This topic

Broadband without outgoing calls

scotty_ian — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 17:40:26 GMT

Hello:

Is it possible to have broadband but not pay for any calling plans and still receive landline phone calls and still have a BT phone number. I am curently a BT customer.

Thank you.

Ian

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

imjolly — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 17:46:48 GMT

If you want to make or receive calls then you need to select PAYG at an additional £2pm

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

iniltous — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 18:11:32 GMT

To have telephony you have to take a calls plan , the cheapest is PAYG , Standalone broadband doesn’t have a phone number so obviously cannot be used for incoming calls , ( or outgoing calls ), to keep telephony even if it were to be used for incoming calls only , the website shows it’s a difference of £5 ,
£29 for standalone broadband after the half price for 6 months offer , compared to £34 for phone and broadband with PAYG calls after the same 6 months half price offer.
So basically, if you want the ability to have a phone number and be able to answer incoming calls , and have the choice to make or not make outgoing calls , (0800 would still be ‘free’ but most others would be chargeable ) even if you never make a single outgoing call , it will cost £5

There is a suggestion that PAYG is £2 , but those that say it exist don’t qualify it , by saying it’s actually the £5 discounted to £2 , or that it’s in addition to the £5 , so £7 in total, but the website offers are clear , pick a standalone broadband package, and compare it to the line and same broadband package , which auto fills in the PAYG as standard, and its a £5 difference ….

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

imjolly — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 19:35:41 GMT

@iniltous

I have PAYG with my broadband contract and negotiated a fee of an additional £2pm so not a fictional cost

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

scotty_ian — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 19:55:43 GMT

Thanks for the great reply

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

iniltous — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:57:48 GMT

I wasn’t suggesting that the £2 for PAYG wasn’t true, I am aware of £2 for PAYG being levied, but the circumstances in which it applies, and what it’s for are opaque, ( opaque to me at least ) , personally I think to charge a monthly fee for something called Pay As You Go (PAYG ) seems to be something of a contradiction in terms , and given the website currently is showing a £5 difference between a phone/broadband bundle including PAYG calls , and standalone broadband, arguably the £5 is the fee to provide a phone number , the ability to answer incoming calls , with the option to make calls on a PAYG basis, so that would suggest the £2 ( if it’s in addition to the £5 ) doesn’t actually provide anything ‘extra’.

On the website , the 700mins call plan is only £2.50 more than PAYG , £7.50 instead of £5 , so if PAYG is £5 plus a then ( for no apparent reason ) an extra £2 is added , so £7 in total , then the 700mins for £7.50 plan is an absolute no brainer.

As I said , if the £5 for PAYG , which can be justified as the cost for supplying a phone service , is routinely reduced to £2 that’s great , but if someone is already paying £5 more than what their broadband would cost if it were the standalone version , and then are charged an extra £2 for PAYG calls , on top ( so £7 in total above the standalone broadband price ) , then that extra £2 seems to provide nothing.

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

gg30340 — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:48:50 GMT

I have PAYG with my Broadband contract and I pay no fee.

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

licquorice — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 21:19:59 GMT

@iniltous wrote:

On the website , the 700mins call plan is only £2.50 more than PAYG , £7.50 instead of £5 , so if PAYG is £5 plus a then ( for no apparent reason ) an extra £2 is added , so £7 in total , then the 700mins for £7.50 plan is an absolute no brainer.

As I said , if the £5 for PAYG , which can be justified as the cost for supplying a phone service , is routinely reduced to £2 that’s great , but if someone is already paying £5 more than what their broadband would cost if it were the standalone version , and then are charged an extra £2 for PAYG calls , on top ( so £7 in total above the standalone broadband price ) , then that extra £2 seems to provide nothing.

I've been round this conversation before, it wasn't clear then and it isn't clear now.

It seems to depend on which way the wind is blowing and if there is an 'R' in the month as to what the price is.

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

licquorice — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 21:28:02 GMT

I think PAYG is £5/m for new customers, i.e to have telephony capability added but only £2/m or £0/m for existing customers already with telephony.

The £0/2/5 being the total price.

But as said, its all as clear as mud.

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 21:41:02 GMT

Does this post help https://community.bt.com/t5/Bills-Packages/Landlines/m-p/2224452#M143687

Re: Broadband without outgoing calls

licquorice — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 21:47:17 GMT

No, it doesn't. It was the thread I was referring to earlier and is totally Kafkaesque.