Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register
SAYNOTO0870.COM

<---- Back to main website

 
Home Help Search Login Register

Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
If I ditch 18866 who should I use? (Read 18,627 times)
tobywinn
Newbie
*
Offline



Posts: 8
If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Dec 1st, 2005 at 2:25pm
 
I signed my grandparents up to 18866, I pay the bill. They never used to call anyone, now they dont pay they make the most of it!

What was a cheap present (1p connection charge) is now expensive (4p). Who should I move them to?

Is there a best easy option for them - or will they need to combine providers?

Thanks
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
bigjohn
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 2,316
Gender: male
Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #1 - Dec 1st, 2005 at 2:35pm
 
At the moment 1899 seem to be the best bet for calls to 01/02. Just 3p connection.(Nil pence a min).

If however they call mobiles 18185 would be worth adding.
Back to top
 

BJ.
 
IP Logged
 
NonGeographicalMan
Ex Member


Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #2 - Dec 2nd, 2005 at 10:09am
 
18185 is also good for unavoidable 0870 numbers which it reduces to 5p per minute after 4p connection.  So even a 2 minute 0870 call in the weekday daytime is cheaper with 18185 - www.18185.co.uk .  Also overseas calls to most western countries are only 0.5p per minute plus 4p connection with 18185.  And mobiles are only 5p per minute in the weekday daytime plus 4p connection.  Especially good when calling Three mobiles which are very expensive with BT from a landline.

1899, 18866, 18185 are all owned by www.finarea.ch ; Their aim seems to be to make it impossible to have any one phone service that has all the cheapest call prices.  So people are just drawn in by one low headline price.

You could consider an all 01/02 calls package at any time for your grandparents with someone like www.tele2.co.uk but that would cost £7.50 per month.  Or if you can persuade your grandparents to only make calls at the weekend then you could sign them up to say www.toucantelecom.co.uk/rates/uk_rates.asp and the Toucan Talk 2 For All tariff which offers unlimited free call at the weekends.  Then perhaps you could persuade them to make most calls at the weekend and switch them to 1899 for unavoidable weekday calls.  Also perhaps you could get them to pay the 1899 bill pointing out that its only 3p per call but that 5 calls per weekday does come to about £3.50 per month.  I would cancel the 18866 account and replace it with the 1899 account so as to avoid any danger that they go on using 18866.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
NonGeographicalMan
Ex Member


Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #3 - Dec 2nd, 2005 at 10:18am
 
www.planet-talk.co.uk (now part of Primus) have a CPS tariff that has no monthly rental with free evening and weekend calls.  I suggest this in conjunction with 1899 is the best bet as dialling 1899 in the week will still override the Primus CPS service.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
bigjohn
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 2,316
Gender: male
Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #4 - Dec 2nd, 2005 at 10:25am
 
NGN.

Dont 18185 charge 4p a minute peak, plus 4p connection to call 0870, not 5p a minute Wink
Back to top
 

BJ.
 
IP Logged
 
NonGeographicalMan
Ex Member


Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #5 - Dec 2nd, 2005 at 10:53am
 
bigjohn wrote on Dec 2nd, 2005 at 10:25am:
NGN.

Dont 18185 charge 4p a minute peak, plus 4p connection to call 0870, not 5p a minute Wink


Quite right Big John.  Well done on spotting my deliberate mistake.  So its even better value for 0870 than I said it was.  I still can't figure out how 18185 can afford these prices when they still surely have to pay the TCP a rate of more than 4p per minute? Smiley  It must be a loss leader for them (as with say cheap supermarket baked beans etc)
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
tobywinn
Newbie
*
Offline



Posts: 8
Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #6 - Dec 2nd, 2005 at 11:25am
 
Thanks for all the info! I will be stopping 18866. Just dont really like to move to 1899 knowing its part of the same group - would rather take my money elsewhere.

Cant we all get together and start a phonecompany - it must all be done virtually somehow?
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
NonGeographicalMan
Ex Member


Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #7 - Dec 2nd, 2005 at 12:02pm
 
tobywinn wrote on Dec 2nd, 2005 at 11:25am:
Cant we all get together and start a phonecompany - it must all be done virtually somehow?


I think one would need a lot of established business contacts in the telecoms industry to set such a thing up and also there are minimum fees to BT to pay for having a prefix access on a code like 1899 etc.

If you look at how much of someone's time it would take to set this up and run it I suspect that you will find that the economies of scale at somewhere like Finarea are pretty massive.

I can't really understand Finarea not yet having launched their own flat rate all 01/02 phone calls product yet since they seem to offer almost every other kind of telecoms product going.

Of course with making 18866 Finarea are only playing the same game as banks and building societies that have an account with a great interest rate and then suddenly cut it................
Back to top
« Last Edit: Dec 2nd, 2005 at 12:03pm by N/A »  
 
IP Logged
 
farci
Full Member
***
Offline



Posts: 190
Glasgow
Gender: male
Primus CPS package?
Reply #8 - Dec 4th, 2005 at 5:03am
 
Quote:
www.planet-talk.co.uk (now part of Primus) have a CPS tariff that has no monthly rental with free evening and weekend calls.  I suggest this in conjunction with 1899 is the best bet as dialling 1899 in the week will still override the Primus CPS service.


Can you help further - I could not locate this on the Primus website? Thanks
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
NonGeographicalMan
Ex Member


Re: Primus CPS package?
Reply #9 - Dec 4th, 2005 at 6:22am
 
farci wrote on Dec 4th, 2005 at 5:03am:
Can you help further - I could not locate this on the Primus website? