Home Phone Saver 2020

[Clarkatron]

Great to hear from you Tim! My situation mirrored yours until mid February. Then BT did whatever they do to put me on to this new digital thing? I don't have broadband and they did the change remotely.  Since then I can't access any details online or the app apart from bills. They've put me on standard line rental less voice discount which brings it down to the previous £22.89 price. And it's still on that now. I wasted an hour in the phone to BT who hadn't a clue what had happened and just said the price increase on Home Phone Saver was incorrect and I would stay on the same price. Which of course I am. But Home Phone Saver has disappeared !  I Can't access any of the call protect features on line, or anything which tells me what plan I'm now on! I have a pending order still showing since February as well. Any thoughts?

[Tim123]

If, as you say, you can still access your bills online and in the app, they should confirm the current name of your plan. If not, call BT and ask for a paper bill (free with Home Phone Saver).

I was switched to Digital Voice in January and my bill for that month refers to Home Phone Saver as my "old plan" and my "new" one as 'Home Phone Standard'. I can find no mention of the latter on the website or in the tariff guide, but the price is aligned to that of Home Phone Saver. When I called BT to query the name change, they told me I'm on the same plan as before and that 'Home Phone Standard' is actually the customer-facing name for the underlying technology of digital from the exchange (officially called 'SOTAP for Analogue'). All very confusing!

The monthly price is now shown on my bills as £30.20 (same price as line rental, recently increased to £31.20), minus "voice discount" of £7.34. Why they have to show it like that, I've no idea. Home Phone Saver never made mention of line rental and the 'discount' was in the neatly bundled package itself! They're just complicating matters by making these pointless changes, which I believe have had a detrimental effect on my billing. Because, since being switched to digital, I've actually been charged for some standard geographic calls (that should be inclusive) and had to call BT to complain. They've always been quick to apply a credit refund, but no one ever says "sorry" for the mistakes! My theory is that, due to the aforesaid plan name change and introduction of a 'component breakdown' on the bills, some of my calls are now being randomly routed via 'Pay as You Go' (i.e. standard line rental, without a plan) - meaning that the billing 'system' is ignoring the fact that I do, in fact, have a calling plan. The 'system' probably doesn't consistently recognise Home Phone Standard as a plan (and, technically, it doesn't appear to exist as such).

Are you sure the £1.00 increase hasn't been applied to you? It only came into effect on 31st March. I haven't yet had my first bill since that change, but received an advance letter telling me about it (as did my parents).

Also, can you still access Call Protect by calling 1572?

[Clarkatron]

Hi Tim. So you're paying £22.86 same as me. You'll find it won't change. You can access your next bill estimate online. It sounds like you have the same wording as me re charges. Can you access everything on the app ? I can access Call Protect via keypad but it's not comprehensive like the control you have online. For instance I can't specify DND times. It's either on or off via 1572. Can't access last 20 calls received as that was online. All my blocked numbers disappeared on the changeover, and although I can add the last number received via 1572 I can't remove any numbers once I get to 100. So that's just an example. The BT guy I spoke to just said that's the way it is now! You can't access anything but bills online! It does sound like you have the same as me. I also wondered about inclusive calls but the fee I have made have been free. So I can only guess we have inclusive minutes? 

[Tim123]

I don't have the 'My BT' app so I can't help you there, I'm afraid. Dialling 1572 shows that Call Protect is active on my line (it wasn't on PSTN), but I don't use that either. However, I do know that 1572 allows you to add the last number that called to your 'blocked' list. It's strange that customers on 'SOTAP for Analogue' are unable to use the app for anything other than viewing bills, perhaps BT think that such customers are unlikely to want to 'self-serve' online.

[Clarkatron]

Thanks. Do you not look at your account online then? You just get a paper bill in the post? I will be interested to know if you stay on the same monthly price. Interestingly I could still get this price down by going for a monthly line rental for those without an internet connection plus 700 minutes inclusive calls. But the saving wasn't great so I left it. I find it strange that when I rung BT they themselves hadn't a clue what had happened. My next bill is due 24th of this month so let's see what the line rental is as they bill that in advance and theoretically it should increase by £1?