To update this. I rang BT last Friday, and after being put through to the wrong department twice, I managed to get a very helpful person who assured me that I would be getting BT Privacy with caller display FOC.

And this afternoon I've received an email which states

Thanks for registering to get BT Privacy with Caller Display free for 12 months.

We've processed your order and you'll get it free from 2 January 2014.

As part of this offer, a new 12-month line rental contract will also apply from this date.

As I've been with BT (and predecessor) for >40 years I'm not intending to change any time soon.

In reply to a post by cheshire_man:

As part of this offer, a new 12-month line rental contract will also apply from this date.

What happens when your LRS, which you've already paid in advance, expires beginning Dec 2014? Do you then get to choose to take out another LRS or start paying std. rental on a monthly basis?

Others on LRS will not have the 2 dates so close together.

That's exactly as I read it, FOC if agreeing to a 12 month contract.

To be honest it's not clear. On current thinking I'm likely to renew LRS, but if that doesn't give me Caller Display FoC then I'll reconsider.

On Sunday I opted for the Caller Display FOC with 12-month rental. I suppose it would have made sense to try to get LRS as well but I was rushing and didn't think.

I shall pay the 1571 fee for now .

We've used a domestic answerphone for many years now, BT voicemail, while having the advantage of taking a message while the line is engaged, has never appealed to me. As soon as we come home we just glance at the base unit and immediately know if there have been calls (strictly only the calls that had an associated caller id), and also whether or not messages have been left.

Mind you we were reluctant to get an answerphone for quite a few years on the basis that we incurred the call charge to speak to someone to find out why they wanted to speak to us. The introduction of call packages killed that concern.

I've never managed to get LRS as I have a special deal on my Calling Plan. I'm sure I'd be slightly better off taking the LRS and foregoing the special deal, but I regard the latter as a victory.

Kept paid 1571 on main line and removed for line that is mainly used for outgoing calls.

That's it - I knew I was forgetting something. I also have (legacy) E & W included FOC. Though now my circumstances have changed, in reality that is no longer necessary as long as I have unlimited calls to landlines on my (also legacy) mobile contract. Ummm - I don't like the interlinked dependency there!

The E & W was used by my wife.

In reply to a post by cheshire_man:

We've used a domestic answerphone for many years now, BT voicemail, while having the advantage of taking a message while the line is engaged,

Handy back in the day of dial-up internet connections.

If it was engaged they'd ring back if it was important.