What are the benefits of staying with BT Line Rental?

info_addict

I have always had my line rental with BT, but have AOL (Talk Talk) broadband with their call package, which gives me free unlimited calls to 01, 02 and 03 numbers. However being with AOL for calls means I cannot make any calls through the BT network and therefor cannot partake of their Line Rental Saver. Which means I pay £43.80 per quarter for the Weekend Package = just line rental.

I am very happy with AOL, paying only £7.20 per month with the free calls and unlimited download. However I am out of contract and they are tempting me with all sorts of discount deals to sign up to a new contract.

One of the packages includes transferring my line rental to them.

So, I wondered what is the downside of doing so. The upside is it will cost me less than I'm paying to BT. But I seem to recall in the dim distant past that the advice was not to transfer line rental away from BT unless absolutely necessary.

Is this still the case? If so why?

The only thing I can think of, is if sometime in the future I wanted to transfer to BT broadband or whatever, I presumably would have to pay a reconnection fee?

macman

Transferring your line to AOL will probably result in it being LLU'd to the Talk Talk network, if that is available LLU on your exchange. Which is fine until you want to leave them, at which point the only way to do so without charge would be to do a 'return to donor' back to BT-which is free, but requires a12m line rental contract. LLU to LLU transfers are not often possible..

yangptangkipperbang

The main reason for staying with BT line rental is that they HAVE to allow you to use any other call/broadband provider over that line.
If you use another line provider they can, quite legally, block you from using other cheap call providers. In effect, you can only place calls through call providers who your line provider allows you to - not necessarily who you want to use.

Also, most of the infrastructure (cable excepted) to your house is actually owned by BT anyway. If you get a problem with your line with another line provider they will have to get Open Reach (BT) out to solve the problem. You stand a good chance of getting a quicker and better response going to BT yourself.

macman

yangptangkipperbang wrote: »

The main reason for staying with BT line rental is that they HAVE to allow you to use any other call/broadband provider over that line.
If you use another line provider they can, quite legally, block you from using other cheap call providers. In effect, you can only place calls through call providers who your line provider allows you to - not necessarily who you want to use.

Also, most of the infrastructure (cable excepted) to your house is actually owned by BT anyway. If you get a problem with your line with another line provider they will have to get Open Reach (BT) out to solve the problem. You stand a good chance of getting a quicker and better response going to BT yourself.

Not so, since BT Retail and BT OR are entirely separate operations. OR are not allowed to prioritise or favour BTR when making repairs-they have to treat them in the same way as any other ISP.

yangptangkipperbang

macman wrote: »

Not so, since BT Retail and BT OR are entirely separate operations. OR are not allowed to prioritise or favour BTR when making repairs-they have to treat them in the same way as any other ISP.

'Tis so ! You are dealing with the organ grinder and not the monkey............. if you think that it is a level playing field then I am afraid that you are much mistaken.

macman

So if BTR have this alleged 'inside track' advantage, how is it that they still manage to have one of the worst-rated levels of customer service in every consumer survey conducted?

chanz4

I 100% agree when I used to work for bt, if you had a fault say on a post office line you wouldn't bend over backwards.

opowell

AOL charge more than BT do for some premium rate numbers. That definitely matters if you use discount international call services, as it can end up costing double.
aolbroadband.co.uk/pricing/non-geographic-numbers.html