Telephone only line?

Kit1

Hi l am trying to find out if it is still possible to get a phoneline without broadband?   It is for an elderly relative who doesn't need broadband.  The company they are with are awful (3c Telecom - never heard of them myself) and do not have a way of blocking scammer calls which they are now getting on a very regular basis.  We have contacted the telephone company several times and they never get back to us asking how we can block these calls.  Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Grumpy_chap

Kit1 said:

Hi l am trying to find out if it is still possible to get a phoneline without broadband?   It is for an elderly relative who doesn't need broadband.  The company they are with are awful (3c Telecom - never heard of them myself) and do not have a way of blocking scammer calls which they are now getting on a very regular basis.  We have contacted the telephone company several times and they never get back to us asking how we can block these calls.  Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

For vulnerable customers, BT offer a basic phone line only service:
https://www.bt.com/landline/deals/
If you are on a low income and receiving state benefits you may be eligible for BT Basic, our subsidised social telephony scheme. If you are not eligible you can take our Home Phone Saver package which lets you freeze your subscription costs for up to 33 months.

Alternatively, I have phone line only from Post Office Telecom, which was available to anybody without there being eligibility requirements.  The cost jumped now they became part of Shell but I still have the phone line only, simple service.  I do not know whether Shell still offer this package for new customers.

Has your relative registered for TPS?

Kit1

Grumpy_chap said:

Has your relative registered for TPS?

Sorry what is TPS?

Grumpy_chap

TPS = Telephone Preference Service
https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/

It is a service that supposedly stops scam calls.  It is not 100%, but maybe better registered than not registered.

I assume the number is ex-directory.

Kit1

Grumpy_chap said:

TPS = Telephone Preference Service
https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/

It is a service that supposedly stops scam calls.  It is not 100%, but maybe better registered than not registered.

I assume the number is ex-directory.

Thank you.  I will have a look at the site.  I think it is ex directory but not 100% sure so will need to check this too.

tacpot12

TPS is not going to stop the scam calls because the scammer don't use TPS.  

Just changing her phone number will help as the scammers pass details of numbers that are known to be in service around. You might look  at BT Call Protect for her. 

[Deleted User]

Kit1 said:

We have contacted the telephone company several times and they never get back to us asking how we can block these calls.  Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Literally 5 minutes after my line going live, Amazon phoned about my Prime renewal! This may not work for everyone but I have a BT phone that can tag contacts as VIP. I set the allowed incoming calls to VIP only so any number not on this list just causes the phone to silently ring out. I usually have 6-7 missed calls a day that I just clear off the phone. 

Kit1

[Deleted User] said:

Literally 5 minutes after my line going live, Amazon phoned about my Prime renewal! This may not work for everyone but I have a BT phone that can tag contacts as VIP. I set the allowed incoming calls to VIP only so any number not on this list just causes the phone to silently ring out. I usually have 6-7 missed calls a day that I just clear off the phone. 

Hi thank you for letting me know.  Could ask what model your BT phone is please so that l could have a look and see if this is a good fit for him?  Many thanks.

[Deleted User]

Here you are.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BT-Everyday-Cordless-Blocking-Handset-Black/dp/B0787G6S2T/ref=asc_df_B0787G6S2T/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=311075391090&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=145503723669408666&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9044879&hvtargid=pla-562449722533&th=1

J_B

My in-laws have a BT call blocking system.

It was a bit of a faff to set up but now they get zero junk calls