What was BT Together Local! - Change?

Speedee

Hi

I just looked at my sister's monthly phone bill - it was £41. She has a Calling Plan - BT Together Local plan, which costs £12.97, which made a saving 32 -free calls, 4hrs 56 mins ! and Friends and family Overseas -£0.92 !

Her call costs :
local £6.84
national £4.87
mobile £4.70
4 off 0845 £0.49
other £2.97
Total £19.86

I did a search on the BT website, but couldn't find much info on the plan, just the following:

"If you’re on any of our current calling plans (previously known as Options 1, 2 and 3) or special offer (such as free UK Evening & Weekend calls), you can easily transfer your plan across if you move home or your account details change.

However if you’re on one of our older plans, including BT Together Local Calls, Local & Surf Calls, Working Together or Together Talk packages you won’t be able to transfer these across. Instead you will need to look at one of our current calling plan options, which we hope you’ll find will offer you great savings. Please be aware that if you take advantage of one of our current calling plans you won’t be able to go back to a previous old BT Together plan at a later date."

I've a couple of questions:

1. I didn't like the sound of the 2nd paragraph, I was thinking of telling her to switch to Option 1 / Free Weekends. Is that still best, (as I can't find the definition of the BT Together Local plan).

2. Is Friends and Family still any good?

Thanks, Speedee

Heinz

1. I'd suggest that, if she intends to remain with BT for line rental, she opts for BT's Unlimited Evening & Weekend Plan (BT Together Option 2). The £2.70/month fee is refunded if she agrees to a 'renewable' 12 month contract.

2. I use auto-update to grab back a few pence on 0845/0870 calls my Orchid doesn't route via 18185 but name 01536 207810 (the Orchid's force home number) as my Best Friend (otherwise, all my chargeable calls go via 1899, 18185 or 18866).

Seiken

BT local is an amazingly outdated plan from the 1800's which is not cost effective what-so-ever. Like Heinz says, she's be best off on the option 2 12 month renewable deal, just make sure she calls past 6pm and at weekends for 01 02 and 03 numbers.

Speedee

Heinz wrote: »

2. I use auto-update to grab back a few pence on 0845/0870 calls my Orchid doesn't route via 18185 but name 01536 272200 (the Orchid's force home number) as my Best Friend (otherwise, all my chargeable calls go via 1899, 18185 or 18866).

Thanks Heinz. I will tell her to change, I gather it is possible to do it all on-line, which, from the number of posts I've seen saying it can take 3 hours to get though on the phone, is a good thing ! :eek:

About 2. While with BT - Why does BT Friends and Family include your own home number in the list - it's on hers as well as our billso must be a universal con! You don't tend to call yourself, so how do you get a discount ! Waste of one friend, as far as I can tell??

and, Please can you expand on why Orchid is your best friend?
I just thought, as most calls will be not routed over the BT network there won't be that many Friends or Family !! And Best Friend has twice the discount? Is that why?

Heinz

I've often wondered about the F&F home number thing - but never worried about it!

I have the Orchid force home number as my Best Friend because that's the only 01 number I'm likely to have to dial on a weekday (if the Orchid's dropped its time and hence its program's out of sync, it's not always possible to judge when to do the force home without having to make a chargeable call). Now that you mention it though, that's ridiculous - such a call would go out on Primus anyway! Doh!

monomer

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the home number on F&F was to account for people using BT Chargecards to phone home. The bill is settled on the home BT account and all the F&F discounts apply. This was some years ago, so I'm not sure who uses BT Chargecards these days!

gt94sss2

Heinz wrote: »

2. I use auto-update to grab back a few pence on 0845/0870 calls my Orchid doesn't route via 18185 but name 01536 272200 (the Orchid's force home number) as my Best Friend (otherwise, all my chargeable calls go via 1899, 18185 or 18866).

Friends & Family 'Auto Update' excludes non-geographic calls - if you want to include 0845 calls in your F&F list you have to do it the old fashioned method and choose your own list.

0870 numbers don't qualify for F&F at all..

Regards
Sunil

BritBrat

This made me laugh, Even BT say 0844 numbers are Premium rate when you try to enter them as friends and family.

We´re sorry, Premium rate and 084404 numbers are not eligible for Friends and Family. You can enter UK, mobile or international numbers. Please try again. With Friends & Family Overseas you can nominate 10 numbers of your choice, which can be any combination of UK and mobile numbers, plus one international number. You also get an additional five international numbers, making a total of six international numbers.

gvs902

I have also discovered tha a calling plan that I am paying for is no longer applicable. My plan was the BT Together Calling Plan - cant remember what it covered, but my wife said it should be free local calls and free to adjacent zones.
My bill showed local charges.
Contacted BT - silly thing to do - finally got to several advisers - all puzzled about the old tariff. Then I got cut off by the 8pm close - just like that - so wrote a complaint. Asked for explanation and what to do next.
The e mail back (not spelt my name right) tells me I am responsible for checking call plans and that's that. I had, meantime, gone for the Anytime option - seems it will work for me.
But, has anyone else experienced issues with trying to talk to this (it's good to talk) telcoms company?
By the way, watch the 3 months free offer. The adviser on the line tried tom offer me just 2 months for my loyalty and as a bonus. He had to be reminded that it was a website stated offer.

macman

BT won't contact you to advise you to switch to a cheaper tariff-it's entirely your responsibility to keep up to date with what is available.
This applies to telecoms companies as much as it applies to other utility co's, banks and building societies.