Cheapest Home Phones Provider discussion area

VendorEmptor

Shurley Shum Mishtake?
Martin wrote "So who wins 18866 v 1899?
... Better still, though, simply set up accounts with both, and use 18866 for calling landlines all times and mobiles at weekends, and 1899 for calling mobiles."
Call1899 is always cheaper than Call18866 for calling mobiles. A neat table of comparison can be seen on https://www.nowherenearthegarden.com/calls/ although it has not yet been updated to show the 2p connection charge for Call18866.

pbsouthgate

I have recently downgraded my all inclusive cable package to a pay per call package (currently 4p per minute anytime) because so many organisations have changed from normal 01 numbers to 0845 and 0870 numbers. Sadly no one seems to include these in their packages. Is there a good package out there which includes them (better still if I dont have to change to BT to get it since my broadband cost goes up if I cancel my cable phone line altogether)

Edinburghlass_2

Unfortunately it seems that BT is the cheapest provider for 0845 and 0870 numbers, however, have a read at the Say No To 0870 numbers thread here and this will take you to a website that lists geographical numbers to use.

You can of course use 18866 and/or 1899 with your cable company!

ducky2004

I saw in Martin newsletter that says it is a battle between 1899 and 18866,
If one go and lookup the ultimately owner of the prefix 1899 and 18866
http://www.magsys.co.uk/telecom/codelook.asp
one will find that both belongs to Connect Telecom. So, most probably 1899 and 18866 is somehow related, just like Telestunt, Telediscount, Cheapestcall etc are 'Brands' of the same service provider.

Well, cable users cannot used override provider becasue cable operators are not obliged to route those prefixes (and they don't want to anyway !) but one can use 0800 or those 0844 from 1p/min (see martin callchecker linked from the top) and that beats most override provider anyway.

nitejar

Looks like 18866 and 1899 are still the cheapest for most people.

I managed to sign up for the Tele2 free weekend and evining calls offer and notice that their rate for calls to T-mobile and Virgin, the ones I use most are cheaper than 1899 in the evenings.

I was thinking of getting the Orchid dialer as my kids tend to forget to push the 18866 button at the right time of day. I anyone aware of a list of the numbers after 07 that the different mobile providers use so the dialer can be programmed to route calls to different mobile networks differently. Has anyone using the dialer tried this?

Since calls to mobiles now make up most of my bill, this would seem to be worth the extra effort.

Fortunecooky

Please be aware of the free calls from Carphone warehouse, TALKTALK. !I merely asked for the contract documents to be sent to me. !After having read the small print, I realised it was a scam and so I told them in writing that I did not want to go ahead. !They confirmed this in writing. If I had gone ahead with TalkTalk, I would had to pay £150-00 per quarter, with BT I was paying £125-00. Now with a combination of Onetel and 1899, I am paying £32-00 per quarter.
!
Nevertheless, a month later I started getting bills from TalkTalk, even though I never signed anything or used their service. I complained and Customer Services apologised. !But four months later, a debt collection agency from Glasgow started harassing me for £69-00 with strange letters and phone calls. !I wrote to them twice but the harassment continued until this Easter weekend when they called me again and said they would 'visit' me. !I have now asked Carphone Warehouse for !£320-00 in my time costs. They apologised for the mistake but refuse to pay up. !I will be reporting this to Ofcom.
!
But beware, of Carephone Warehouse deals- do not even ask for their literature. My husband has a mobile deal with them and also suffered similarly for months. Read the small print !

PS- as of yesterday, they have agreed to give me £200-00 compensation.

Edinburghlass_2

There are many happy users of TalkTalk here, myself for one and I have no idea how you maintain this is a scam or you would be paying £150 per quarter? I pay 5p - 20p a month.

However as this thread is about Cheapest Home Phone Provider and not about venting on Carphonewarehouse, please place your complaint on the Vent Board for further discussion.

Edinburghlass_2

ducky2004 wrote:

I saw in Martin newsletter that says it is a battle between 1899 and 18866,
If one go and lookup the ultimately owner of the prefix 1899 and 18866
http://www.magsys.co.uk/telecom/codelook.asp
one will find that both belongs to Connect Telecom. So, most probably 1899 and 18866 is somehow related, just like Telestunt, Telediscount, Cheapestcall etc are 'Brands' of the same service provider.

Well, cable users cannot used override provider becasue cable operators are not obliged to route those prefixes (and they don't want to anyway !) but one can use 0800 or those 0844 from 1p/min (see martin callchecker linked from the top) and that beats most override provider anyway.

As Martin states, 18866 and 1899 are sister companies, both owned by the same company based in Switzerland.

Although cable companies are not obliged to allow you to use an over ride number in practise they do allow users to dial through 1899 and 18866.

Heinz

edinburghlass wrote:

There are many happy users of TalkTalk here, myself for one and I have no idea how you maintain this is a scam or you would be paying £150 per quarter? I pay 5p - 20p a month.

However as this thread is about Cheapest Home Phone Provider and not about venting on Carphonewarehouse, please place your complaint on the Vent Board for further discussion.

I think you missed the point EL.

The problem appears to be false claims for payment/involvement of debt collectors in relation to an account which does not exist.

mechy

I think 18866 is the cheapest