Help with home phone/internet package

catt_2

[FONT=&quot]I am trying to find a better deal for home phone and broadband as what I have is too expensive.:(

My line rental and home phone is with BT. I’m on Unlimited Weekend Plan which costs £13.29 plus calls, so average bill is £26.36 [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I chose BT because they installed the line for a discounted price but my 1 year contract is up and I can change provider.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]My home broadband is with O2. I’m on Home Broadband Premium which costs £15.00. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I got 3 months for free. I was told by email by O2 that they could not get me the promised speed and that they would drop me to the Standard package but they never did. After my 12 month contract expired they offered me a 25% discount to continue but despite clicking the link I never got it. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As for my usage, I do emailing and surfing, no games, limited downloads.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I’m paying on average £41 a month:eek: and I really really must reduce this. I’ve looked at providers but I’m finding it all too confusing. If possible I’d like to get my overpayment back from O2. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Also I’d like to combine billing for phone and broadband as this will be easier for budgeting.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I’ve done the samknows check:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The following services are available in your location:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]BT Wholesale ADSL[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]BT Wholesale ADSL Max[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]BT Wholesale WBC (21CN)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]BT Wholesale SDSL[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]BT FTTC[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]AOL LLU[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]O2 / Be LLU[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Bulldog LLU[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]TalkTalk (CPW) LLU[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Sky Broadband / Easynet LLU[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Pipex LLU[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Tiscali LLU[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Tiscali TV (via Tiscali LLU)[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Orange LLU (Formerly Wanadoo)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Your exchange is ADSL enabled, and our initial test on your line indicates that your line should be able to have an ADSL broadband service that provides a fixed line speed up to 2Mbps.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL Max broadband line speed of 5Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 3.5Mbps and 7.5Mbps.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Our test also indicates that your line currently supports an estimated ADSL2+ broadband line speed of 6Mbps; typically the line speed would range between 4Mbps and 8Mbps. Our test also indicates that your line could support an estimated ADSL 2+ Annex-M broadband upstream line speed of 1Mbps and downstream line speed of 4Mbps; typically the downstream speed would range between 3Mbps and 5Mbps.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Our test also indicates that your line currently supports a fibre technology with an estimated WBC FTTC Broadband where consumers have received downstream line speed of 29.3Mbps and upstream line speed of 6.8Mbps.[/FONT]

espresso

You are spending far more than necessary on your calls with BT. You can still pay your line rental to BT (best option) but easily use an alternative call provider e.g. 18185 here.

O2 have changed their broadband packages now and they are far less favourable than the package that you currently have, so think before switching. O2 will give you a cheaper retention deal after your minimum contract term is over.

Combining your phone and broadband will not get you the best deal, as only BT have to allow you to use alternative cheaper call providers.

catt_2

Is line rental only available from BT then?

espresso

catt wrote: »

Is line rental only available from BT then?

You have to pay line rental to someone and by paying BT you have the best possible choices for both call providers and ISP's. You may save a £ by switching to another provider but how much would you pay for your calls? You can reduce BT line rental to £10 per month if you pay for one year in advance see here

If you register an O2 mobile with your O2 broadband, you will get a monthly discount of £5.11.

kwikbreaks

Even the line rental includes some free calls (weekends I think). The common evening and weekend free package involves a recurring annual contract which although you don't pay for it does involve a penalty for early cancellation.

I switched over to only using VOIP for outgoing calls when I moved to cable as you can only use services like 18185 through their 0800 access number which still attracts a per-minute charge.

loztiggy

bt have recently lowered the charges for broadband, i pay about £25 a month for unlimited broadband and calls anytime, even 0845's/ i only pay for mobile calls. Give BT a ring.

catt_2

Thanks for the advice. It seems it would be cheaper for me to keep two providers for line rental and broadband. The question is which?