Elderly/vulnerable customers without Broadband - Notification of new Digital Voice service

[iniltous]

If your relative is ‘out of contract’ and therefore paying more than someone who commits to a new ‘deal’ , that’s a choice  , the account holders choice , if the account holder won’t commit to a new ‘deal’ because that new deal requires DV ( which is a tiny change , as stated literally moving the phone cord from point A (the wall socket ) to point B (the phone socket built in to the hub )  , but this insignificant change is sufficient to stop them taking a cheaper deal and committing to a new minimum term , preferring to stay as they are , but paying a small financial penalty (in comparison to being inside a minimum term ) then that is that customers choice, complaining about your own choices is ridiculous.

there is no difference in price between DV telephony and PSTN telephony, it should not surprise anyone that there is a difference between being ‘in contract’ , where the company can confidently assume keeping that customers business until the end of the minimum period, and an out of contract customer that is likely to leave at some point .

[lpscotty]

Because my Mum is currently too sick to convert to digital voice she is in hospital receiving cancer treatment I can not commit her to installation of digital voice. But BT will not allow me to start a new Contract without agreeing to digital voice.  It is not our choice to be pushed to a rolling monthly Contract it is circumstances due to illness !

[licquorice]

There is no 'installation' of Digital Voice, it is simply a question of unplugging the phone from one socket and plugging it in to another when it it will work exactly as before.

[iniltous]

Then it’s a choice you make , you could save a small amount by renewing the contract and a condition of that renewal is accepting Digital Voice , or you can stay as you are paying a little more by not having the ‘inconvenience’ of having to change the location of the phone cord ….you have decided to forgo the savings, that’s your choice ….yet here you are complaining about it .

As stated , there is no difference in the call plan price of DV and PSTN , £5 for PAYG , or £18 for Unlimited (both can be less if negotiated as part of a contract renewal ) that’s the same on both systems.

[Kimberlin]

@lpscotty 

You have become completely focussed on your relative’s illness which is entirely understandable.

What you’re arguing, indeed ranting about, is nothing to do with your relative’s illness, it’s entirely about a technological shift which is required to keep the telephony system fit for the future. It’s ludicrous to keep systems undoubtedly designed and built in the 1960’s. They cost too much to run and maintain.

As has been explained to you, you have a choice. You either accept the change or you end the service you are being supplied with completely and make do without. Please stop blaming BT or Openreach for necessarily having to upgrade the systems for technological reasons. It’s called believe it or not, progress. One wouldn’t expect people 150 years from now to still be using the tech we have today, so trying to hang on to tech from the middle of the last century, is hopeless.

[WSH]

You’ve not made it clear if your mother already has broadband but if she does, I can confirm, as an OAP that was moved to Digital Voice two years ago, that it is literally just moving the phone plug from the wall socket to the socket on the back of the Smart Hub and adding the area code to any local numbers already in the phone’s memory.

It does not involve an engineer’s visit or anything like that.  Once up and running, everything looks and works the same.  It’s caused me no issues whatsoever in the last two years.

As other people have pointed out, the old PSTN is due to be switched off nationally in twelve months time anyway, so you might as well allow the change.  Your mum probably won’t even notice when she comes out of hospital.

Good luck with the treatment by the way.  I hope it’s successful.

[Kimberlin]

@WSH 

I very much fear you’re flogging a dead horse. Changes to modern tech has been going on for decades and is often a challenge for those that live in a world whereby the attitude is ‘Well it works, so why change it?’

It’s exactly the same reason why bank branches have closed in their thousands, there’s no going back. It’s very much a case of accept it or don’t. Moaning about it isn’t going to change anything.