Landline Activation Fee

jimmylad007

Hi

My Father-in-Law is moving into sheltered housing with a lifeline alarm system. However the housing authority have said that he needs a landline for it to work, which he doesn't have. He has no use for one as he doesn't use the internet and makes all calls via his mobile. There is a landline physically connected to the property which has a dial tone as I have checked, but calls can't be made as it is inactive.

All the companies I've checked with want to charge a huge reactivation fee, which he would struggle to afford, and TBH seems rather extortionate for a simple reconfiguration of a line that is already physically connected.

Does anyone know of any companies that offer landline only without a huge reactivation fee?

Thanks in advance.

Buzby

The reactivation fee is the maximum charged, and is often less - especially if you hear dial tone on it, it may even have no cost whatsoever. Neither you or the network will know the actual cost until the work order is completed, hence the need to advise the full cost. In your situation I would get BTs Basic service as you get discounts for non/emergency use.

jimmylad007

BT don't seem to want to budge from the £70 sadly, even though their system confirms that it's connected with a dial tone.

It would be fine if the cost could be split over a few months and paid alongside the line rental, but again they're not interested. Think I'll end up having to pay it myself and have him pay me back over several months.

anniecave

Have you checked on the broadband unbundled tool? I can find £20 activation fees for example with the post office. If you factor in cashbacks and incentives it actually seems to be cheaper to get broadband and line rental than just the line rental on its own but the incentives and cashbacks aren't guaranteed of course.

Check out the last couple of posts on this thread below. Main thread is someone with a contract issue with their provider but there are links to a BT scheme that might be relevant.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5827206/landline-phone-with-no-broadband-prices&page=2