18185 and Plusnet

amorphix

An update to my earlier post... (perhaps someone can confirm this)...

I'm wondering whether Primus blocking 18185 in my case, is due to my line having to be reactivated to use their service, and maybe it's not on the BT exchange now? When I originally used Primus 12 months ago, I was coming to them from BT, so nothing changed with my line.

Just a thought.. anyone out there who has switched to Primus Saver recently from BT without any line reactivation and still able to use 18185 prefix?

amorphix

jem16 wrote: »

That may be true for now but as from next year BT no longer has to provide access to the likes of 18185 and you may find that they start blocking calls too.

Damn, that's annoying. It looks like all the telecom providers are closing down this Indirect Call Access facility to claw back call revenues eh.

Many of the teleco companies I contacted (including BT) had no idea what 18185.co.uk even was! I had to explain to them.

I use Skype Premium on my Android mobile now as an alternative which does give you unlimited free landline calls any time of the day, with the benefit of no connection fee charges and works flawlessly over my BT headset, you also get a local area geographical landline number of your choosing you can give out to receive incoming calls free. The only downside is of course, it's nowhere comparable quality to a real land line and breaks up quite often. But it's not too bad and better than nothing for free calls if you want to talk at peak rate or for a long time. You can also have multiple people on the chat and direct calls to other handsets/Skype users etc. It's well worth the £2.30 a month.

Bearing in mind though, if using Skype Premium, you'll need an unlimited mobile Internet tariff. I'm with GiffGaff which is the cheapest as far as I know, £12/month for unlimited mobile Internet and texts, plus 250 mins any time talk mins.

Ypaymore

amorphix wrote: »

An update to my earlier post... (perhaps someone can confirm this)...

I'm wondering whether Primus blocking 18185 in my case, is due to my line having to be reactivated to use their service, and maybe it's not on the BT exchange now? When I originally used Primus 12 months ago, I was coming to them from BT, so nothing changed with my line.

Just a thought.. anyone out there who has switched to Primus Saver recently from BT without any line reactivation and still able to use 18185 prefix?

Its been mentioned a number of times on here in the past that Primus now block 18185 access

See: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/63274571#Comment_63274571


18185 have charged 1p a minute plus 5p connection to call 01/02/03 numbers via its alternative access numbers for years.;)

Heres the Ofcom info about BT access. http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/nmr-13/statement/statement-summary

Why have you added this to a plusnet thread,:D

amorphix

Ypaymore wrote: »

Its been mentioned a number of times on here in the past that Primus now block 18185 access

See: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/63274571#Comment_63274571


18185 have charged 1p a minute plus 5p connection to call 01/02/03 numbers via its alternative access numbers for years.;)

Why have you added this to a plusnet thread,:D

Oops, apologies I wasn't hijacking the thread, I misread and thought it was a discussion on Primus and 18185.

I guess I should not have took Primus at their word and should have done my research on this site to confirm it or get them to put it in writing. You can never trust ANYTHING telecom providers say over the phone, I've learned that lesson from Sky, but just trusted Primus as they allowed 18185 before.

Oh well. Since BT no longer will allow it, may as well continue using Primus for broadband only and stick to my Skype Premium service for daytime calls of any length, and the 0808 for short calls.

jhp

amorphix wrote: »

Since BT no longer will allow it

They haven't done it yet. Useful thread here http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1380336233 on the subject.

2013archers

Plusnet_company_representative wrote: »

Hi,

Yes, you can use carrier pre-select services with Plusnet, including 18185...

...and 1899.

I have looked into the situation described by the original poster and I'm confident this is no longer a problem (assuming it was in the first place).

It seems very odd TBH because our suppliers route call data records directly to the CPS carrier when one of these calls is made. Theoretically we shouldn't even know about the call.



As mentioned by others, it's a site policy rather than a decision we've made. We'd love to be able to receive PMs

Hope this provides the necessary clarification.

Best regards,

Bob Pullen

I have been using 18185 for several years through BT.
I am now thinking of moving to Plusnet but I would like someone to confirm that If I use 18185 to call Europe I will NOT be charged by PLUSNET for these calls. i.e. I only pay 18185 for these calls.

Unfortunately, having spoken to two sales people at Plusnet this afternoon it is quite clear they do not know the answer !!

NonGeographicalMan

2013archers wrote: »

I am now thinking of moving to Plusnet but I would like someone to confirm that If I use 18185 to call Europe I will NOT be charged by PLUSNET for these calls. i.e. I only pay 18185 for these calls.

Unfortunately, having spoken to two sales people at Plusnet this afternoon it is quite clear they do not know the answer !!

