Looking for a Broadband Provider who won't charge extra to reconnect an existing BT line

Molly4

JJ_Egan said:

<Is Thunderbird recommended as being safe to use?>

Yes

VM are closing your email account after you leave ?? or will you pay for it .

I haven't got around to asking about my Virgin email account after I leave. 

Molly4

bill888 said:

You are best advised to move to a free email service such as Google or Outlook etc (Sign up at mail dot google dot com, outlook dot com etc) which you would be able to use with any internet provider.  It would also avoid the pain of informing friends, relatives and businesses every time you change your address, and losing incoming messages because a contact continues to send messages to your former email address by accident.

Sorry, I am a little confused about using Google or Outlook for email. Are you saying instead of having a VirginMedia email address or a BT email address I should just have one email address in total ie. Google or Outlook? 
Currently I have three previous email addresses (that I don't pay for) directed into my VirginMedia account. I was then going to set up a new BT email address when I am connected and have all directed into that account. 
The reason I have these old email accounts is even though I have unsubscribed and changed email addresses over the years I still get the occassional email coming through that I have missed. 
I am a big competition enterer! (not sure if that is a correct word) courtesy of MSE and have used various email addresses to enter the competitions.

JJ_Egan

Need to check

One PAYG 20p per min + setup charge .

Email will you lose your VM email in a few weeks ?

Molly4

JJ_Egan said:

Need to check

One PAYG 20p per min + setup charge .

Email will you lose your VM email in a few weeks ?

I will check PAYG 20p per min. What setup charge are you referring to? 
I will also check how long I can use my VirginMedia email address for before I lose it or I am charged for it. 

bill888

molly57. said:

Sorry, I am a little confused about using Google or Outlook for email. Are you saying instead of having a VirginMedia email address or a BT email address I should just have one email address in total ie. Google or Outlook? 

Yes, create a new Google (outlook or yahoo) email account and redirect your email from your 3 former email accounts to this new email account.

I don't know whether Virgin allow you to redirect messages - Virgin email will stop working after 90 days anyway!  ie. you won't be able to access, or redirect messages from Virgin to any other email account.

Google, outlook and yahoo all offer webmail.  I think they also all work with Thunderbird.
For Google, use a web browser and go to mail dot google dot com and create a new account. 
For Outlook (Microsoft), go to outlook dot com
For Yahoo, go to mail dot yahoo dot com

Perhaps create an email account for each of the three free services and decide which one you like.

If you make more than 30 minutes of calls each month, you probably don't wish to be on PAYG at 20p per minute!  There usually is a connection charge as advised by JJ_Egan.   I think it is around 23p for each outgoing call.

eg. if you make 20-25 minutes of calls, it could cost you £7.
BT offer 700 minutes ( up to 11+ hours of calls) call plan for £7 per month to 01, 02 and 03 numbers.

Molly4

I have tried to ask the VirginMedia Community about using my VirginMedia email address after I leave. Despite logging in successfully I have been denied access to posting a question. Just another problem I am now having with VirginMedia. I am not going to bother complaining about it as I'll have left in one months time.
Anyway according to a post from 2017 -

"Once you leave VM your e-mail addresses will all close after 90 days and the contents on the VM servers will be deleted. Any redirect you set up will also stop when the addresses are closed. There are no facilities for keeping an address by paying VM. Only VM broadband customers are entitled to a VM mail address."
I presume it is still the same today.

bill888 said
"If you make more than 30 minutes of calls each month, you probably don't wish to be on PAYG at 20p per minute!  There usually is a connection charge as advised by JJ_Egan.   I think it is around 23p for each outgoing call.
eg. if you make 20-25 minutes of calls, it could cost you £7.
BT offer 700 minutes ( up to 11+ hours of calls) call plan for £7 per month to 01, 02 and 03 numbers."

At present I don't make more than 30 minutes of calls each month and I hope that continues. I do make calls on the landline but always try to find the free option or utilise the free minutes on my mobile if the call is within that package. 
I'll come back to you with an answer on the call charges for BT's PAYG call plan. 

Molly4

According to BT's website the PAYG call package is

Calls to UK landlines and UK mobiles cost 20p a minute, day or night

• Divert nuisance calls with BT Call Protect
• International add-ons for calling abroad available at an extra cost

The call set up fee of 23p mentioned by JJ_Egan and bill888 seems to apply to International Calls as below:

A call set up fee of 23.29p will apply to all calls made using Friends & Family International and all non-inclusive calls made using International Freedom, except calls to countries in Band D (check the tariff guide for more information). The normal call set up fee applicable to your chosen calling plan will apply to any other international calls that you make, except calls to countries in Band D (check the tariff guide for more information). Inclusive calls are limited to 600 minutes per month in the International Freedom add-on. Excess calls will be charged from 6p a minute. Calls to mobiles prices also include calls to other Special and Higher rate services.

Great news! Customers in Northern Ireland can also make local and national calls on their calling plan to landlines throughout Ireland (not to numbers beginning 818, 700, 83, 85, 86, 87 and 89).

bill888

molly57. said:

I have tried to ask the VirginMedia Community about using my VirginMedia email address after I leave. Despite logging in successfully I have been denied access to posting a question. 

On Virgin community forum, you have to create a completely separate forum user account to be able to post messages on the user forum

ie. Virgin account cannot be used to post messages on their user forum.  (BT, Plusnet and Sky user forums operate the same way, to permit non-customers access to their forums)

Molly4

So it looks like I am classed as a "Non Customer" even though I am a "Customer" and have another month of my contract with VirginMedia left. 

iniltous

bill888 said:

molly57. said:

I have tried to ask the VirginMedia Community about using my VirginMedia email address after I leave. Despite logging in successfully I have been denied access to posting a question. 

On Virgin community forum, you have to create a completely separate forum user account to be able to post messages on the user forum

ie. Virgin account cannot be used to post messages on their user forum.  (BT, Plusnet and Sky user forums operate the same way, to permit non-customers access to their forums)

Not true, there is no requirement to join or be a BT customer to post on the BT Community Forum, in-fact quite a few posts are met with ‘are you a BT customer ?’, answer ‘No’,
Obviously if someone isn’t a  BT customer on the BT Forum they won’t get any official help, 
possibly general info