This topic

Renewal confusion

widnesbob — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 11:59:55 GMT

Renewal is due for my broadband contract. Currently have basic fibre plus land line. I rarely if ever make landline calls but people do still use landline to call us. Renewal options show a small saving on fibre , when i click through it says current package broadband and pay as you go landline, but then says select call options one is stay as you are , another is pay as you go option £2 per month?? How can i stay as i am (which includes PAYG) if I am the expected to pay £2 a month for PAYG. I want to still receive calls on landline so what do I do?

Re: Renewal confusion

imjolly — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 12:39:24 GMT

are you sure that the renewal package is not just broadband only?

you could try the options team 0800800030 and negotiate your new contract with the PAYG as you want to be able to receive calls. if you don't like their offer don't accept and try again another day

Re: Renewal confusion

widnesbob — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 21:14:07 GMT

First sentence not helpful of course I am sure it was clearly stated on screen

Re: Renewal confusion

gg30340 — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 04:35:19 GMT

If you presently have Broadband and Landline it will mean that you have a landline calling plan of some description. You have said it is the PAYG call plan.

The PAYG will still allow you to make and receive calls. There is no charge for incoming calls, you only pay for out going calls however BT make a monthly charge of either £2 or £5 or it can even be free depending on which way the wind blows, for a PAYG call plan.

If you presently do not pay anything for your PAYG plan you stick with that or if already pay £2 or £5 you could call BT and try and get them to reduce it or make it free.

See link

What are the BT Calling Plans and how can I change to a new one? | BT Help

Re: Renewal confusion

ney — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 08:40:45 GMT

BT have a cheek to even thing about charging a monthly fee for pay & go landline calls.

Some other providers offer pay & go landline calls with no monthly fee.

When I was with BT up until just under a month ago I was on pay & go landline calls with no monthly free but then got offered a new Broadband FTTC deal and pay & go calls was no longer free a month they wanted £5 a month and I had in the last few months not made any calls using landline.

So of glad I moved from BT to a similar package that I was on for my FTTC with pay & go landline calls with no monthly fee. Not that I will use landline for calls.

@widnesbob just remember that if you sign a new contact or move providers then you are most likely to be offered or moved over to internet calls(voip) for your landline.

Re: Renewal confusion

licquorice — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 08:56:50 GMT

@ney wrote:

BT have a cheek to even thing about charging a monthly fee for pay & go landline calls.

So you think that the equipment to provide the number and capability to receive calls on that number comes for free.

Re: Renewal confusion

gg30340 — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 09:53:09 GMT

@ney

Out of interest can you supply the name of the providers that supply free PAYG landline as a standard call plan without any additional costs.

Re: Renewal confusion

ney — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 18:47:18 GMT

@widnesbob Yes Sky is one of the providers. As I moved to Sky for my isp/phone about 3 weeks ago with free pay as you go landline calls.

Was also moved for to internet calls(voip). As Sky are no longer doing the old analogue landline for new customers.

Sky Talk internet calls the landline service is now called. Where I believe it used to just be called Sky Talk

Re: Renewal confusion

ney — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 20:59:05 GMT

@gg30340 BT used to offer pay and go landline calls for free but no longer seem to do so.

@widnesbob you pay per call for pay as you go landline but there could be no charge per month.

BT are just being greedy. After there used to be no monthly fee for pay and go landline calls. Now BT are charging you a monthly fee.

Think is a landline calls are slowly becoming less popular.

Re: Renewal confusion

imjolly — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 21:05:55 GMT

@ney

PAYG and free calls appear to contradict each other

BT did previously offer broadband and phone with free evening & weekend calls but that was before line rental was included in broadband package and you can now get a broadband only package.

Re: Renewal confusion

gg30340 — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 21:58:13 GMT

@ney wrote:

@gg30340 BT used to offer pay and go landline calls for free but no longer seem to do so. If that is the case how come I do not pay anything for my PAYG call plan other than if I make a call, which I don't?

@widnesbob you pay per call for pay as you go landline but there could be no charge per month.

BT are just being greedy. After there used to be no monthly fee for pay and go landline calls. Now BT are charging you a monthly fee.

Think is a landline calls are slowly becoming less popular.

Re: Renewal confusion

ney — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 06:24:54 GMT

@gg30340 I used to get pay and go free a month with BT but when I got offered a deal to renew my FTTC they then wanted £5 a month extra for my pay as you go landline.

Maybe some that are still in contract are still getting pay and go landline calls with no monthly fee but if you renew look like to are not got getting it free.

Its been a good 5 or 6 months since I last used the landline to make calls.

