BT charging £42 per year for previously free services

I appreciate there were a number of posts about this when BT's price rises were announced a few months back - but thought I would start a new thread as I hadn't realised all the details.

My broadband is with Freeola/Entanet who unfortunately don't have a phone service I can use. So like many I pay my line rental and get my calls package from BT.

I asked BT via Twitter yesterday about how to avoid the new £1.75 charge.
The conversation is here.

As you can see the conversation didn't go well - getting a straight answer wasn't easy!

During the 'conversation' I realised they are to start charging £1.75 per month for caller display and another £1.75 for the Answer 1571 service - so an extra £42 per year on top of the line rental etc. increases
I'm guessing this will become another major news item when the charges come in next year - it's not too far off the Gas/Electricity suppliers rises.

I've mistakenly been thinking that to continue with my current services would cost a maximum of £1.75 per month and nothing if I opted for a 12 month contract. But I was wrong this would only cover the 'caller id' service.

So after being with BT for my phone service for 30 years I'm thinking of moving.
If anyone has any tips on where to move or what to do (I want to stay with Freeola for broadband) then please let me know
I realise an option is to cancel the Answer 1571 and buy an answer machine.

For reference here's TBB's original news item.

These days you may find that the best option is to find a combined broadband and phone supplier. One alternative would be Plusnet. You can pay the line rental annually if you want, but they do charge those additional services that you want.

I need to stay with Freeola for my ISP as I make use of their great hosting services.

I've been looking at the Post Office link in TBB's news item.

Line rental: £12pm, Anytime calls: £5.75, free Caller Display and free Voice mail.
Total: £17.75
Anytime calls says it includes UK mobiles at weekends.

Against BT's £15.99, £7, £1.75 + £1.75
Total: £26.49

If I've read those prices correctly then that's a big difference!
Anyone know if they are due to increase prices or if I'm missing a catch?

The email you should have received from BT on about 1 Oct informed you quite clearly about the increases, that 1571 & BT Privacy were 2 separate facilities and how you could get the BT Privacy + Caller ID free for a year:

BT Answer 1571 and BT Privacy with Caller Display

In January, BT Answer 1571 is changing. You'll be able to keep more messages for longer and check them remotely. From 4 January 2014 this service will be £1.75 a month.

If you have BT Privacy with Caller Display it will cost you £1.75 a month from 4 January 2014. But you can sign up and get BT Privacy with Caller Display free for a year (a new 12-month line rental contract applies).

Sign up for free BT Privacy with Caller Display and manage your calling features here.

Yes I received that email - I'm sorry I didn't understand it and can only apologise

Very helpful...

Well if it helps with our basic service we charge 50p for 1571 and 99p for caller display and line rental at £9.50 (all + VAT)

Thanks - it seems BT's prices are very high compared to yours.

In reply to a post by vivaciti:

Well if it helps with our basic service we charge 50p for 1571 and 99p for caller display

Where's this documented?

View our UK calls tariff on your website does not compute!

yeah voice services are really turning into a goldmine for CP's. CP's is much more fitting than ISP's now days as they all jumping on the voice bandwagon.

The actual cost of supplying things like caller display is trivial it will be in the single digit pennies. So services such as those are pure profit.

An eye opener to give an idea how much profit these companies are making on voice is how much plusnet go to make someone take on voice services.

So for plusnet voice vs bb, plusnet is willing to pay someone signing up over £180 to signup to voice services.

£100 cashback (must take voice not bb only)
£32 off first 4 months (only if take voice)
£50 installation waived (only if take voice).
and even with all that taken into account the bb only service still has a £2.50 monthly premium.

its another one fo those areas where ofcom are either been incompetant or its "pretending to regulate". What I mean by the latter is it gives the public the idea they pegging prices down but it knows full well the costs are just going to shift elsewhere in this case its voice services.

CP's knowing people are shifting calls to mobiles are doing things like charging a premium for basic cheap to supply services such as ringback and caller display, charging to connect calls before even start talking, increasing charges per minute to make signing up to a call plan seem a no brainer knowing full well most wont utilise the call plan much. The inflation on landline voice services is very high, just look at prices in 2005 to see. CP's all know that each other is eager to raise prices so the first one to raise does risk free knowing the rest will always follow, a similiar situation to the energy companies.

