Best way to get phone line reconnected?

PJwashere

The flat I live in doesn't have an active phone line (I recently contacted BT and although they couldn't tell me who the line was previously with, they told me the line wasn't active at all and I'd have to pay to reconnect it). I've never had a home phone before (apart from when I was a uni student but those were sorted by the university) so I don't know how to go about getting it sorted out.

BT told me it will cost about £130 to reconnect it. I'm on Jobseeker's Allowance right now so can't afford that. I want a home phone because of a job I will probably apply for (gay chat line operator) but I think I may also need internet to log into for when I'm ready to work (the company seems very flexible - and I've done a bit of googling to find out more about them).

If it turned out I just needed a phone, what's the best (cheapest and scam-free) way to get my line reconnected? As for the physical phone, I can pick up one for hardly any pounds from Argos. I've googled talktalk and primus and there's shedloads of scam complaints.

If I needed a phone and internet, what's the best way for that?

According to BT, it "looks like" my phone line was previously with a cable provider (such as Virgin). But I can't afford to waste pounds from a payphone or mobile to phone them on their 0845 number, so I guess Virgin is ruled out.

Obviously I also want to make sure the service is reliable so I can work when I want to and so people can actually contact me.

Mark_In_Hampshire

If the socket in your property is for cable - indeed, if you live in a cabled area, there's your answer.

Install fee is, or used to be, free to about £35.

PJwashere

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

If the socket in your property is for cable - indeed, if you live in a cabled area, there's your answer.

Install fee is, or used to be, free to about £35.

Free to £35 from who? You forgot to mention the names of the companies that do it for free or £35. And is that just for phone?

And I'm not sure about installing anything - the line needs reconnection, just under £130 from BT (I think they quoted £127.99 or something similar).

Cheers.

PJwashere

Anyone? I really want to get a phone sorted.

Mark_In_Hampshire

PJwashere wrote: »

Free to £35 from who? You forgot to mention the names of the companies that do it for free or £35. And is that just for phone?

And I'm not sure about installing anything - the line needs reconnection, just under £130 from BT (I think they quoted £127.99 or something similar).

Cheers.

It's a choice of one, since there's only one (well, two across the UK actually, strictly speaking) cable companies - Virgin Media.

Install fee used to be the same regardless of the number of services (e.g. phone, broadband and TV).

PJwashere

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

It's a choice of one, since there's only one (well, two across the UK actually, strictly speaking) cable companies - Virgin Media.

Install fee used to be the same regardless of the number of services (e.g. phone, broadband and TV).

So BT or Virgin are my only choices?

It's not possible to find another company and go with them?

Also I don't get why you're talking about installing something. I'm talking about getting a disconnected phone line reconnected (at the least), OR, if necessary, doing that and getting internet.

PJwashere

This is related to this: I've browsed through BT's website and although I was quoted almost £130, it seems it's been reduced (to about £30 which I could afford more easily, or nothing if I take a broadband (or/and TV) and calls package), and I'd only pay it when I got the first bill. How long does it take to get the first bill?

marisa

Bit of info for you to help you understand better.

There are two physical types of phone line

Openreach(part of BT) and Virgin

talktalk and all the others use a Openreach physical line

IF the physical box there is a cable one, then only virgin media can turn it back on again and use it , it is the wrong technology for any of the others.

If it is an old BT/Openreach line then any company can get it reconnected for you, so ring around and see where you can get the best deal (or check online using a free wifi spot or something) Borrow a friends phone if you can to avoid payphone, if you have a friend on virgin you can use their phone to call virgin Customer Service for free and get connected through to new sales )

Openreach will charge any of the "other" companies (ie not virgin) to connect the line again but they choose how much they charge you for it, BT have gone with £130, but talktalk may only charge you £30 of that.


The other option if you just want internet without a home phone line is to get a 3g dongle from a mobile provider such as o2 and you can use skype or similar to make landline calls.



Bills:

My first phone bill from BT came at the end of the month they connected my phone line on, I find thier line rental to be a bit high so in retrospect I would have shopped around! I get my internet from o2 through the BT phone line and that is really good and cheap (because I am a loyal o2 mobile customer I got an extra discount)
So try getting o2 to reconnect your phone line and have them for home phone and internet (I even got first 3months internet free and I think that offer is for any new customer who sings 12month contact!)

PJwashere

marisa wrote: »

Bit of info for you to help you understand better.

