High cost for Telephone only accounts

SuejHewitt

My 98 year old Mother lives on her own and has a BT phone only account which she is paying far more for than a WIFI account. 
She is unable to use mobile let alone use WIFI but her telephone is her lifeline and is linked to a security button she carries around her neck.
I want all telephone companies to give these elderly vulnerable customers a special reduced rate.
I've tried reasoning with BT but to no avail!

[Deleted User]

Help her move to a cheaper suppler. There are no 'wifi' accounts. A line is simply capable of providing voice and data. She doesn't need to plug in a router.

400ixl

Worst case is take an account with both if it is cheaper than without, as mentioned you don't have to use the wifi part. Most do though discount the wifi element rather than the phone line so that they can charge more for the landline side

You say she can't use a mobile phone, is that due to the size of the buttons? If so you can get big button basic mobile phones, including ones with hearing aid induction loops if needed. Even ones with SoS buttons for emergencies.

One example https://www.amazon.co.uk/Button-Elderly-Artfone-Upgraded-Talking/dp/B07N419WD5/ref=dp_prsubs_3?psc=1

Provided there is a decent mobile signal you can then get cheap unlimited call / text contracts with low data allowance far more cheaply than the cost of a landline. Only real downside (other than losing the landline number) is if people calling her do not have inclusive minutes then it could cost more for them.

You could get a mobile contract for under £10 a month and handsets for under £30. If you got a contract to start with on a 1 month term you could try it for say £40 and see if it is workable before cancelling the landline contract.

iniltous

I don’t know who you have been taking to , but BT do have cheaper rates for those that don’t have broadband , ( it’s around £7/month cheaper than the equivalent phone and broadband package) BT also have a social tariff for those on qualifying benefits ( like pension credit ) that is relatively inexpensive.
You don’t state how much she pays , ‘standard’ telephony is £23 ish plus any call plan that may be paid for …if ( for example ) she pays £30 including calls, and a broadband and phone package is £25 ( £5 cheaper) that deal probably doesn’t include calls.
Another thing to check for sure , is the account paid monthly or quarterly, some ‘complain’ about bills of £60-£70 , but it turn out to be quarterly, so only around £23 ish a month.

littleboo

There is no such thing as a phone company any more, they are all ISP's first and foremost. With the switch off of analogue telephony approaching, now is a good time to check with her emergency button provider how they intend to cope with that, they may be moving to a solution using a mobile sim card instead of a landline.
You can get desk phones which use a mobile SIM card, such as these here, which could,with the above,  allow you to move away from a landline completely. 

J_B

We pay BT circa £26 per month for our 'telephone only' line with inclusive landline calls and voicemail.

Richard_T_

BT do an essentials package if you are on pension credits etc: https://www.bt.com/broadband/home-essentials

RogerBareford

SuejHewitt said:

My 98 year old Mother lives on her own and has a BT phone only account which she is paying far more for than a WIFI account. 
She is unable to use mobile let alone use WIFI but her telephone is her lifeline and is linked to a security button she carries around her neck.
I want all telephone companies to give these elderly vulnerable customers a special reduced rate.
I've tried reasoning with BT but to no avail!

The first thing you need to do is actually look at her bill and see what the total price is made up of and then negotiate to get a cheaper price or switch to a cheaper provider.

I don't see why people should get a cheaper rate just because they are older. If anything you could argue she should be paying more if she uses the phone a lot more than a typical user as it is her only phone and it's also more important to her because of needing it for a security button.

lisyloo

It doesn’t sound correct to me,

can an you tell us what you are comparing.
E.g. are you comparing a phone only with unlimited calls vs WiFi with no phone calls.

bt are a bit more expensive than others (a few quid a month) but not that much.

what are you looking at?