Ofcom tells us :

". . on 1st August2006, Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, ended formal controls on the cost of line rentals and calls from BT.  This will leave all phone companies, including BT, to set their own retail price for consumers . . . .".

Has anybody out there, please, scanned the market for the best line rental only deal?  Thanks.

Its not considered to be a good idea to take your line rental from BT,because they are the only people that let you cps your calls to get Free or Cheaper Calls.Also they have to allow you access to the likes of 1899/18185 etc where other suppliers can/do block access to them,and its  a false economy if you use Caller Display as BT supply it free and other suppliers charge for it.Some have even started chargeing for paper billing. EG Talk Talk now charge a £1 a month extra.

Having said that  Toucans £8.95p a month (One year contract) appears to be lowest, i personally would not use them. ;)

Thanks, orsonkart.
Yup, that's what was found when hunting around.  Others insist on an "all-in" service, providing both line rental and calls.

It was hoped somebody may have fell upon an alternative to BT for line rental

rydaway wrote on Oct 2^nd, 2006 at 6:08pm:

Yup, that's what was found when hunting around.  Others insist on an "all-in" service, providing both line rental and calls.

So would BT, if they were allowed. (I mean, they would stop people using other providers via a BT line).

How long until Ofcom lifts this particular restriction from BT?

#3

So would BT, if they were allowed. (I mean, they would stop people using other providers via a BT line).

How long until Ofcom lifts this particular restriction from BT?

OR, how long until Ofcom lifts the restriction from others - IF, Ofcom were consumer orientated?

rydaway wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2006 at 6:13am:

OR, how long until Ofcom lifts the restriction from others - IF, Ofcom were consumer orientated?

Well, strictly speaking that would be Ofcom placing a restriction on the other companies. At the moment, they are free to prevent customers calling any number or using any service that they feel is bad for their profits.

We all know the likelihood of Ofcom doing this anyway.

#5

Indeed, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.  All service providers should be treated the same, to the benefit of the consumer.

After all, a level playing field is only fair.

rydaway wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2006 at 2:34pm:

Indeed, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.  All service providers should be treated the same, to the benefit of the consumer. After all, a level playing field is only fair.

I'm strongly of the opinion that this is a major issue which means that the current telephone market is a complete joke. So I pick up the phone and dial a number and find that my (non-BT) provider doesn't connect to it because it's "commercial discretion" has decided it can make more out of me by not doing so. What do I do? If it's a dial-through provider (on a 1-prefixed number or 08 number) I am forced to either call using my line provider's tariff or another dial-through provider (if they will allow).

Only a small percentage of telephone users are going to keep an eye on websites like MSE to ensure that they are making calls in the cheapest way. The rest go on the spin from the likes of BT and Talk Talk.

What's more, the other thing that people don't seem to complain about is the fact that you have to dial these prefixes in order to get the cheapest phone rates. Try explaining to an old person that they must dial 1...this before this number and 08...that before that number. But the real issue is that we have to faff about dialling these prefixes. Whatever happened to picking up the telephone and dialling the number?

Of course, Ofcom will say that whilst telcos can exercise "commercial discretion", we the consumer have a "choice". Yes, that is the choice of using one provider for all calls, or the cheaper alternative of remembering to dial the likes of 1899 before the real number.

rydaway wrote on Oct 2^nd, 2006 at 6:08pm:

Thanks, orsonkart. Yup, that's what was found when hunting around.  Others insist on an "all-in" service, providing both line rental and calls. It was hoped somebody may have fell upon an alternative to BT for line rental

The Post Office lets you access all other suppliers using Dial Through numbers like www.dialaround.co.uk etc although you have to dial the 1280 BT  access code to route the call over BT's network as Cable & Wireless (Post Office's default call supplier) do not have access agreements with many Dial Through call provider services.

If you use Broadband a lot and also want unlimited uk 01/02 calls then you may be interested in the new Option 4 of www.directsavetelecom.co.uk

This is a new company but unlike TalkTalk its only a 28 day contract and for £16.95 a month they give you an ADSL Max broadband connection with 20Gb data allowance at peak times (6pm-11pm) and unlimited at all other times and unlimited 01/02 calls.  You also have to take WLR line rental from them at £10 per month but its only a 28 day contract.

For some reason their website shows an 0871 number to contact them for further information at the top of the page but then shows an 0800 number - 0800 027 3930 - further down the page.  Perhaps the 0871 is only for their non price aware customers. ;)  It says there is a £40 setup fee but it includes a router they supply.  I don't know if this £40 can be avoided for those migrating from an existing broadband supplier.

If you do use broadband and make a lot of calls this could be a good option.  You might want to ask if they will issue a MAC migration code if you need to leave them for any reason and if they charge for the privilege of doing this.

Are you aware that you are recommending a company that also sells 0845/0870 numbers and describes them as local/national rate ?

http://www.directsavetelecom.co.uk/non_geographical.html

Graham wrote on Oct 7^th, 2006 at 12:33pm:

Are you aware that you are recommending a company that also sells 0845/0870 numbers and describes them as local/national rate ? http://www.directsavetelecom.co.uk/non_geographical.html

That's probably why they have the buying power to get 01/02 calls at such cheap rates. ;)

So far as I know there is almost no one in the whole phone call and line rental industry who can genuinely be described as good guys (not even Finarea who started looking off like good guys but then turned out to be as bad as all the rest)..

What I like is the 28 day contract here that means I could move on if their service was no good of if a better deal came along.  A lot better than the TalkTalk 18 month deal which in any case is not available in my area.