There are two physical types of phone line

Openreach(part of BT) and Virgin

talktalk and all the others use a Openreach physical line

IF the physical box there is a cable one, then only virgin media can turn it back on again and use it , it is the wrong technology for any of the others.

If it is an old BT/Openreach line then any company can get it reconnected for you, so ring around and see where you can get the best deal (or check online using a free wifi spot or something) Borrow a friends phone if you can to avoid payphone, if you have a friend on virgin you can use their phone to call virgin Customer Service for free and get connected through to new sales )

Openreach will charge any of the "other" companies (ie not virgin) to connect the line again but they choose how much they charge you for it, BT have gone with £130, but talktalk may only charge you £30 of that.


The other option if you just want internet without a home phone line is to get a 3g dongle from a mobile provider such as o2 and you can use skype or similar to make landline calls.



Bills:

My first phone bill from BT came at the end of the month they connected my phone line on, I find thier line rental to be a bit high so in retrospect I would have shopped around! I get my internet from o2 through the BT phone line and that is really good and cheap (because I am a loyal o2 mobile customer I got an extra discount)
So try getting o2 to reconnect your phone line and have them for home phone and internet (I even got first 3months internet free and I think that offer is for any new customer who sings 12month contact!)

Thank you, that's made it a bit clearer. Although you say if the physical box is a cable one only Virgin can connect it (shame to have to go through the hassle of using a friend's phone when they're the one's getting the money!), but when I phoned BT yesterday (well day before now as it's early Monday morning), the guy quoted a connection charge for BT to connect it, even though he said it looked like it was a cable line.

For internet I can use public computers but that's obviously no use for a work-at-home job (I know many are scams but one I found seems legit), if I need internet for the work at home job (don't know if I do yet - will call them later).

But basically I'm still a bit confuzzled. Does it work like this (if just getting phone, not internet): I pay a phone company whatever connection charge they charge [upfront? or within bill? If it's cheap enough I'd rather pay upfront as then I don't have to be concerned about not having money to pay my first bill after signing off Jobseeker's Allowance, though I know they may be able to do a loan thing (sort of a benefit loan until first wage)]. They connect my line and I sign a contract. I stick a phone from Argos in the socket and I have home phone. Or are there other charges or/and other things to think about?

If I get internet as well, is it same procedure? And is there extra charges (other than what it costs for the package - like line rental an X amount and broadband at X amount) - like another connection charge?

P.S. I've no idea whether there's ever been a home phone at the address. There's a wall socket though. I've accidentally slightly damaged it (the box has moved from the wall slightly as I oh-so-cleverly stuck my bed next to it in the living room out of laziness and it seems to have pulled against the box), but I don't think any wires have been damaged.

claudiac_2

Hi, Just read your thread. Do you have a mobile and is it with O2? I wanted a phone line connected and internet. Had previously had Virgin, but mucked that up a few years ago due to unemployment.
Because I am an o2 customer, i could get wireless internet for 7.50 a month as long as i stayed an o2 customer, but I still needed a phone line installed to get that service. I called bt and they quoted me 135.00 for a line connection, but the guy in the o2 shop said I could get a free installation if I took advantage of an offer bt were running. He gave me a note of what to say when I called bt, and I did, and I got my free installation. This offer was about 4 months ago, but I am told it runs regularly, so it could be worth considering.
I just have a payg mobile, no contract, and now wireless broadband for 7.50 a month, Bt line rental is 11.25 a month, and I took a call package for 5.00 per month, so I am paying 18.75 for line/broadband. The customer service from o2 is great, and my family are all connected 24/7 with really good broadband speed. Hope this helps.

Mark_In_Hampshire

PJwashere wrote: »

So BT or Virgin are my only choices?

It's not possible to find another company and go with them?

Also I don't get why you're talking about installing something. I'm talking about getting a disconnected phone line reconnected (at the least), OR, if necessary, doing that and getting internet.

If the house has only one phone socket

And that socket connects to the Virgin cable network

Then:

Either you can have that reactivated by Virgin along with a broadband install (10Mbps, 20Mbps, 50Mbps service) which used to be from free to about £35, though do check.. Cable broadband doesn't need or rely on phone lines, which is why it's infinitely superior for most people. However you have a choice of only one ISP - Virgin Media.

or..

You can pay for a "BT" socket to be installed - the work is a new installation - and then have broadband put on the phone line assuming it will support it, most do, albeit at an indeterminate speed which could be very good or very bad. This gives a choice of ISP, but any ISP is limited by the quality of the phone line.