Where do BT get off hiking Line saver 17%?

brewerdave

lynx10 wrote: »

Until a couple of years ago my BT phone/broadband costs were around £140/qtr (ca 150 calls ?), but latterly I've encountered some difficulty in keeping the quarterly cost below £200, and with a third fewer calls.

...I pay less than that a year:) Use ALR deal combined with the use of 18185 for calls.
Forgive me but...... if you make that many calls,wouldn't it make sense to go on an Anytime calls package ?:o

lynx10

brewerdave wrote: »

... if you make that many calls,wouldn't it make sense to go on an Anytime calls package ?:o

Many thanks - I did have the 'Anytime' package until earlier in the year (now have 'Weekends & Evenings').

The usage has been unpredictable over the past 2 years - due to family illness 2013-14, the no. of calls/qtr more than doubled, but the 'Anytime' package meant that the quarterly charges only rose by a few quid.

The no. of calls has since reverted, but the 'Anytime' package was dropped in Jan 2015 after a £170 bill, as a quick (but unsuccessful) attempt to cut the costs.

The line rental went up by +18% and the broadband package by +54%. The 12-month contract has questionable value if the charges can be varied upwards at will by the vendor.

So, time to find another supplier ...

Somniac

Appreciate it if you could post your finding re new supplier here.
I could not find anything better without loss of speed.

lynx10

Somniac wrote: »

Appreciate it if you could post your finding re new supplier here. I could not find anything better without loss of speed.

I've had a quick look (inc. Which?) and have a similar problem ! Currently achieving 70Mbs / 15Mbs and wondering what disruption an alternative fibre optic supplier might entail.

Currently pondering if I could live with a downgraded service.

JJ_Egan

Alternatives fibre up to 76 mb should be the same speed .
BT Plusnet Sky and not sure if new supplier SSE does fibre .

VisionMan

I'm on 74/20 BT Infinity. IMO line rental is expensive with everyone. Its easy as chips to check what speeds and prices others can offer you via an online checker. No one needs a social media forum.

JJ_Egan

As i just managed to restart my broadband contract i have gone the advanced line rental route again .
Problem with ALR can be that at the end date you find yourself out of sync with your broadband contract .

lynx10

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Alternatives fibre up to 76 mb should be the same speed . BT Plusnet Sky and not sure if new supplier SSE does fibre .

Many thanks. Sorry, I wasn't clear - I think we presently have a 'twisted pair/copper' connection to the property (with fibre optic cable from the local exchange to a nearby street junction box). Fibre optic cables were laid in the footpath some while ago and presumably supply some neighbours with cable TV, phone service, etc.

I was therefore wondering what equipment/disruption might be needed to replace BT equipment (HH3) if I adopted a 'fibre optic' service.

VisionMan wrote: »

... Its easy as chips to check what speeds and prices others can offer you via an online checker...

Changing e-mail addresses/numerous online subscriptions can be non-trivial and one reason why I haven't changed since ca 2003 (from CompuServe).

alderpoint

lynx10 wrote: »

Fibre optic cables were laid in the footpath some while ago and presumably supply some neighbours with cable TV, phone service, etc.

I was therefore wondering what equipment/disruption might be needed to replace BT equipment (HH3) if I adopted a 'fibre optic' service.

Who laid the fibre? Virgin are supposedly doing some network expansion - only they can provide service using that. If it's a BT fibre then you may be able to get FTTH from a selection of resellers at some point although I think orders for that are still on hold.

Regardless who you get service from, they will almost certainly provide any equipment you need, but note some e.g. Virgin retain ownership of it and expect you to return it when you terminate the service.

victor2

Virgin Media did a similar thing with their LRS. Last January it went up from £144 to £164, but is still a saving of nearly £40 on their monthly £16.99 rate.
Renewed mine at the pre-increase rate in December. Meant I paid it a month earlier than I needed, but it still runs for a full 12 months from the January renewal date.

Switching phone/broadband isn't quite as simple as with utilities, but still can be done. I always get a price from the likes of BT Infinity before my current VM "customer retention" discount ends, and use it as a bargaining tool to get a new deal. Has worked so far and I've still got my ntlworld email address (although am gradually phasing it out in favour of a non ISP specific one), so it's been a good few years....