Re: Renewal confusion

garybs29 — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 07:01:48 GMT

I'm actually getting confused by this now, from numerous posts on here the £5 charge is for new customers & existing customers were getting it for £2 so I don't see how it could be offered or £5 on a recontract

Re: Renewal confusion

iniltous — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 08:48:38 GMT

BT offer a ‘no telephony’ broadband option that is officially £5 cheaper than the same broadband that has a telephone service included with it , if you take the telephone service you have to take a calls plan , the cheapest is PAYG , which , depending on how you look at it , is ‘free’ if you don’t make any chargeable calls or £5 if you regard the difference in price as the ability to make calls that will also have a charge , which is a little misleading, because the £5 also ‘provides’ a phone number , the ability to answer incoming calls and to make ‘free’ calls , for example calls to the emergency services, or 0800 type calls
It seems that this £5 is often discounted to £2 , if someone pays £5 more than the broadband only price to get telephony , at a minimum that comes with included PAYG, they shouldn’t get an extra £2 charge, if they are paying £7 more than the broadband only charge , typically that’s because it’s not PAYG but the 700 mins call plan

The Sky comparison is a little peculiar, basically if PAYG is included in all Sky broadband packages, then those customers that don’t want , or need a landline phone service at all , are essentially paying for it anyway , at least with BT there is a £5 reduction for those that don’t want a phone service ( no phone number , no incoming or outgoing calls , no option to contact the emergency services ) a very common complaint, normally from price conscious consumers, is having to pay for something they don’t want , BT offer the option to save £5 for those customers, Sky don’t offer a £5 discount for those Sky customers that would prefer not to have any telephony with their Sky broadband , but have to take it anyway.

Re: Renewal confusion

gg30340 — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:43:32 GMT

I have been reliably informed that originally PAYG was completely free, £0 per month. Customers such as myself could still be on that as are a lot of people.

This was then increased to £2 per month before eventually being increased to £5 per month. This wasn't done like a price change so there are 3 different prices showing. It depended on when you took the PAYG add on.

Re: Renewal confusion

ney — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 08:09:34 GMT

@iniltousyes but Sky also have pay and go landline calls with no month fee.

Yes it would be good if Sky offered broadband without the Phone service
I very very rarely use landline now to make calls and have not had a phone plugged in to landline since November.

Moved to Sky Talk internet calls as they call it on pay and go when I moved over 3 weeks ago and have yet to use the Sky Talk internet calls service.

Re: Renewal confusion

iniltous — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 09:46:59 GMT

BT do have a PAYG with no monthly fee , that’s really the entire point , the extra £5 that some pay , compared to a standalone BT broadband customers , is for having a ‘landline’ service , there is no charge for PAYG calls part , but the unduly complicated way of offering it , some assume that the £2 or £5 difference in price must be for PAYG , if BT broadband on its own is £5 cheaper, but it isn’t , PAYG is free , the option to have a phone service isn’t.

If Sky did the same and offered broadband without a phone service, it must follow that standalone Sky broadband would be cheaper without a phone service, so using the £5 as a guide , every Sky broadband customer who doesn’t want a phone service is paying £5 more than necessary , because there isn’t an option to remove it, only someone really naive would argue that it’s a genuinely free service , it cannot be , because it costs Sky to provide it , it’s undeniable , with BT you can the option to save £5 by not having a phone service if you don’t want a landline type phone service with your broadband, but with Sky you have to take a ‘phone line’ even if you don’t want it.

If someone is of the opinion that Sky is still better value even with having to pay for a phone service attached to broadband, that they don’t want , that’s a different argument.

For years many consumers moaned at BT for making a phone service compulsory, and that broadband must be cheaper without a phone service, it’s makes no sense for those that joined in with the complaint of BT but say it’s OK for Sky to continue to do the very same thing , Sky phone services must ’cost’ Sky to provide them , so there must be a saving if they removed it, but currently they don’t .

Re: Renewal confusion

Moneybuster — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 16:46:10 GMT

This might be a bit late. But I'd like to add the fact that BT did charge for the use of you phone when the Pay As You Go add on was free. They charged line rental. During this time if you picked to not have a phone your Broadband would be over £10 cheaper. They were not doing you favour by not charging you for Pay As You Go like has been mentioned here.

They pretty much just increased the price for Broadband only packages and added a £2-£5 charge for people that use their phone.

If you look at Plusnet, you will see the amount BT are charging on top. Plusnet who are also owned by BT will give you Fibre broadband for at least £10 less per month than their owners (BT) because they are not providing a phone service, so there is no hidden line rental involved.

Don't be mistaking into thinking BT have decided they have to charge for your phone service because you already were. Now they've added another charge while hiding the line rental into the cost of your Broadband. Furthermore, technically those choosing not to take a phone line are still paying for it, as they pay to use the fibre line. Which is the exact line your phone would've been plugged into anyway. It doesn't cost BT anymore as they are the company who owns those lines.

Re: Renewal confusion

licquorice — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 08:04:41 GMT

So you think telephony just magically happens if you have a line, you don't think it requires extra equipment to route outgoing calls and provide a phone number to route incoming calls?

Re: Renewal confusion

Moneybuster — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 09:52:10 GMT

Whether it requires more equipment or not is immaterial because you are still being charged for that equipment regardless of taking out a phone line. Which isn't actually even connected with digital voice. All new builds have fibre into the door. Some don't even have Phone lines anymore.

But for the point of this post, BT charged an average of £20 for their line rental. This was an extra charge in all Broadband packages. But did they take that £20 away when they decided to allow customers to have the option of a phone?

Now as you will see from Nickname, I specialise in saving money and making sure companies do not rip off people. That is my day job. I don't work and have no connection to any of these companies, I do the research to work out if a company is saving their customers money or their customers are being ripped of. Compared to other Broadband providers who are offering their customers to take Fibre with no landline, BT are ripping theirs off and are still including the phone charge minus a few pounds.