welcome to the MSE foums soledad82.

Apart from some areas which are cabled by NTL/Telewest, your only realistic option for landline installation is British Telecom (BT).

If the property has had a BT landline before, BT will 'reconnect' free of charge and you will have to sign up to a 3 month contract.

If the property has NOT had a BT landline before, BT will install a new line for £124.99 and you will have to sign up to a 12 month contract.

Most people opt for 'BT Together Option 1' - for which a £12 per month line rental applies. You get a small discount (£1 per month) if you pay by Direct Debit from a UK bank account. Payment is usually quarterly, in advance.

BT Together Option 1 – The hour plan

With national and local calls at the same rates, you can call '01' or '02' numbers in the UK at evenings and weekends for just 5.5p for up to an hour per call.

• Only 5.5p for evening and weekends calls you make in the UK† - for up to an hour each call
• 3p a minute for daytime calls to UK '01' and '02' numbers
• Only £11.00 per month if paying by Monthly Payment Plan or Direct Debit (includes line rental)

If you are sure you do not want to use the telephone for outgoing calls, you could ask for the 'In Contact Plus' service. A £9.99 may apply for this (see below). I don't think the £1 discount on the rental is available for this though. The line rental charge will be £10.75 per quarter including VAT (less than a third of the price of having a fully operational lanline).

However, there are very strict condition for that service - e.g. you cannot have a mobile phone or internet connection as well (see below).

Who is eligible? If you are a new or existing BT residential customer you can apply for In Contact Plus, providing none of the situations described below apply to you.

You are not eligible if your household has:

• Another residential line at the same or different premises
• A telephone service provided by another operator, either directly or indirectly at the same or different premises
• A mobile telephone service
• A payphone line
• An Integrated Digital Services Network (ISDN) line
• An Asymmetric Digital Subscriber (ADSL) line

Or if you have:

• A line used exclusively for a burglar alarm or other monitoring device
• A line provided on BT's temporary service terms
• A BT Chargecard billed to your line
• A switched telecommunications system (PBX) at the same or different premises.

How to apply

To apply for an In Contact Plus line ring BT Customer Service on 150.

Terms and conditions

An In Contact Plus line will provide low cost access to the telephone network with normal incoming call facilities. Outgoing calls are restricted to emergency services (999 and 112), BT Customer Service and Repair Service 150 and 151 and Ring Me Free (12822). Chargeable outgoing calls can be made by purchasing and using a BT In Contact Card. Full terms and conditions can be found on the BT Price List at www.serviceview.bt.com/list/homepage.htm

Special conditions

In Contact Plus is only available to residential customers, and in addition to the above eligibility criteria, is subject to the following special conditions:

• You will not be eligible to receive your bills monthly.
• You will not receive a free Phone Book.
• You will not be eligible for Select Services and Customer Options including the Light User Scheme).
• You will not be able to have a BT Chargecard billed to an In Contact Plus line.
• You will not be able to use an In Contact Plus line on a telephone number imported from another operator.
• You will be billed for reverse charge calls,including any operator facility fees.
• Standard reconnection charges will apply to an In Contact Plus line disconnected because of non-payment.
• If we install a new line for you and you decide to upgrade to a standard BT line within 12 months of the installation,an upgrade charge will be made (currently £65).This is calculated as the difference between the full connection charge for a new line at time of upgrade (currently £74.99)and the In Contact Plus connection charge (£9.99).No charge is payable for upgrades made after 12 months.

Freephone calls to telephone service providers that give you access by using a pin number, before you dial the number of the person you want to call, will be barred. Customers who want to dial these sorts of numbers will need to cease their In Contact Plus membership.

The following apply to the In Contact Card:

• Call charges apply as detailed above, and full details can be found in the BT Price List available at www.serviceview.bt.com/list/homepage.htm
• Cards can be topped up with a minimum of £5 and a maximum of £25 per transaction. Only cash payments can be made.
• No refunds will be given for any unused value on a card. Cards can only be obtained/topped up at PayPoint outlets.
• The maximum value on any single card shall not exceed £50.
• The card value (including any top-ups) must be used within six months or it will be forfeited.
• We reserve the right to change the expiry period at any time.
• No refunds will be made for lost or stolen cards.