View Full Version : bt phone bill
hi all ,what phone line company is better than bt ,i just recieved my phone bill and i feel i need to change its a rip off any suggestions would be most welcome many thanks :Razz
we get cheaper line rental from Sky than BT
how can sky rent the line of BT and then rent it back to me cheaper than BT can ?!
we get free evening and weekend calls with sky talk, so if you're good your bill should be pretty non existent apart from line rental.
many thanks for that we have sky installed so i will give them a ring cheers
Its the line rental that i hate paying for it if it wasnt for the fact that i need a line for broadband i would ditch the phone line and get a mobile contract
yes thats true eddie the line rental is needed for broad band ,or i would do the same you would not get any nuisance calls either ,looking in to the sky line at the moment :Razz
Well I must be the only person who think BT is Value for money.
I pay BT for my Line and I get Free Evening and Weekend calls, No Charge. So all I pay for is the very odd call I have to make during the day, usually only 2 or 3 a month.
So my Bill is usually only for the line and since I pay for this in advance via the BT card, I never have to pay BT anything as I am usually in credit.
Shabbychic
17-Jul-10, 13:59
I cancelled my BT account last year and opted for Sky. What I really objected to was the £4.50 BT charge just to process my payments. I refused to be blackmailed into paying by Direct Debit. I now just pay a flat £11 a month for the line rental, and then any calls I make. So far I am happy with this.:)
ShelleyCowie
17-Jul-10, 14:30
Well I must be the only person who think BT is Value for money.
I pay BT for my Line and I get Free Evening and Weekend calls, No Charge. So all I pay for is the very odd call I have to make during the day, usually only 2 or 3 a month.
So my Bill is usually only for the line and since I pay for this in advance via the BT card, I never have to pay BT anything as I am usually in credit.
Kodiak i think BT are good value aswell. We have our broadband with them too and all together it was pretty cheap. And then on top of that we get a discount because my OH works for BT, its not a huge discount but it still helps :) I cant fault BT.
My bills were awful with bt, until i emailed saying i couldnt afford them and had a better deal offered, they came back to me with an offer and now my bills are a quater of what they used to be, so i am delighted with them:D But i did have to make a fuss first, a very big fuss:lol:
If you get Skype you can have unlimited Skype to Skype calls (even video calls) worldwide for free! I regularily talk to my sisters in Dublin and my cousin in Canada for free.
The outstanding charge on my bill is £7.50 for not making enough phone calls. Most of the bill beggers belief but that takes the biscuit.
I would really not recommend moving away from BT for line rental in a non-llu (i.e. all of Caithness) area. This will limit your broadband choice and also call over-ride providers.
What exactly is costing you most on your BT bill Ajax? Line rental, broadband, mobile calls, foreign calls etc? There are remedies to most of these. For example, you can get carrier pre-select companies that can make some calls cheaper or of course use one of the call packages like Kodiak suggested. If you tell us what is costing so much maybe we can suggest other ways to cut it down. Or even call BT, they may have some package to bring it down.
If you move to another line rental provider it is likely you will be stuck with an 18 month contract. As they do not own any equipment in the Caithness area it can be a nightmare when faults occur as they can be reluctant to get bt in (even though BT retail work in the same way as most other providers but lets not get too detailed).
So, basically, if you want to save a few quid a month in line rental in return for even more limited broadband options, limited call over-ride options etc then go for it.
As to the person who mentioned the £4.50 non dd charge I see it the opposite way. Why should people who pay the simplest, cheapest (for the company) way subsidise people who won't?
Ajax - please tell us the parts of your bill that are costing most and we can see how to get that cheaper. Line rental is unlikely to be the part pushing it up the most.
davem - please explain? What package/service provider are you with etc? That seems a bit odd but as you haven't explained it I will reserve judgement.
I do not work for BT (have done in the past) but do work for another ISP/calls company and my advice would be completely different in areas which are unbundled.
Personally I only have line rental for my broadband, never make a call through my landline as the mobile has around 800 minutes included in the tariff.
GuitarHero
17-Jul-10, 15:40
I felt the same way, was paying over £60 a month between my line rental, call charges, broadband and other charges with BT. Ridiculous. I called them to say was too expensive but they were unable to make it much cheaper for me, they could only offer me it a bit cheaper for another 18 months then back to the old prices.
So yesterday I called TalkTalk and they got me a deal for about £35 a month - that includes all the same services I had with BT plus a few extra. It'll benefit me a lot better in the long run.
