Best way to get phone line reconnected?

Mark_In_Hampshire

PJwashere wrote: »

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.

Nearly right. There's no way to "just get a phone line installed" and then choose a provider. The install is packaged with line rental, so if you want the option of shopping around between phone providers later on, you need to pick a company which has a one month contract for the line rental.

Thus you get the line connected, and are then free later to change to another phone supplier.

As far as I am aware if you want to take the phone and broadband from separate companies, that leaves you with a choice of one for the connection - The Post Office, circa £110 installation.

If you wanted to take a bundle of both and till have a short contract you can expand your list to include BE, Zen, IDNET and AAISP.

If you want to take both and aren't bothered about a longer contract and being locked in for phone line rental then you can pick from any of the major players (BT, Talk Talk, O2)

If you went with BT or the Post Office for landline you can then choose any ISP for your internet (I wouldn't recommend BT or the Post Office - actually, the same broadband, the latter simply resells the former).

Bundled offers are normally cheaper than taking the line and the broadband from different companies.

Normally the install charge is payable up front but some suppliers might let you stagger the payments.

If you're in a cabled street and need decent internet then cable is the obvious choice. However while the broadband is normally great and is capable of speeds that phone line based broadband can only dream about, the calls can be more expensive.

It's hardly straightforward, is it

PJwashere

claudiac wrote: »

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.

Got a mobile but it's not with 02, it's Lebara. Apparently they're rubbish for customer service anyway but I just wanted it for cheap calls to the USA and it works fine for that, with some exceptions depending where I am.

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

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.

BT just said it's probably cable. I don't know whether it's Virgin's cable service.

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

Nearly right. There's no way to "just get a phone line installed" and then choose a provider. The install is packaged with line rental, so if you want the option of shopping around between phone providers later on, you need to pick a company which has a one month contract for the line rental.

Thus you get the line connected, and are then free later to change to another phone supplier.

As far as I am aware if you want to take the phone and broadband from separate companies, that leaves you with a choice of one for the connection - The Post Office, circa £110 installation.

If you wanted to take a bundle of both and till have a short contract you can expand your list to include BE, Zen, IDNET and AAISP.

If you want to take both and aren't bothered about a longer contract and being locked in for phone line rental then you can pick from any of the major players (BT, Talk Talk, O2)

If you went with BT or the Post Office for landline you can then choose any ISP for your internet (I wouldn't recommend BT or the Post Office - actually, the same broadband, the latter simply resells the former).

Bundled offers are normally cheaper than taking the line and the broadband from different companies.

Normally the install charge is payable up front but some suppliers might let you stagger the payments.

If you're in a cabled street and need decent internet then cable is the obvious choice. However while the broadband is normally great and is capable of speeds that phone line based broadband can only dream about, the calls can be more expensive.

It's hardly straightforward, is it

Seen a lot about Talktalk scams and BT payphone customer service is dodgy, but I've chosen Virgin anyway (and would not use Post Office as they missold me a calling card and trading standards are toothless now - have yet to hear from them about dodgy shoes and cat food that made my cat literally sick).

Anyway now I'm a bit worried. What equipment do I actually need? I didn't think of that when I was on the phone. And can I cancel before signing the contract if I find a better deal elsewhere? Bit worried about their customer service too as it's an 0845 number - thus suggesting they want to make it difficult for people to contact them about problems.

Also the guy on the phone never said anything about a payment method. He took my bank details but I figured that's just so he's got them for when it's time to pay my bill. I don't wanna have to use dodgy unsafe Direct Debit (why on Earth does it claim it's safe when companies can take your money willy nilly? Do they pay the DD people or something?) - some guy is going to call me about coming to connect the line or something, and presumably he'll have a contract with him (I have to sign something before they can take my money, right???). If it turns out Virgin insists on Direct Debit (nothing was mentioned about it), can I avoid paying any charges if I refuse to sign? I'd be happy to do standing order.

EDIT: Forgot to mention - signed up for the basic phone and broadband package

Mark_In_Hampshire

Direct debit isn't safe, no. In fact there's a thread about it here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2747884

Yes, the bank details were for direct debit. You should have been read the laughable so-called "Direct Debit Guarantee" over the phone. I'd log into Online Banking and put a stop to that mandate if you don't want that method of payment.

If it's cable, you just need a landline handset (from a few quid in Tesco, Argos, etc) - the cable modem comes with the installation.

Virgin accept direct debit and card payment, I think. Personally I have a prepaid debit card for when people want to "pull" payments from me, and I give them those details. When I get a bill I BACS the money onto the card for them.

No bill, or trying to take too much, or too early = declined transaction for them and no bank fees for me.

PJwashere

Mark_In_Hampshire wrote: »

Direct debit isn't safe, no. In fact there's a thread about it here:

[had to delete your link as forum won't let me post reply]

Yes, the bank details were for direct debit. You should have been read the laughable so-called "Direct Debit Guarantee" over the phone. I'd log into Online Banking and put a stop to that mandate if you don't want that method of payment.

