Orchid V4, V4+ and Ranger 400 phone users - Discussion

de_sales2

Doesn't BT's £10.27 for line rental plus £4.85 per month 'Unlimited Anytime' offer (with its free 0870, 0845, landline, 0800 and all other types of calls except premium, mobile and international EVERY MINUTE of the YEAR (with the right to reroute mobile and international calls at will) really now at last beat Primuspennymobile etc for all but a vanishingly small number of people or am I - in my tiredness - missing something?

Speedee

The gap is narrowing, but using 18185, etc, to cut down on mobile calls and possibly override providers for 0.5p a minute to some foreign destinations can still help cuts call costs. It depends on how much hassle you want!!

But this is the sub-forum for discussing Orchid V4, V4+'s so perhaps you should start a new thread for more responses?

de_sales2

Thank you for your kind reply. May I clarify I still want to use my Orchid v4+ for the finessing you mention. What I wonder is whether HEINZ's program (on which I want to continue to base my use of the Orchid) oughtn't to be redesigned to take into account the fact that BT - in its 'Anytime' offer - has come up with an even better package on which to base HEINZ's program than the present primuspennymobile one. (If I combine what I owe Primus with what I owe 18185 it seems to come to more than the £4.85 BT would have charged for (largely) the same services.) Whether this is true in any individual case would on reflection I suppose - in my jetlagged state - depend on how involved the individual is with mobiles, so perhaps what I'm after is two HEINZ programs, ie the present Pennymobile based one tailored for those more heavily involved with mobiles and an Antime based one which would be cheaper for those not so heavily involved. Which is hardly fair on poor HEINZ! (I think this probably answers it without needing to start a new thread.) (I note the £4.95 in the heading should be £4.85. Apologies.)

Heinz

The program assumes the user has, as a 'baseline':

(1). A BT landline;
(2). A calls provider (not WCLI) offering free (inclusive) evening and weekend UK 01/02/03 calls;
(3). A 18185 account.

Although Primus Saver or Penny Mobile 2 both offer (2) for no monthly fee, you rightly state that BT's Unlimited Evening & Weekend Plan does too (subject to the user agreeing to a renewable 12 month contract).

Where a particular call needs to be routed via BT, the program uses the 1280 prefix and, for those using Primus Saver, Penny Mobile 2 or any other CPS (not WCLI) calls provider, that has the effect of overriding the default routing. However, it has no effect for those on BT's Evening & Weekend Plan and, hence, there is no need to use different routing rules.

You have probably seen that there is a note to this effect near the end of the program post:

¥ This would also work for those not using Primus Saver as their CPS calls provider as long as they are on BT's Unlimited Evening & Weekend Plan or any CPS (Carrier PreSelect) calls provider which gives (just) free evening and weekend 01, 02 & 03 calls. However, you should ensure your calls provider has not changed from CPS to WCLI (Wholesale Calls, Line Independent) so that use of the 1280 prefix no longer has any effect (whereas, on CPS, it allows you to route individual calls via your line provider, BT). It appears Sky Talk, AOL and Talk Talk have done so (thereby forcing subscribers to pay their own rates for calls despite them carrying the 1280 prefix). Others may follow suit.

de_sales2

I can't believe I'm being so temerarious as to take issue with the mighty Heinz, but here goes if my courage doesn't fail me.

Using BT's Unlimited evening and weekend plan rather than their Unlimited Anytime plan leaves one having to pay to 18185 the 5p per call setup fee for each daytime call. You can only do that 97 times in a month and you've used up a sum equal to the £4.85 that BT charges for a month of the Anytime plan. Give that £4.85 to BT instead for the Anytime plan (and pocket any change) and you get not 97 but unlimited daytime calls and also unlimited free daytime 0870 and 0845 calls. It was my discovery that my combined spend with Primus and 18185 is more than £4.85 per month that left me wondering if the cheapest arrangement doesn't require that Heinz's program be based on the Anytime plan rather than Primus / 18185.

Talking exclusively about the evening and weekend plan without any mention of the Anytime plan as Heinz does in his last post, cannot help but leave unaddressed, I feel, the bee that's in my bonnet. (Also one thing has never been made quite clear. BT can't take away any of these benefits after say 12 months. It's a rolling contract so BT has to put up with you keeping the benefits rolling for as long as you like.)