I felt the same way, was paying over £60 a month between my line rental, call charges, broadband and other charges with BT. Ridiculous. I called them to say was too expensive but they were unable to make it much cheaper for me, they could only offer me it a bit cheaper for another 18 months then back to the old prices.
So yesterday I called TalkTalk and they got me a deal for about £35 a month - that includes all the same services I had with BT plus a few extra. It'll benefit me a lot better in the long run.
Having had a quick look at this it seems to offer nothing more than what a basic BT line rental and a less than basic other ISP broadband package would, at a higher cost plus all the disadvantages I highlighted above.
The best way in Caithness is BT line rental, research for the best ISP and if you use your phone for calls look for over-rides or into what your mobile contract offers.
All in ones are very rarely the best deal in the telecoms world.
Shabbychic
17-Jul-10, 16:18
As to the person who mentioned the £4.50 non dd charge I see it the opposite way. Why should people who pay the simplest, cheapest (for the company) way subsidise people who won't?
I'm sorry, but I always thought that companies were there to serve the public, not for the public to pander to the company. I used paperless bills, and paid online as soon as my bill was processed, and for that I was charged £4.50. People who pay by Direct Debit are not subsidising anybody. What do you actually believe you are subsidising? :confused
As for people in Caithness sticking with BT, I changed from BT and am very pleased with the service I get, and have paid far less in doing so. I also changed my broadband provider, and am happy with this service too. :)
I'm sorry, but I always thought that companies were there to serve the public, not for the public to pander to the company. I used paperless bills, and paid online as soon as my bill was processed, and for that I was charged £4.50. People who pay by Direct Debit are not subsidising anybody. What do you actually believe you are subsidising? :confused
As for people in Caithness sticking with BT, I changed from BT and am very pleased with the service I get, and have paid far less in doing so. I also changed my broadband provider, and am happy with this service too. :)
You must live in utopia. I always thought a companies main objective was to serve it's shareholders etc.
Anyway you are not being charged £4.50 to not pay by direct debit. People who choose to pay the cheapest, most efficient way get the discount.
As for your second paragraph, you are very lucky. Broadband and calls are both products that can have a lot of problems. I would prefer not to limit my options in anyway.
ETA: Forgot to answer the question as to who people who pay by direct debit are subsidising. Answer: No-one as the companies kindly give us the discount so we don't have to :)
As to the person who mentioned the £4.50 non dd charge I see it the opposite way. Why should people who pay the simplest, cheapest (for the company) way subsidise people who won't?
It is not always a case of people who "Wont". To be able to pay by Direct Debit you first require a Bank Account that provides this service. There are many people who do not have access to a Bank Account, I am one of them, so it is impossible to pay by Direct Debit.
So your reasoning is not quite correct as I would like to pay by Direct Debit but I am unable to do so, the same goes for many other BT Customers.
K
It is not always a case of people who "Wont". To be able to pay by Direct Debit you first require a Bank Account that provides this service. There are many people who do not have access to a Bank Account, I am one of them, so it is impossible to pay by Direct Debit.
So your reasoning is not quite correct as I would like to pay by Direct Debit but I am unable to do so, the same goes for many other BT Customers.
People who "wont"? So people who will?
Either way it is a discount to those who do, not a charge to those who don't
So pleased you are impressed by BT, pay a fortune then if the broadband fails again you are the one being told how to fix it. 5 years to get a broadband speed despite paying through the nose for it. Spent countless hours being promised the world and getting nothing from them, line and broadband thru bt calls c/o tesco and they have the cheek to charge 7.50 because I don't make enough calls.
They are a shower, wouldn't know customer service if it bit them on the backside. It takes 4 months of increasingly irritated complaints to get through to a jobsworth who makes out they provide what they are supposed to .... talk to OFCOM if you are not happy!
Don't tell people BT are the best unless it's best at fleecing you and providing a source of unending irritation.
Don't get me wrong their engineers here are sound, technical support and management - risible.
K
People who "wont"? So people who will?
Either way it is a discount to those who do, not a charge to those who don't
No I do not agree, it is a charge for those who don't, especially if they have No Choice.
It would ONLY not be a Charge for those who Don't, if they had a Choice to do or not to do.
I have No Choice at all due to facr I do not have a Bank Account capable of making a Direct Debit Payment. So I have to pay £4.50 whether I like it or Not, therefore it is definately a Charge.
Either that or it is discrimination for people like me who do not have or can not get, a Bank Account that is capable of making Direct Debit payments.
