This topic

Standing Charge for not having a calls package

ADee — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 12:04:50 GMT

Is everyone aware that BT have basically introduced a Standing Charge/Penalty Charge for not taking on a landline minutes package. It used to be £2.00 a month but has now gone up by 150% to £5.00 + the extortionate pay as you go charges. We have to have a landline for various reasons but not for calls. Every other provider includes the line as part of the broadband package at no extra charge and calls are then PAYG if you don’t have a minutes plan for your mobile.

We’re unfortunately tied in for the best part of two years but will be ditching BT at the earliest opportunity

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

-Richie- — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 12:22:25 GMT

You pay for a telephony service which is the ability to make/receive calls, the cost for PAYG was always £5 per month, however some customers had that discounted, they can vary.

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

garybs29 — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 12:23:21 GMT

I can think of at least 4 providers without even trying where voice is not included, if you're going to have a rant it's always best to get your facts correct

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

gg30340 — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 12:30:41 GMT

BT also include the line cost in the broadband package when you order broadband.

You however want a landline or as it is known, a phone line. This is charged for. It is not free.

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

Crimliar — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 15:04:09 GMT

When I signed up to BT Full-Fibre, I had the option of a phone connection (DV) if I wanted, but it was more expensive - it was there as an option, and I believe was discounted thanks to my being a new sign-up. If I recall, a phone number was optional with my previous ISP (Vodafone), however, it was actually cheaper to take the bundle with the phone, than without!

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

iniltous — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 16:15:48 GMT

As already stated the difference between no telephony at all ( no phone number allocated, no incoming or outgoing calls possible, including 999 calls ) and broadband with a telephone service ( with PAYG calls ) is an extra £5 , it’s a stretch to claim the £5 is just for the PAYG element…

if someone has no need for a phone number , then obviously taking the £5 discount is a no brainier, however if someone wants to keep telephony for incoming calls the occasional outgoing call on a PAYG basis and access to ‘999’ , then the £5 discount cannot be taken as they have chosen to take the telephone facility

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

licquorice — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 15:51:15 GMT

I have no idea why folks think that the ability to make and receive calls, i.e a phone number, should be a free facility when it clearly costs the provider to provide the equipment necessary.

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

ADee — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:21:43 GMT

I’m fully aware it’s not free. We’ve payed for a year line rental upfront. The £5 pcm is an additional charge for not having a call package

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

ADee — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:23:06 GMT

We’ve paid a year’s line rental up front already. The additional £5 is for not having a call package

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

ADee — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:25:29 GMT

And I’ve just done a quick search and at least three include. As I already knew.

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

ADee — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:28:00 GMT

I should have explained fully- we’ve already paid a year’s line rental upfront. So the £5.00 is definitely a PAYG surcharge

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

iniltous — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:43:32 GMT

LRS isn’t really paying for the total line rental , and hasn’t been for quite some time , it’s now inexplicably named ‘line rental saver ‘ , all it does ( and it’s now discontinued anyway ) is provide around a £20 per year discount for paying around £220 upfront , for that upfront payment you get a £19.99 per month credit that’s worth around £ 249 ( 19.99*12 =£239.88 ) , when it comes to PAYG it’s irrelevant, the fact is it’s £5 to provide the telephone service, which is optional, don’t want telephony, save the £5 , telephony has to have a call plan , the PAYG plan is ‘free’ , it’s the telephone service that’s £5

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

-Richie- — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 10:19:39 GMT

@ADeewrote:
We’ve paid a year’s line rental up front already. The additional £5 is for not having a call package

£5 per month is for pay as you go calls (PAYG), that is the cost for having the voice service added, without paying that monthly charge means you're broadband only, if you want to make or receive calls you need 1 of 3 calling plans with PAYG the cheapest option.

Line rental is included at no extra cost because you need the physical line to deliver the broadband, adding voice service is different and requires a calling plan.

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

orozz — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 19:28:27 GMT

Keep checking the telephony upgrade package section in My BT.

If you are lucky a £0.00 PAYG option may appear. It did for me and I haven’t paid anything extra for years.

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

Grassmarket1 — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 10:36:09 GMT

I agree with ADee & am starting to wonder if all the Sages & Gurus are BT in disguise, or just brainwashed by them!

Line rental existed long before broadband & was just for the phone line. If you made no calls you paid no extra charges. When broadband started you paid separately for that - plus the line rental as before. So naturally people will continue to believe their phone line is included in the line rental charge. Why shouldn’t they? Did BT ever tell us that they’d decided to remove telephony from line rental - & reduce our line rental charges accordingly? Did they ever announce that the telephony charge was to be transferred to call packages instead? I think not! If they want to reward those who choose not to have a phone line at all - why don’t they just give them a discount on their line rental instead?

Line rental on a bill may be ‘presented’ as if it’s part of the broadband contract, but its existence predates broadband by many decades & those without broadband still pay it. Hence Line Rental Saver is/was a separate entity with separate contract & end date from broadband.

This current £2+ charge is just a scam - to claw back £ from all those who still have a landline but only use their mobiles to make calls. And as BT’s Digital Voice (internet calls) replaces PSTN (current phone network), the same scam is being used again. BT still charges people extra on Digital Voice - just for having an internet phone at home. Even though it’s all on the same fibre network as broadband, so it costs them nothing.

Re: Standing Charge for not having a calls package

imjolly — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 11:56:24 GMT

@Grassmarket1 wrote:

I agree with ADee & am starting to wonder if all the Sages & Gurus are BT in disguise, or just brainwashed by them!

I am not nor have I ever been a BT or a subsidiary company of BT employee nor have I been brainwashed by BT.