The reason this has had way less attention is that the base prices are much lower than energy, even tho the inflation is high voice and internet services are still very affordable and also still reasonable (uk is still below average costs on broadband). Whilst energy has many people in poverty due to its very high costs so is a much more serious issue.

Edited by Chrysalis (Tue 10-Dec-13 17:25:43)

In reply to a post by vivaciti:

Well if it helps with our basic service we charge 50p for 1571 and 99p for caller display and line rental at £9.50 (all + VAT)

I am not a fan of companies quoting excluding vat prices, its trying to fool people.

whats your reason why you charge for caller display

We charge for it because we are charged for it and we are a business.

Post deleted by Chrysalis

Thanks for that.

The Post Office do look very competitive.
I can see why people don't switch though - reading forums I can find all sorts of horror stories when people have moved phone suppliers.

I see the Post Office are using Talk Talk - will they break my current broadband connection or can they guarantee a smooth phone line transition with no interruption I wonder?!?

I switched away from PO Home phone because they couldn't give me a timely answer as to whether my service was going to be provided by TT or not and because actually reaching someone on their customer service line was a horrendous experience.

I switched to Zen and am paying slightly less than with PO for the basic line rental

another way of looking at it is that landline voice services are bearing the burden of the lack of inflation on broadband pricing.

also in the case of BT retail they now have the burden of expensive football rights.

Edited by Chrysalis (Wed 11-Dec-13 02:09:13)

Correct if memory is working right its 50p per month + VAT (sold to CP) for the Caller ID element of a WLR product

In reply to a post by Chrysalis:

another way of looking at it is that landline voice services are bearing the burden of the lack of inflation no broadband pricing.

Yep, broadband and landline prices cannot be viewed in isolation. Those who doggedly stick to BT for line rental are cutting themselves off from the best deals.

I think they need to be viewed in isolation. Just that BT line rental with its new 12-month commitment to the line contract to get caller display is now ridiculous.

12 months for a previously for many years free add-on is just about but not really understandable. Coupling the whole rental to it is not.

Market 1 exchange, the PO just switched my bb onto talktalk, rubbish peeds at peaktime http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/results.html...

Just switched to more expensive zen, extra £10/month and an extra 100Gb/month

Ian

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I think they need to be viewed in isolation.

Really? Even your own ISP penalises new customers for not taking both services.

As I mentioned I'm not moving broadband just trying to get a better phone/line package.

Is your phone with the PO on their £12 line rental etc.?

Edit: sorry replied to wrong post. But I see Ian has moved from PO now...

Edited by b4dger (Tue 10-Dec-13 21:22:09)

There is more to it than cost alone (whereby some ISPs use phone to subsidise BB and thus increase their BB market share).

There are other good reasons for keeping the 2 separate utilities separate, e.g. BT's superior voice fault handling, single Calling Plan covering more than 1 line, inability of most ISPs to cater for 2nd voice-only line w/out BB, ....

Exactly!

By looking at them separately I have choice and can get a better combination than any bundle, if I so choose.

The key is to jump at the right time. A few years ago I swore I would never consider Plusnet for broadband, and have now been with them for nearly three years. I've always sworn the benefits of keeping my line with BT justify slightly higher prices. On the face of it, they are now taking the mickey and I don't like it.

I sent BT a website email earlier this evening asking them to sort out a problem on my account. I shall also be looking at the alternatives, though not yet sure what to do. How they handle my account problem will be a factor, but even if I get the best possible result the price remains very high compared to what I believe is available elsewhere.

Not impressed by the fact the website email hasn't yet generated an auto-acknowledgement. That should be immediate, with the text included.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

There are other good reasons for keeping the 2 separate utilities separate, e.g. BT's superior voice fault handling, single Calling Plan covering more than 1 line, inability of most ISPs to cater for 2nd voice-only line w/out BB, ....

True, but I think the non-BT suppliers are suitable for the majority now.

Sky handled by recent fault superbly, so I have no complaints at all on that front. I've had two voice faults in 13 years at my present place.

Also most people don't have a second line, but I accept for the few that do that BT might offer more choice in that respect.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

By looking at them separately I have choice and can get a better combination than any bundle, if I so choose.