Heinz

The fact that CW Client is no more will, then, be of benefit to you (make the appropriate alterations to Kevin Lawry's Excel spreadsheet and you're sorted).

mbailey

de_sales2 wrote: »

I can't believe I'm being so temerarious as to take issue with the mighty Heinz, but here goes if my courage doesn't fail me.

Using BT's Unlimited evening and weekend plan rather than their Unlimited Anytime plan leaves one having to pay to 18185 the 5p per call setup fee for each daytime call. You can only do that 97 times in a month and you've used up a sum equal to the £4.85 that BT charges for a month of the Anytime plan. Give that £4.85 to BT instead for the Anytime plan (and pocket any change) and you get not 97 but unlimited daytime calls and also unlimited free daytime 0870 and 0845 calls. It was my discovery that my combined spend with Primus and 18185 is more than £4.85 per month that left me wondering if the cheapest arrangement doesn't require that Heinz's program be based on the Anytime plan rather than Primus / 18185.

Talking exclusively about the evening and weekend plan without any mention of the Anytime plan as Heinz does in his last post, cannot help but leave unaddressed, I feel, the bee that's in my bonnet. (Also one thing has never been made quite clear. BT can't take away any of these benefits after say 12 months. It's a rolling contract so BT has to put up with you keeping the benefits rolling for as long as you like.)

It all depends on how many day time calls you make. Obviously if you are at home during the day, and make more than 5 calls per day then the BT anytime deal works best. As you say if you factor in the 0870 and 0845 then it can make a difference, but again it depends how many of these numbers you call.

For me the 18185 and primus bill is always less than £4.85, so no advantage for me swapping to the anytime service.

I was with "Primus Saver, Penny Mobile 2" but just switched to "BT Evenings and Weekend", mainly because they gave me a free iPod Shuffle which is worth around £30.

The other reason for changing was that I was finding we make quite a few short mobile calls, and with those, the primus deal doesn't work out that good. For long mobile calls it is excellent as it is fixed price, but not for short calls.

So now I use 18185 for all mobile calls, foreign calls and daytime calls, and then BT Evening and Weekends for free calls.

If only BT didn't rip you off with mobile calls and foreign calls, I wouldn't need 18185 at all. Some how, I can't see that changing though, so I'll stick with my Orchid dialler and 18185.

KevinLawry

To be fair to Heinz he has never claimed that his plan would be ultra finely tuned to any given persons exact needs, it is/was a very good set of choices that would fit the broadest section of the market.

The value of that solution was then increased by being made available to anyone who wanted to use it by simply asking to have their box subscribed to it.

A general solution can never be a perfect fit for everyone, but Heinz has taken pains over the last couple of years to make sure that those who couldn't wrestle with the CW client could get the best out of their Orchid units. There has always been the opportunity to tune the plan to make the best for our own particular circumstance, but the truth is most people wanted an easy yet effective soloution & Heinz provided that, and I have no doubt that that level of support has cost him much time & anguish.

I would like to take a few seconds to thank him for all the support he has given, and continues to give, on the topic.

Thanks Heinz

:T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T

de_sales2

Heinz wrote: »

The fact that CW Client is no more will, then, be of benefit to you (make the appropriate alterations to Kevin Lawry's Excel spreadsheet and you're sorted).

Thank you. Perfectly true, at least it will be once a replacement dialer arrives, that Orchid are kindly sending (and once I've braced myself to the point where I can deal with a harsh Heinz-less world where I have to think for myself rather than be spoonfed:eek: ). (That's a fabulous blue icon, I wish I could use it elsewhere.)

de_sales2

KevinLawry wrote: »

To be fair to Heinz
:T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T :T

For Heaven's sake yes Kevin. I was only seeking assurance that my thinking - so often awry - wasn't awry once again and on such an important point. I'm dreadfully sorry that wasn't clear. As far as I'm concerned the day Heinz dies and is called to his Eternal Reward he will go straight to Heaven, not even 5 minutes in Purgatory, well maybe 5 minutes - there's nothing imperfect in Heaven and only Our Blessed Lady left this world Immaculate.