using bt and others for calls to oz etc

bwatt00

I am not sure what service i use with bt and i may contact them and see what i have been using but,i phone australia often and for very long calls,and i call during the day which is peak,so my calls might be costing me more than i thought,i just dont know this till i find out,but what services can you add that makes these calls even less,bt used to often call me and offer me reduced calls when a number was called etc and dont seem to get them now,but im sure if they are making lots from it they wont say anything,so any advise would be good on this.

Also with using my bt phone what other option do i have for calling oz and have to pay less for the calls.

mobilegossip

Your OZ calls will most definitely be costing more on BT compared to other suppliers.

All the info you need about cheap intl calls can be found here.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1098014080,3685,

and here http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/intcallchecker/#use

Are you by any chance paying to much for UK calls also.If so read

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1095003038,99872,#alone

PS.If you havent got time to plough through all this consider to start with https://www.18185.co.uk for cheaper all round OZ,and UK calls.

Heinz

If you're on the basic BT Together Option 1, BT charge 24p/minute weekdays and 10p/minute evenings and weekends to call Australian landlines.

As you will see from the MSE International Callchecker, there are numerous ways to reduce that.

You certainly shouldn't be paying more than 1p/minute at any time for such calls.

EagerLearner

My biggest recommendation is to put your broadband to work for FREE.

PC to PC Calls
Download Skype to your pc if your Oz friends also have pc and broadband connection.

From your PC to their landlines

If they don't have pc/broadband, then you can download https://www.voipcheap.com and call their landlines FREE from your pc.

I have saved a mint doing this with calls to Portugal and also USA. All you need to do is buy a pc headset like the Plantronics 60 for around £14. Search kelkoo for best deals to shave even more money off.

hurrah

EagerLearner wrote:

If they don't have pc/broadband, then you can download https://www.voipcheap.com and call their landlines FREE from your pc.

Whilst calls to certain destinations may be free its not free to use the service.You do have to open an account and credit it.The
Credit in your VoipCheap balance remains valid for calls for 90 days after your last purchase (unless stated otherwise, see for instance paybyphone transactions). If you top up your account after or before credit expires for calls any old credit left in your account will remain valid as well. If you don´t top up your account, credits can only be transfered back to you by banktransfer.

There are no monthly subscription, registration or administration charges. The advertised tariff for each destination is all-inclusive, it even includes VAT. When using the DirectCallBack, they charge a 3 cent connection fee.



Also "Max 300 minutes per week of free calls, measured over the last 7 days. Unused free minutes cannot be taken to the following week(s). If limit is exceeded, a minimal rate of 1ct/min will be charged (as shown in the VoipCheap software)."

EagerLearner

hurrah wrote:

Whilst calls to certain destinations may be free its not free to use the service.You do have to open an account and credit it.The
Credit in your VoipCheap balance remains valid for calls for 90 days after your last purchase (unless stated otherwise, see for instance paybyphone transactions). If you top up your account after or before credit expires for calls any old credit left in your account will remain valid as well. If you don´t top up your account, credits can only be transfered back to you by banktransfer.

There are no monthly subscription, registration or administration charges. The advertised tariff for each destination is all-inclusive, it even includes VAT. When using the DirectCallBack, they charge a 3 cent connection fee.



Also "Max 300 minutes per week of free calls, measured over the last 7 days. Unused free minutes cannot be taken to the following week(s). If limit is exceeded, a minimal rate of 1ct/min will be charged (as shown in the VoipCheap software)."

Hi Hurrah,

Sorry to correct you but that is not the case - there is no per minute cost to normal landlines in most main countries - I made around 30 free trial calls to start, then I was asked to credit just 10 Euros, to continue to make FREE calls.

I now use that 10 Euros up on 0845 numbers etc but all other calls are FREE, I only get charged when I call an 0845 number or similar, and seeing as I'd normally get charged a high amount per minute by BT, I'd rather pay less to VoipCheap for these higher cost numbers.

That's all you have to do :T 300 minutes per week is fantastic and will suit most people - I have been using it for 6 weeks at home (occasionally) and a month at work (extensively) in combination with Skype - if anyone has any questions let me know.

hurrah

What is not the case?

I said
"Whilst calls to certain destinations may be free its not free to use the service.You do have to open an account and credit it"

You later agree with me
" i made around 30 free trial calls to start, then I was asked to credit just 10 Euros, to continue to make FREE calls."

How am i incorrect?

The service costs approx £7 every 90 days to use.Unlike other services you have to pay whether you use it or not.(EG Holidays)
When using the DirectCallBack, they charge a 2p connection fee to free destinations.If 300 minute limit is exceeded free destinations will be charged."

Hardly FREE.

EagerLearner

hurrah wrote:

What is not the case?

I said
"Whilst calls to certain destinations may be free its not free to use the service.You do have to open an account and credit it"

You later agree with me
" i made around 30 free trial calls to start, then I was asked to credit just 10 Euros, to continue to make FREE calls."

How am i incorrect?

The service costs approx £7 every 90 days to use.Unlike other services you have to pay whether you use it or not.(EG Holidays)
When using the DirectCallBack, they charge a 2p connection fee to free destinations.If 300 minute limit is exceeded free destinations will be charged."

Hardly FREE.

Hi Hurrah, I am not arguing with you.

If you choose not to spend the 10 Euros, it will sit for longer in your account - this equates to £7.50 or so which you can use as you please, or not use as you don't please...

As I speak to lots of family & friends in foreign countries, I value being able to talk for hours at no cost per minute, compared to BT high costs or other connections which charge per minute and then appear on my BT bill.

It's also worth noting you can call UK landlines free on this, useful for when you have run out of mobile free minutes.

It may not be for everyone, but works for me.

Carl.

I also use the VoipStunt/VoipCheap family of products but rather than making the call through the PC I use the direct call feature by which you dial your landline and then the destination number is dialed.

There is a 3p/c charge only applied when it connects to the destination number and the call is free for upto an hour, once the hour is up, simply redial.

When doing this the web interface is better than the software interface because if you close the software or are disconnected from the web the call will terminate, whereas if you connect the call from the webpage the call remains active upon disconnection/closure of the page.

As the credit is already on your account with virtually no way of using it up considering calls are mostly free it is a simple way of making (almost) free landline to landline calls to (almost) anywhere in the world!

EagerLearner

Thanks Carl - I like it too and certainly for me, at £2.50 a month it's well worth it :j

littleange

Is this what happens with freecall then too? I've been using it for about a week and have made about 38 calls, most of them are very short as i've been testing it a lot whilst setting it up on different devices and in different software to find the best way to use it with my sipgate number.

I haven't paid anything and cant see any information on the site about having to pay to use the service.