I held off for a long time switching my line to Sky; I joined them when taking line rental was not mandatory. Eventually I jumped to save myself £5 a month and have not regretted it. It looks even better value now that BT are charging for services which are still free on Sky. And the base line rental has always been cheaper than BT.

I vowed to return to WLR + WBC after a year if the service wasn't as good, but I feel no need to leave Sky.

In reply to a post by Oliver341:

It looks even better value now that BT are charging for services which are still free on Sky.

History shows that where BT leads the others follow within a coupla months.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

History shows that where BT leads the others follow within a coupla months.

Obviously I'm hoping that trend is bucked! As MPF carries no rental fee to Openreach for caller display or 1571, I'm hoping Talktalk and Sky continue to offer these free as part of line rental.

(Continuing the discussion from there).

I see Zen charge 90p for caller ID, (1471 is free), and £1.80 for 1571.

If you take FTTC with phone, the line rental is £15.44 not the phone only £11.40, but I haven't yet found what options are included in that £15.44. If you want FTTC but leave your line where it is, there is a surcharge of £5.40 on the bundled FTTC price.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Correct if memory is working right its 50p per month + VAT (sold to CP) for the Caller ID element of a WLR product

thanks for that info.

So some complaints to ofcom from all CP's in union = free caller display at wholesale level unless BTw prove costs?

yeah, just be aware tho everyone seems to be following suit, whilst I have no doubt there is cheaper out there than BT, pretty much everyone is extorting fees for caller display and the like as well as increasing above inflation annually. It does seem as I found out when ordering plusnet the best way to save is combine it with broadband, the cp's have been very agressive in forcing this and it looks like its working. I mean £180 given to me for taking plusnet voice I found pretty crazy, thats more than the entire line rental saver for 12 months.

I agree with Bob on this, BT has given good service over the past few years but these charges are not acceptable and when my contract ends in July I'm going elsewhere. If BT wants to wage a bidding war with Sky that's up to them, but quite a few of us are not going to finance it. Particularly annoying is that when friends and relatives have phoned about slow BB speeds they have been given a sales pitch for Infinity

BT asked me to fill in one of their 'web forms' via Twitter.

All they did was repeat the price increases to me!
I explained I've been with them 30 years (this year) for my phone, so am a loyal customer - but all they said was they were very grateful for me being a loyal customer for so long...

What a way to run a business - I certainly don't treat my clients that way. Especially the ones that always keep paying their bills on time and in full.

I see no one seems to have any experience of using the Post Office for their phone service, anyone use Zen just for phone and not BB?
Their prices are also more competitive than BT's.

I would predict if it went free at wholesale all WLR would go up by maybe 30p per month to cover it.

Zen line rental and xilo/uno partial LLU BB is absolutely fine for my needs - I would certainly recommend Zen for line rental to anybody who doesn't want a 12 month minimum term line rental and BB package.

Unhappiness with BT Retail caused me to switch to Zen for line rental 3 months ago and I've had no problems with the service so far - however I haven't needed to contact Zen regarding any problems so I can not comment on the quality of their support.

I suppose the way that BT retail see it that most existing customers will choose to renew their line rental saver anyway, so would be paying for 12mths regardless,There won't be many residential customers who won't opt for LRS due to the high price they charge normally for line rental
I don't think their social tarrif BT Basic is affected by this change as BT privacy inc Caller display will remain free,

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

There is more to it than cost alone (whereby some ISPs use phone to subsidise BB and thus increase their BB market share).

There are other good reasons for keeping the 2 separate utilities separate, e.g. BT's superior voice fault handling,

Really,? Maybe it was some time ago but not anymore
Today With their useless outsourced overseas call centers that they class as customer support (who i will no longer engage in conversation with) because they fail to grasp the english language properly , there's no way their faults handling service is any better than some other providers, the repair times are the same,so why pay BT a premium?

Nearley all the advantages of having line rental with BT have been removed free caller display with free 1571 competitve pricing on line rental ,

For me there is now only 2 advantages in staying with BT one is my calling plan offers 200 free sms texts each month, the other is that the price of call plans doesnt rise each year, But that price can be matched by other providers,

Edited by tommy45 (Wed 11-Dec-13 17:16:08)

Thanks for that.

