Cheapest option for line rental and incoming calls only?

fitzy89

Hello

I'm new to these forums and don't really know where to look for the best deal on what we are looking for.

My mum used to have some option on the home phone with BT where she got evening and weekend calls under an hour for free for a certain fee every month but she had a lot of trouble with the bills getting higher and higher so she tried to cancel it, anyway the bills still weren't adding up to what we were actually using so she told them she just wanted incoming calls only. For this they expect us to pay around £13 something for line rental and about £26 extra a month for the privilege of receiving calls? That seems like an outrageous price to pay just to receive calls.

We are only keeping the line for broadband access which I pay for myself with Freeola (they offer the services I need, are the most reliable from experience, offer great support/) and as I am an IT engineer that works from home, this broadband is essential for me so we would like to keep the broadband as it is if possible.

We have already cancelled the TV license and my mum watches 'catch-up' tv online, never live TV so I believe this is legal so the phone is the only target really to save a bit more money.

So what we require is:
line rental which works with our existing broadband
incoming calls (outgoing not required as she uses her mobile for this)
caller ID would be a bonus but not essential
1471 (or equivalent) is essential as she uses this all the time
1571 (or equivalent) would be a plus but not essential

Can anyone offer any advice on this?

Cheers
Rob

hpuse

BT has a univeral obligation (what ofcom calls as USP) for providing a basic telephone connection to receive and make to anyone in the UK via their telephone exhange infrastructure. In return they charge a line rental which is around £12-£14 currently. Nothing more nothing less you need to pay for just receiving calls.

Heinz

Martin's guide to the subject of line rentals suggests Primus but there are numerous horror stories about those who have switched/tried to switch to them.

BT's Line Rental Saver (effectively reducing line rental to £10/month) appears to be the next 'best'.

anewman

You have broadband so the best option is a VOIP adapter and a sipgate account (there may be other providers but I've used this one and it seems to work well). This gives you a specific local 01 etc landline number allowing incoming calls without any monthly charge, other than the initial VOIP equipment. You can register a Sipgate account for free now with no obligation or VOIP adapter and choose a number etc, then set it all up later.

Problem is I suspect you want a line that the broadband can be carried over? The only broadband provider I believe provided broadband without a phone line is virgin media, and they made the price structure such that it cost the same landline or not.

What features of your broadband are essential for your job? Maybe we can find a cheaper all-in option? For example one possible alternative to a fixed IP is a dyndns account, although if your connection is stable your IP should remain the same anyway.

I wouldn't pay for an incoming call only option. If you have concerns numbers may be dialled and costs incurred, children etc, get a telephone handset that can barr outgoing calls or dial a fixed number and set this to something that won't be charged for.

macman

All BT Tariffs include some element of allowance for calls, there is no 'incoming calls only' tariff, since these calls would not be chargeable anyway. The basic line rental includes weekend calls.
How can you have 1471/1571 access without having outgoing calls?
Even an Anytime tariff should only add a fiver to your line rental, so I suggest you give more details about why the bils are so high-she must be making a lot of calls over an hour, to mobiles, premium or other exclusive nos.

Heinz

fitzy89 wrote: »

My mum used to have some option on the home phone with BT where she got evening and weekend calls under an hour for free for a certain fee every month but she had a lot of trouble with the bills getting higher and higher so she tried to cancel it, anyway the bills still weren't adding up to what we were actually using so she told them she just wanted incoming calls only. For this they expect us to pay around £13 something for line rental and about £26 extra a month for the privilege of receiving calls?

That's has me baffled.

Line rental (incl. the Unlimited Weekend calls plan) is now £13.90/month and, of course, there is no charge for receiving calls - so what's this £26 all about?