BT vs Primus (with caller ID)

techno79

I'm coming up to the end of my 12 month BT line rental saver contract and have the option of signing up for another 12 months at £120 for the year (£10 a month) or going with Primus who charge £6.79.

I was initially keen on Primus as that would be a saving of almost £40 for the year. However, reading the details on Primus's website, it says that Caller ID costs a whopping £2.50 a month extra. Caller ID is free with BT when registered with their Privacy at Home and thus the annual saving for Primus would be a measly ~£8.50. Hardly worth changing.

The phone line is only used for the odd few incoming calls and the broadband.

Can anyone recommend anything better or is BT line saver the best option here?

mervynbt

I am also coming to end of my 12 months paid in advance BT line rental and have been plotting to escape from BT's clutches for the past 9 months. Back in May I had to cancel a renewable 12 month contract for free Family & Friends that I didn't even know I had. Having read the latest BT price hikes (again) news I have just signed up for Primus Line Rental Saver and already have cold feet as I cannot find ANY reviews of Primus that say anything good about them. The review centre website lists 57 awful reviews (all recent). I also think I would really miss the FREE caller display with BT more than I first realised. I am going to cancel the Primus thing, renew the £120 annual line rental with BT and then find cheaper call packages using prefix numbers like 18185.

Does anybody out there know of ANY good reviews of Primus?

Heinz

mervynbt wrote: »

I am going to cancel the Primus thing, renew the £120 annual line rental with BT and then find cheaper call packages using prefix numbers like 18185.

As always, it depends on your pattern of use but, surprisingly, BT's Unlimited Anytime calls plan (currently £4.70/month for inclusive 01, 02, 03, 0845 and 0870 calls of up to 60 minutes each at all times) is one of the best inclusive packages currently available.

Many people would be hard pressed to find a better package when coupled with appropriate use of 18185 (for calls to many international destinations and UK mobiles).

Yes, the cost of BT line rental is reaching ridiculous heights, but deduct the £2.50 for Caller Display for which others charge (free with BT Privacy) and it's a little more reasonable. Stretching a point, it could even be argued that, with LRS, the cost is £7.50/month.

mervynbt

Thanks Heinz for info.
I was out until 7pm yesterday and too late to call homephonechoices.co.uk to cancel within the first 24 hours of the order. Therefore had to call Primus this morning. Tried 3 times to call their customer services but ended up in queue "Your call is very important to us ..." - gave up after 20 minutes. "My life (and my time) is very important to me..." Emailed instead to planettalkers@primustel.co.uk. Meanwhile I have received an email from Primus saying my account has been activated. Very efficient!
I wish moneysavingexpert had carried a prominent health-warning about Primus poor customer services. Still, my own fault for not checking first - I knee-jerked to mse article about bt price increases again and again.
My preference is now to stick with bt anytime package (£4.70/mth), family & friends mobile (£1.50/mth) and line saver rental (£120/yr). This, combined with prefixes such as 18185, meets 95% of my needs without going out on a limb to maximize savings at the cost of convenience and security.

jhp

Worth a read about Primus https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3371404

mervynbt

Thanks jhp - just spent 20 minutes or so reading yours and other threads relating to how difficult Primus are to contact so I don't expect to hear back from them anytime soon. Sadly, in setting up the order with Homephonechoices.co.uk, I provided bank account number and sort code. Just checked online (Santander) and sure enough DD set up by "NEW CALL TELECOM" but so far no money taken. I cancelled DD online and will call the bank first thing on Monday morning. I'm a bit uneasy as I have read of DDs just being reinstated again and worried that Primus will start charging me monthly line rental although I am desperately trying to cancel the order with them.
Surely I am entitled to a cooling-off period under distance selling regulations or something?

Anyway, a good lesson learned.! Do homework before ordering something online.

flossy_splodge

I've been with Primus for quite a few years now, long before they became new Call.
I have just taken up with BT on their anytime package and it prompted a call from primus.
When I said that their customer service was atrocious and whilst ALL ELSE works just fine (never had a problem with a DD or a connection etc) , customer service is important. I was told that they are moving at the moment back to UK based call centres as they have had so many complaints!
I told them I was happy to hear that but my decision is made for now.
So I wouldn't worry that they're up to anything strange, they seem to be in a state of flux at the mo but hopefully when it is all back UK based they will again offer good service.

OldGreyFox

flossy_splodge wrote: »

I've been with Primus for quite a few years now, long before they became new Call.
I have just taken up with BT on their anytime package and it prompted a call from primus.
When I said that their customer service was atrocious and whilst ALL ELSE works just fine (never had a problem with a DD or a connection etc) , customer service is important. I was told that they are moving at the moment back to UK based call centres as they have had so many complaints!
I told them I was happy to hear that but my decision is made for now.
So I wouldn't worry that they're up to anything strange, they seem to be in a state of flux at the mo but hopefully when it is all back UK based they will again offer good service.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-14025904

Guys_Dad

Was evaluating my options earlier this week.

Tried to contact Primus, but after half a dozen unsuccessful calls to their sales team (sorry we can not complete this call at present - ring later), one unsuccessful call to their customer services (rang and rang and rang - no answer) I decided that this was warning enough for me. No thanks.

Rang BT. Asked what could they do to reduce my costs (I have anytime caller). They said I could pay £120 up front for the year. I said I wanted some free calls, please.

Very helpful lady came back and said I could have free evening and weekend calls thrown in. As I have loads of minutes left each month on my mobile, I jumped at the chance and have now got line rental, caller display, 1571, 1471 and evening/weekend calls all for £10 per month.

And I have never, ever had any bother with BT's service or customer services.