If it's cable, you just need a landline handset (from a few quid in Tesco, Argos, etc) - the cable modem comes with the installation.

Virgin accept direct debit and card payment, I think. Personally I have a prepaid debit card for when people want to "pull" payments from me, and I give them those details. When I get a bill I BACS the money onto the card for them.

No bill, or trying to take too much, or too early = declined transaction for them and no bank fees for me.

Put a stop to it? I never agreed to any Direct Debit. It wasn't even mentioned. Surely they can't take it without a signature can they? I've signed nothing.

And what does BACS the money mean? How do you do the prepaid debit card thing - and isn't there usually a monthly fee? I thought all you could use a prepaid card for was spending in shops or withdrawing money, nothing else.

Can't log onto online banking anyway - bank's site is down

EDIT: I see from the thread you linked to that they can take it without a signature - even If I didn't give permission and Direct Debit wasn't mentioned?!

PJwashere

They did set up a Direct Debit without my permission! Then passed me from pillar to post when I tried to cancel and still haven't gave written (e.g. e-mail) confirmation.

Mark_In_Hampshire

Talk Talk did that to me too. Back in the day, I wondered why they wanted bank details on the online sign up, I had no intention of paying by DD and there was no mention of it. It was when a DD mandate for "CENTRICA" popped up on my bank account that I rang the bank and asked them how on earth it had got there. It was from there that I had DD disabled on my current account as I realised how flawed the system was.

Had you specified "not direct debit" in your original post then the recommendations would have been a little different. Your best option is probably the Post Office - connection circa £117 and no rip off fees to pay your bill by other means. They can also supply the broadband as a bundled package, although you need not take that should you prefer to shop around elsewhere.

PJwashere

I think someone on here mentioned a prepay/prepaid card. Which one can be used for paying direct debits?

Heinz

PJwashere wrote: »

I think someone on here mentioned a prepay/prepaid card. Which one can be used for paying direct debits?

Direct Debits are exactly that - the company makes a call for money directly from your bank account - a prepaid card is entirely different.

BarneyBee

looking at the Bt web site you can reconnect to BT for £29.99 for just a landline phone, normally £127.99.

*£29.99 Connection Offer. Customers who require a new line will benefit from a £98 discount on the standard line connection charge of £127.99.Customers who are benefiting from this offer are not eligible for Line Rental Saver and must agree to an 18 month contract (applies to the Unlimited Weekend Plan or the Unlimited Anytime Plan). Minimum call commitment also applies – you must make at least 10 chargeable or inclusive calls per month (30 calls per quarter). You'll need to pay a charge of £5.15 for every month (if you are billed monthly) or £15.45 for every quarter (if you're billed quarterly) in which you don't make these calls, as compensation for not making the minimum number of calls required. These charges are not subject to VAT and will appear in the one-off charges section of your bill.

If you do need to connect a new BT line, the charges are (incl. VAT):

• £0 when you take a TV, Broadband & Calls package
• £0 when you take a Broadband & Calls package
• £29.99 when you take a BT line only (with no broadband or TV) – (standard price for connection £127.99 – see below for offer conditions)

Mark_In_Hampshire

PJwashere wrote: »

I think someone on here mentioned a prepay/prepaid card. Which one can be used for paying direct debits?

Direct debit is a dangerous form of attachment to your bank account where you agree that a supplier can take unspecified amounts from your bank account on unspecified dates, in the case of BT, without any prior warning or notification period required of the dates or amounts. Other companies may differ e.g. stipulate they will give 3 days warning, 5 days warning, 10 days warning etc.

Prepaid debit cards are (when used like this) like a sort of escrow account where you put the money on the card and the the supplier debits it.

In the case of the former, should the supplier not notify you of a debit, take it on the wrong day or take too much (e.g. take it twice) you can incur a bounce fee from the bank if you don't have the funds in place. You are liable to pay that fee. You agree that in the Ts & Cs of your bank account, even if the mistake was the payee's - it's your problem, not theirs.

In the case of the latter, if you are not notified, they try for the money too early, try for too much, or try to take it twice, the transaction is declined and you incur no bank fees. The payee simply doesn't get the money.

The one single thing direct debit has going for it that the prepaid card does not is that if the payee makes a genuine error (like taking funds twice, assuming that you had enough on the prepaid card for them to do so) you have to ask for a charge-back which is lengthy and more complex. So you run the prepaid card with a zero balance except when you need to put the funds there for a specific bill.

With a direct debit mandate you can instruct the bank to simply reverse the erroneous transaction. Some banks are good at complying with that, others simply try and fob you off. If however the error was the payee took too much money you can't have the bank reverse it without being in breach of contract to your payee even if the mistake is theirs, because the whole amount is reversed which means you didn't pay what you were supposed to. You have to get the overpayment back from the payee to remain within your obligations. Direct debit is a mechanism designed for the payee, not the payer.

Personally I always try to avoid any company who insists on "pulling" funds from me rather than me paying them.