It looks like this would be the equivalent to my current BT package:

£17.35 for 5,000 anytime minutes
Caller Id £0.90
1571 Answer Phone £1.80
Total: £20.05 compared to BT's £26.49
www.zen.co.uk/home-office/voice/phone-services.aspx

Zen seem to have a better reputation that the Post Office for telecoms.

Freeola my ISP use Entanet. I see Entanet offer a phone service so it would be ideal if they provided a combined package for my situation. I've asked them if they can investigate this.

In reply to a post by b4dger:

Thanks for that.

It looks like this would be the equivalent to my current BT package:

£17.35 for 5,000 anytime minutes
Caller Id £0.90
1571 Answer Phone £1.80
Total: £20.05 compared to BT's £26.49
www.zen.co.uk/home-office/voice/phone-services.aspx

Zen seem to have a better reputation that the Post Office for telecoms.

Freeola my ISP use Entanet. I see Entanet offer a phone service so it would be ideal if they provided a combined package for my situation. I've asked them if they can investigate this.

Zen line rental on a one month contract might tide you over until perhaps something happens with an Entanet deal?

I don't think Freeola are very interested in supplying phone packages as I've asked them in the past, so it might be ok for longer than a month!

After BT failing to offer me ANYTHING, after letting them know that that's not a good way to treat a customer of 30 years they have said they will get back to me - but I'm not holding my breath.

In reply to a post by b4dger:

After BT failing to offer me ANYTHING, after letting them know that that's not a good way to treat a customer of 30 years they have said they will get back to me - but I'm not holding my breath.

I was also a long term BT Retail line rental customer and the best they could offer me, when my previous discounted contract ended, was LRS which didn't include free evening calls etc. Hope you have better luck if they call you back...

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

I would predict if it went free at wholesale all WLR would go up by maybe 30p per month to cover it.

of course BT would want to recover for their shareholders.

But what would happen if ofcom told them that charging for it is unreasonable and raising the WLR is unpermitted?

Of course ofcom wont do that as they seem to deliberatly leave holes allowing for revenue to be recovered

In reply to a post by tommy45:

their useless outsourced overseas call centers that they class as customer support

Don't use that; use Report a fault

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

I sent BT a website email earlier this evening asking them to sort out a problem on my account. I shall also be looking at the alternatives, though not yet sure what to do. How they handle my account problem will be a factor, but even if I get the best possible result the price remains very high compared to what I believe is available elsewhere.

Not impressed by the fact the website email hasn't yet generated an auto-acknowledgement. That should be immediate, with the text included.

That was Tuesday.

My problem was that in July I ordered and got Call Diversion on my line. Fine. 24 August something happened and I couldn't make or receive calls, although my broadband had no problem.

At the time, Call Diversion was off, and I had no way of turning it on. So I rang support from my mobile and they turned it on.

29 August a card through the door from an engineer while I was out. "Fault was outside, now working". Which it now was, and Call Divert was off.

2 September I went to turn on Call Divert. "Sorry, this service is not available". Which is how it remained. I assumed some idiot had cancelled it instead of just turning I off, so submitted a new order. Got an email acknowledgement, but no follow-up activation email. But my October (quarterly) bill has the full charge and I expect the next one would have done, as the product shows on my Add-ons.

About 6pm today - Wednesday - I was called by a very pleasant man who like me couldn't understand what was going on. He said he could see an order had been cancelled today. Hmmm. We agreed I would try *#21# which is the code to test the status of Call Divert, so he rang off - to call back in a few minutes when I'd had time to do that.

Still the same message, not available. When he rang back, very soon after, we agreed a refund back to 29 August and cancellation of the Call Divert service. Fifteen minutes later a similarly pleasant lady rang just to confirm I would receive the refund on my next bill, told me the amount, and asked to confirm I wished to cease Call Divert.

You can't get much better Customer Service than that! Dammit LOL! What do I do now about line rental/Caller Display/1571?

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

In reply to a post by tommy45:

their useless outsourced overseas call centers that they class as customer support

Don't use that; use Report a fault

And who do you suppose handles/processes faults reported online, again can be as useless , and if a fault should take out the bb as well as the PSTN then what? we pay a premium price when compared to other providers ,IMO we should be able to speak to someone is able to understand us fully and who is trained to do the job, not the shambles we currently have for support