I helped move my mother's phone line from BT to Plusnet in February 2013 so that she could also get the very recently enabled, on her exchange, fibre broadband at a 40Mbps Download speed instead of only a previous 3Mbps on copper with Be Unlimited. In order to get the first 6 months fibre broadband line rental at half price the phone line and calls also had to be moved from BT to Plusnet.

I can confirm that since moving to Plusnet both my mother's own 1899 service and the 18185 secondary registration I have on her line on my 18185 account both still work with no problem at all. All calls are charged to the respective 1899 and 18185 bills and Plusnet do not have any knowledge the calls are being made or charge for them on their bills.

In the long run you should however be concerned about this discussion thread on the Digital Spy forum indicating that Ofcom either has or is in the process of removing BT's obligation to provide Indirect Access (eg 18185, 1899) and Carrier Pre Selection services on its lines in order to put it on a level playing field with other fixed line telecoms carriers:eek::mad:

See http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1894107

As Plusnet is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT with a Yorkshire flavour if BT eventually goes ahead with blocking Indirect Access then this is also likely to effect Plusnet customers. On the other hand BT may have pressed for the obligation to be removed but will they have the nerver to bar Indirect Access services like 18185 on their lines as long as Post Office Homephone still continues to offer it on most or all of its home phone lines. On the other hand Post Office Homephone was supposed to be migrating all of its Homephone phone lines from BT to TalkTalk infrastructure on any exchange that has a TalkTalk LLU so you might want to check on the Exchange Checker at https://www.samknows,com if your exchange is TalkTalk LLU enabled (most exchanges with over 1,500 lines do now have TalkTalk LLU phone equipment). I am with PostOffice Homephone and my exchange is also TalkTalk LLU'ed but I can still currently use 18185 with no problem. It is anyone's guess how much longer this may or may not continue.

The bottom line is that at the moment 18185 access is available on Plusnet and it is likely to remain available on Plusnet as long as it is still also available on BT lines. However it cannot now be guaranteed that this situation will continue for that much longer.

If the worst happens then you would probably have to either buy a daytime Anytime calls package from BT or Plusnet or alternatively get a mobile phone deal with 500 minutes per month or similar that would cover all your current daytime fixed line calls as well as other calls to mobiles that you may currently make through 18185. Tesco Mobile have SIM only deals with 500 minutes a month and 1Gb of data for £10 per month or £12.50 per month for 750 minutes and 2Gb of data that can also be used for a tethered connection from your laptop or Tablet pc to your mobile as well as for browsing on any normal smartphone.

It is completely outrageous that useles Ofcom is hell bent on allowing the fixed line rental to be ever further ramped up and on removing all competition against your own fixed line operator's call prices but that unfortunately is what they are currently up to. If you don't like it I suggest you visit your MP or write to the European Commission about it.

Ypaymore

2013archers wrote: »

I have been using 18185 for several years through BT.
I am now thinking of moving to Plusnet but I would like someone to confirm that If I use 18185 to call Europe I will NOT be charged by PLUSNET for these calls. i.e. I only pay 18185 for these calls.

Unfortunately, having spoken to two sales people at Plusnet this afternoon it is quite clear they do not know the answer !!

Yes you can use 18185 indirect currently.

Plusnet cant see details of any call using 18185 indirectly so they have no opportunity to apply any charges.

If they blocked 18185 indirect access in future , you could still use it via the 0808 Freephone Number. (The intl call prices may vary a little depending on destination.)

http://www.18185.co.uk/mobilerates.php

NonGeographicalMan

Ypaymore wrote: »

If they blocked 18185 indirect access in future , you could still use it via the 0808 Freephone Number. (The intl call prices may vary a little depending on destination.)

http://www.18185.co.uk/mobilerates.php

But most people here use 18185 mainly for UK daytime calls to UK 01/02/03 numbers because they feel they do not make enough calls in the day to justify taking BT or similar's Anytime call package at £4 to £5 per month extra.

Unfortunately if BT Retail or Plusnet (both part of BT Group) ever removed Indirect Access then it would no longer be cost effective to use them for making weekday daytime calls because the 0800 alternative imposes a charge of 1 per minute on top of the 5p per call connection fee. The situation is differentf for overseas calls where neither 18185 or any of its competitors offer flat rates for a call no matter how long.

charlie12

NonGeographicalMan wrote: »

I helped move my mother's phone line from BT to Plusnet...

A fantastic reply and far better than the few words I had planned to write.
I also pay my line rental to Plusnet and 18185 still works for now but I am not holding my breath
Ofcom proves yet again to be utterly incompetent!