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CH. Phone and broadband for charity office
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elljay
Posts: 1,015 Forumite


Dear all, I am looking to set up a new office for a small charity. We need phone and broadband services. I've contacted BT who have offered one of their small business packages, but these - especially the broadband - are pretty expensive and also include all sorts of extras that would be wasted on us and we don't want, such as wireless router and additional phone but which just seem part of the package.
Can anyone recommend an alternative company or service we could use? I may end up with BT for the phone. I'll give the small business BT guy a ring tomorrow to see if there's any other alternative but wonder what anyone else uses.
Thanks
Liz
Can anyone recommend an alternative company or service we could use? I may end up with BT for the phone. I'll give the small business BT guy a ring tomorrow to see if there's any other alternative but wonder what anyone else uses.
Thanks
Liz
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Comments
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Get a BT basic business line for your phone, then sign up for 1899/18185 and buy an Orchid dialer so all calls are routed through that. If you sign for a business package and your bills aren't the "target" that they set you will still have to pay the amount that they have set for the year.
As regards any BB well its up to you if you tick the box to say its business or private but I didn't tell you thatHowever, if you have a business package you are guaranteed a quicker repair if there are any downtimes.
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Thanks, yes I thought about applying for a personal rather than a business service, but found that I needed to give my own bank details for direct debit which wouldn't be appropriate so I'm stuck with a business service. I'll investigate the options you suggest, thanks very much.
Liz0 -
also try contacting Virgin Media who used to be Telewest / NTL. It would probably be easier to phone them than try and use the website, TBH. We have their Centrex system, which if you expect to need additional phone lines is BRILLIANT - like having a small switchboard but without the bulky kit. We've just started getting Broadband from them too, after a spell of using BT.
I then use Jajah to make outgoing calls - quality can be variable, but again, no extra kit needed.Signature removed for peace of mind0 -
Dear all, I am looking to set up a new office for a small charity. We need phone and broadband services. I've contacted BT who have offered one of their small business packages, but these - especially the broadband - are pretty expensive and also include all sorts of extras that would be wasted on us and we don't want, such as wireless router and additional phone but which just seem part of the package.
Can anyone recommend an alternative company or service we could use? I may end up with BT for the phone. I'll give the small business BT guy a ring tomorrow to see if there's any other alternative but wonder what anyone else uses.
Thanks
Liz
Hi Liz
Is your new office going to be at a business address or a "domestic" address? The cost of business services is often a lot higher than domestic services. I set up a "domestic" service for my local charity as it was based as part of an extension to a house.Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught - Sir Winston Churchill0 -
Business or Personal either way www.18185.co.uk would be the best bet for your phone calls. But make sure if you go for a BT Biz line you dont agree to a minimum spend.0
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Hi Mike by the sea
How did you get round the fact that they needed your personal bank details as they would for a personal account? It would be great to do it that way as I really don't need all the add-ons, it's just likely to be me and a phone and a pc. But if I give the charity's name etc they need the treasurer's details, charity reg no etc for a credit check as if a business.
I'll give him a ring today and see if there's a way round. Thanks all..
Liz0 -
Hi Liz
Effectively it was a second line for the home and the bank details were for the charity. All that was needed was written confirmation from the charity that this person was a representive of the charity and the dd application was signed off by an authorised signatory of the charity.
I hope that helps and all the best
MikePersonally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught - Sir Winston Churchill0 -
Also try https://www.resourceutilities.co.ukDon't lie, thieve, cheat or steal. The Government do not like the competition.
The Lord Giveth and the Government Taketh Away.
I'm sorry, I don't apologise. That's just the way I am. Homer (Simpson)0 -
Hello and thanks to people who responded and gave advice off and on the forum. In the end we've had to go with basic business phone service and the basic business broadband, both from BT. In my naivety I hadn't realised I'd still have to buy a broadband modem and whatever cables etc are needed. They've now told me the line will be activated tomorrow (or at least I think that's what their 2 emails have just said, it goes on about broadband voice??) ). Could anyone advise me what modem etc I should buy. I assumed that it would be like home broadband where everything is supplied and easy to set up (not that I can get broadband where I live, GRRR, sorry, this is beginning to sound like an anti-BT rant!!).
Why do you pay more but get less if you have the business option? In this case I'm going to have to buy the modem and whatever else I need out of my own pocket, we are a small charity and really can't afford any more, I asked the treasurer for money to set this up and couldn't possibly request more now. I can ill afford it personally too.
Thanks, sorry about the rant but any advice about the modem etc would be wonderful.
Liz0 -
Please don't pay for it yourself! Talk to the treasurer! We're not talking megabucks here, and we can all make mistakes in our budgeting!
As for the modem, have they sent you any documentation? If they haven't, you could look on the techie board and see if there's anything there to help, or post over there if you can't spot anything. If they have, froogle it, or phone around some local 'computer bit' shops if you want to pick it up that day.
Or, once you've worked out what you need, it may be worth asking on your local Freecycle. So many people are going over to Wireless these days, which I don't think you want, but bits of old kit sit around not doing a lot these days.
You WILL need a 'splitter', these are less than a fiver, and let you plug both a phone and the line to the broadband into the socket. I would expect the modem to come with all the cables it will need. If not, assuming you are not running wires from one end of a building to the other then again you are not talking megabucks.Signature removed for peace of mind0
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