I had my monthly payments reduced some time ago to £41 as I was using the phone so much that, even with free evening and weekend calls, my bills were going crazy. Very nice lady at BT looked at my account so now what I pay gives me free calls all the time (except to certain nos. like I think 0870) and includes broadband and line rental. Was thinking I should try getting it reduced some more but looking at other posts it's pretty good. I do pay by DD.
Always thought it much safer to stick with BT up here.
So pleased you are impressed by BT, pay a fortune then if the broadband fails again you are the one being told how to fix it. 5 years to get a broadband speed despite paying through the nose for it. Spent countless hours being promised the world and getting nothing from them, line and broadband thru bt calls c/o tesco and they have the cheek to charge 7.50 because I don't make enough calls.
They are a shower, wouldn't know customer service if it bit them on the backside. It takes 4 months of increasingly irritated complaints to get through to a jobsworth who makes out they provide what they are supposed to .... talk to OFCOM if you are not happy!
Don't tell people BT are the best unless it's best at fleecing you and providing a source of unending irritation.
Don't get me wrong their engineers here are sound, technical support and management - risible.
I never once said BT broadband was good. Please read what I actually said. Sounds like the charge came from Tesco, not BT. Edit: actually, not sure on this, what you say is ambiguous and I have not worked their for 5 years or so.
The gist of what I am saying: take away BT line rental, take away any choices on your bb or calls provider you may have.
I had my monthly payments reduced some time ago to £41 as I was using the phone so much that, even with free evening and weekend calls, my bills were going crazy. Very nice lady at BT looked at my account so now what I pay gives me free calls all the time (except to certain nos. like I think 0870) and includes broadband and line rental. Was thinking I should try getting it reduced some more but looking at other posts it's pretty good. I do pay by DD.
Always thought it much safer to stick with BT up here.
Did you phone them up and speak to them rationally, explain what your issue was, and treat them like they were an actual human being by any chance?
Always find they are much more helpful that way :)
But, I would not recommend their monthly payment plan which it sounds like you are on as you can end up so much in debt or so much in the black it is silly. Plain simple, pay what you owe by dd each month.
I have spent endless hours talking rationally and reasonably to these people. I do not get that cheesed off without very good reason. I am also not so in need of a support worker that I would complain about BT charging me for not making enough calls if it was someone else charging me.
I have spent endless hours talking rationally and reasonably to these people. I do not get that cheesed off without very good reason. I am also not so in need of a support worker that I would complain about BT charging me for not making enough calls if it was someone else charging me.
I make zero calls on my BT landline and have never had this charge. Looking around the various tariffs can see no mention of it either. Also if it existed I am sure consumer groups would be up in arms. I think you are getting confused somewhere.
Edit: In fact, now I think about it, there is a clause written into the free 1571 service that you must make 3 calls a month or similar or you will be charged for it. Maybe this is what you mean. The whole time I worked there I have never seen it implemented but I guess this must be the case.
Im quite happy with what I pay BT. I do have a fixed monthly payment by D/D which I can adjust online as and when it needs to be changed.
The most it's ever been was £18 a month and it's currently down to £12 - with the free evening and weekend calls I very seldom pay for any calls I make.
I do use a local ISP, which means I never need to be stuck on hold to a distant call centre if I have any broadband problems. :D Before that -when I changed from Orange broadband - I had considered BT broadband, but after hours and hours spent on the phone to assorted staff who passed me from department to department (and indeed from continent to continent :eek:) and still failed to provide the service I needed - I gave up on that idea. :roll:
What I have now suits me well and isn't too expensive.
Did you phone them up and speak to them rationally, explain what your issue was, and treat them like they were an actual human being by any chance?
Always find they are much more helpful that way :)
But, I would not recommend their monthly payment plan which it sounds like you are on as you can end up so much in debt or so much in the black it is silly. Plain simple, pay what you owe by dd each month.
Not sure what you mean about payments - I pay a fixed monthly charge by DD and since there are almost no call charges it seems to work. On the whole I find they are like many large corporations - sometimes you get a useful human being, sometimes you get one trotting out an obviously standard response. Automated services are pretty hopeless. Like so many things, it's fine until it goes wrong.
last week went onto the BT website, noticed I was paying more than the current price for my package - contacted them and questioned this
through persistent questioning managed to now get 40gb download, all calls other than mobiles and premiums, landline for £5 less than I was paying for 10gb, land line, all UK calls other than mobiles and premiums
Worth asking and being persistent, they were very helpful and pleasant too.
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