Pay for Landline with FFTH and PAYG?

[TimEdwards1]

Earlier this month I had FFTP installed. I’m satisfied with the product (Full Fibre 100 with Halo3+), it works as it should. As part of that upgrade I was also put on to DV. 

Like most folk, I am looking to reduce costs where I can so my question is, do I need to pay £220/yr (about to go up) for the Landline if I opt for PAYG for calls? The reason I ask is because I find BT’s billing and tariffs, combined with their advertising as impossible to fathom and at times contradictory. 

When I look online I see adverts directed at new customers offering FullFibre 100 without phone available for £35.99. Full Fibre 100 with PAYG is £40.99. That suggests BT are charging £5 to be able to make phone calls. As far as I can see, there is no mention of any additional charge or requirement to pay £220/yr for a Landline. However, when I look at my offers in MyBT it appears to be charging for Landline for similar packages (£60/m+). 

To further muddy the waters, my mate is on Fibre 1 with PAYG. He does not pay monthly for his Landline, and has not paid it annually for nearly two years. His bill states Landline calling plan as PAYG but there is no charge, discount or reference to a charge for LL on his bill under the Broadband Package breakdown, yet it does work, he gets a dialling tone and was actually charged for a call he made a few months ago. Could it be (quite possible) that on one of his many calls to discuss his account and haggle for a discount on BT TV etc he has bamboozled the BT Call Handler at the other end to the point where they have removed the Landline from his bill accidentally?

[iniltous]

Where do you get £220 for the landline ?,

If you have broadband, the line rental portion is included, it’s been that way for years , anyone with telephony has to take a calls package the ‘cheapest’ being PAYG , then 700mins then Unlimited .

As you state , stand-alone broadband is available, and the ‘list price’ is £5 cheaper than the same broadband with telephony including PAYG , so arguably the ‘cost’ for telephony is £5 , that’s £60 a year not £220, so dropping the ‘cheapest’ telephony saves £60/ year.

If you have  ( for example ) unlimited calls instead of PAYG , that is £11/ month more than PAYG so £132 + £60 = £192per year , still less than £220, but getting close.

Line rental for those BT customers that don’t have broadband, ( but for some reason don’t have the landline only discounts of £7-£11 ) ,  pay around £23  ( most telephone only will be paying around £13-£15 per month ) but it’s a mistake to think that someone who pays ( for example ) £35 for landline and broadband the breakdown is £23 line rental and £12 broadband, it doesn’t work like that, it’s £35 you don’t subdivide the total .

You don’t state  what you actually pay , and what you receive for that payment , if  you are paying an ‘out of contract’ price on a legacy package, your price may seem excessive compared to someone who is within a minimum term on a current package,  obviously anyone ‘out of contract’ can negotiate a better price by committing to a new minimum term on a current package , or look at alternatives without fear of early termination charges 

[TimEdwards1]

Hi iniltous. 

The £219.99 (the exact amount iirc) is the annual charge for landline when paid as a one-off at the beginning of the year. £19.99 is then discounted monthly from the full charge of £60.13 leaving £40.14 plus £1.70 for Anytime Calls that I pay monthly for BB.  There is a c£20 annual benefit from paying the LL annually. 

[-Richie-]

You don't pay separately for line rental, you pay for a bundle which included broadband and the line it's delivered down.

Removing the telephony option so you can't make/receive calls will save you the cost of your calling plan, if you have PAYG for £5, you'd save £5.

[TimEdwards1]

Hi Richie,

I appreciate BT now lump the LL in with BB (hence the £19.99 discount I receive off £60.13) though I do actually pay it separately each year.

My query comes about really because BT are advertising the same product (Full Fibre 100 with phone service) at £40.99/m with no mention of a requirement for an additional payment iro the Landline compared to a BB only price of £35.99, but when I go into MyBT and look at offers available to me it says £60.13 for Full Fibre 100 Halo 3+.  Added to that, my mate appears to not be paying anything for LL (I have seen his bill and compared it to mine). 

[imjolly]

You are not comparing like with like as you have halo 3+ which is a significant extra cost

[TimEdwards1]

The advert for new customers

[TimEdwards1]

Hi imjolly,

There are benefits to Halo 3+ but there are no costs attributable to it on my bill. Halo 3 itself apparently can be £1per month, but I do not appear to be paying that. 

[iniltous]

Any personal ‘deal’ isn’t the only thing on offer, if at a point in time where you have a good negotiating position, (coming to the end of a minimum term ) irrespective of personalised renewal offer you can call the retentions team ( or whatever they are called ) armed with what new BT customers can get , or what a competitor could supply the same product for , and ask for that.

TBH , I thought one of the benefits of ‘Halo’ was a guarantee that you wouldn’t pay more than the current new customer deal.

The website states Halo 3 can be had for as little as £1/month , that’s not the same as saying it is  £1/ month , you could always enquire what you would pay if your Halo 3+ was removed from your package, plus any other products that are not included on the website new customer offer , like you have included calls that are not part of the new customer offer , they have to be added 

[TimEdwards1]

Hi iniltous,

Yes, part of the Halo deal is that your package won’t be beaten by a new customer deal or words to that effect. However it is quite apparent that if you keep at them they will do deals, which is a bummer for those not confident enough to question their charges. 

It is my intention to phone BT’s Retention team and see if there is anything to be had but I thought I would pose the question on here first incase someone has been through the same scenario recently. If new customers need to have a BT LL included in their package at an additional cost of £22/23/m then their advertising is misleading as it makes no mention. You would expect it to say something like “….subject to a BT LL being in place…..”

But who truly, fully, understands BT billing? Going by my own experiences, BT themselves don’t understand it. 

Thanks for the info and advice.