Cheapest ways to make calls on BT nowadays

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Alloneword
Alloneword Posts: 368 Forumite
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I give up :mad:
I thought i'd look into cheap way to make phone calls to uk number and Australia, what a flaming nightmare, i'm not think but even i have given up (if you had a smashing head against brick wall gif i'd use that)

I have just moved from BT Basic to
Unlimited weekend calls
Unlimited calls to UK landlines from midnight Friday to midnight Sunday, for up to an hour
Inclusive calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers from midnight Friday to midnight Sunday, for up to an hour
Get BT privacy and BT 1471 at no extra cost
On BT Basic i used to use 0844calls (0844 861 27 27) to make my calls to Australia and this seemed to work OK, tried to look into how much it would cost on this new package, i have heard calls are expensive so was looking at some kind of over rider to make calls but things have changed a hell of a lot ended up being directed to HERE and trying to navigate the pdf and other page would leave a saint to do themselves in, ant this is all before i try to use my plusnet mobile contract to make use of it's minutes.

Can anyone help a poor old man make head and tail of the prices i will be paying on this new BT contract, it would be cool if i could make use of my free calls at the weekend by dialling some kind of over rider, i have read about 18185 but they seem to want 2.5pm which is more then i paid on basic using 0844.

It would seem Plusnet want 16p to connect to 0844 calls then whatever they charge which is 1pm plus 50p connection fee.

I presume Ofcon have done their best to manage this, sorry to speak ill of the dead but it's so bad even Mr Hawkins failed to sort this one out.

All1

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  • d123
    d123 Posts: 8,623 Forumite
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    Look into using a VOIP provider, UK calls are 1.18p per minute, Australian landlines are 1.9p a minute using Sipgate Basic.

    An adapter to connect a standard DECT cordless handset to your router should cost £20-£40 or you could use a smartphone app or headset/USB handset connecting to your computer.
    ====
  • Alloneword
    Alloneword Posts: 368 Forumite
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    Always not been keen on VOIP as i have heard some of the quality can be a bit hit or miss, do you have any experience of using VOIP?

    All1
  • d123
    d123 Posts: 8,623 Forumite
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    Alloneword wrote: »
    Always not been keen on VOIP as i have heard some of the quality can be a bit hit or miss, do you have any experience of using VOIP?

    All1

    Yes, I'm happy to just use mobile but my wife prefers a conventional DECT handset, I haven't cancelled my actual Virgin landline (bundled with the broadband) so we currently have 2 identical BT8500 DECT sets in use (all outgoing calls are now via the VOIP provider).

    The second set connects to a Linksys PAP2T Internet Phone Adapter which plugs into the Virgin Superhub and then operates exactly like a conventional setup landline (including CLI, call screening, answerphone etc).

    The service is via SipGate Basic (which is a simple PAYG plan) and the quality is as good as the Virgin landline.

    I bought the Linksys on eBay for £25, there are other phone adapters available.
    ====
  • denz1968
    denz1968 Posts: 91 Forumite
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    Dial123


    1p per minute to Australia landlines
  • Ian011
    Ian011 Posts: 2,432 Forumite
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    If you make more than one hour of weekday, daytime calls per month to UK numbers starting 01, 02, 03, 0845 or 0870, the deal with inclusive weekend calls will work out very expensive. It would be cheaper to have the Anytime Unlimited calls package at around £9 per month.

    Without an Anytime deal, weekday calls to 01, 02 and 03 numbers are charged at 22p per call plus 13p per minute and calls to 084, 087 and 09 numbers incur an Access Charge of 13p per minute plus the Service Charge that is set by and paid to the benefit of the called party and their telecoms provider.

    If you do not have BT Broadband, BT offers BT Home Phone Saver at £21.99 per month which includes the line rental, Unlimited Anytime calls to 01, 02, 03, 0845 and 0870 numbers, and many other features at no extra charge.
  • knightstyle
    knightstyle Posts: 6,990 Forumite
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    We have a land line and broadband only package, no calls included and use mobiles for all our UK calls. For international calls we use 18185 who give clear indication of how much a call will cost before connecting. 2p a minute to France is where most of our calls go.
  • mobileron
    mobileron Posts: 1,218 Forumite
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    Worried about Voip, i believe that all of the BT network is Voip and has been for a many years.
    And most of the international calls are voip, International calls can be graded in quality so dont pick the cheapest.
  • Alloneword
    Alloneword Posts: 368 Forumite
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    Thanks everyone for your input I'm going to look into VOIP at lot more as it seems a half decent option, and hopefully i will know where i stand re cost of calls, i mean i had an online someone from BT and told me it would be 1ppm for somewhere checked 24 hours and had a £13 bill for 90 mins to Australia, will get a refund on that but to much hassle for my liking.

    All1
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