Calling Plans

[howardandrew62]

My BT contract is coming up for renewal. I'm currently on Fibre 2 with a 700-minute calling plan. I want to keep it the same, only the 700-minute calling plan has been discontinued.

I rarely use my home phone, but would like to have the option.

If I go for PAYG, I guess the rates are considerably higher per call (where can I find details of the rates?), and should I go for this option and then find myself needing to make lots more calls unexpectedly, I'll be paying way more than I would have done if I'd opted for the unlimited calling package.

If I decided to choose PAYG as an add-on when renewing my contract, can I switch to unlimited by logging back in to my BT account and selecting the unlimited calling plan from the add-ons list? How long does the switch take to go through? Once having switched, can I then switch back and forth again between unlimited and PAYG as many times as I need throughout the term of my 2-year contract without incurring any additional costs or penalties for doing so?

Any advice appreciated.

[chrisjp]

I'm pretty sure that BT won't allow you to switch back and forth between PAYG and Unlimited Calling plans during the contract period. That would be an obvious way for customers to game the system, only switching on unlimited calling when they wanted to make a call and so avoid paying for it!

[howardandrew62]

Thanks for your reply. Up until now I have been paying quarterly upon receipt of a bill, but it appears this option is being withdrawn for those renewing their contract online in favour of paying monthly by direct debit. Given that I'd be paying in full at the end of each month, it seems reasonable to switch between plans at least at the end of each month, depending on ongoing needs. After all, I can swap the type of bundle I purchase each month for mobile. 

[iniltous]

You can switch between calling plans on a monthly basis , (once on monthly billing if you are not currently on that ) you can’t switch to no call plan at all , so in your case you could switch to Unlimited Minutes if you know that you will be making many calls  in the upcoming month then (but not for at least a month ) switch back to PAYG if you will be going back to making few or no calls , although this seems to require some sort of clairvoyance on your part .

The current PAYG call price is around .30p a minute , and Unlimited Calls can be had for around £12 a month so a quick back if an envelope calculation is if you make 40 minutes of calls or more per month Unlimited Minutes is a better fit

[howardandrew62]

Thanks for that. Do you know where on the BT website I can find the details of PAYG call charges and confirmation of being able to switch between plans each month if needed? The unlimited calling package is listed in my add-ons at £18 per month, but I understand what you mean about how charges on PAYG soon add up.

[iniltous · Accepted solution]

https://img01.products.bt.co.uk/content/dam/bt/storefront/pdfs/BT_PhoneTariff_Residential.pdf

£18 is the official list price of Unlimited Minutes, much like £5 is the list price of PAYG , but £3 seemingly is what the majority pay for PAYG and anecdotally £12 seems to be the negotiated price for Unlimited Minutes.
There are a few ways to change your call plan , simply search something like ‘how do I change my call plan with BT ‘ to get that information,  how switching plans will work should you get a discount price for either plan is unknown, you probably should assume switching plans frequently  will mean the list prices will apply , rather than a discounted price .

[howardandrew62]

Thanks for your reply. Following your post, I contacted BT Live Chat about the cost of unlimited minutes, and they confirmed £18.00 per month. I also asked if I can move between PAYG and Unlimited throughout the term of my 2-year contract, and they confirmed I can. I asked for a URL where I could read about all of this in more detail, but none was forthcoming, leaving me with only the transcript of our chat as confirmation. The agent kindly offered to renew there and then, but I said  I'd think things over before making a decision.

[iniltous]

There are many places where it’s confirmed on the huge BT site that call plans are flexible , but generally within much larger articles referring to telephony in general ,

Changes to calling plans take place within 24 hours but are limited to 1 change per month , you won’t find a specific page/url detailing that specifically as frankly telephony is almost a niche product these days

…..you can see this flexibility yourself, log into your My BT , mange DV , the current plan shown , with an upgrade button to change the existing plan ( presumably even a change from Unlimited to PAYG is an ‘upgrade’ or perhaps the button label changes from ‘upgrade’ to ‘change’ if the change is from Unlimited Minutes to PAYG )  ,  if being told by a BT guide and this information is still insufficient ‘proof’ , I’m not sure what further evidence can be provided.

[howardandrew62]

Your help and advice are appreciated. Thank you.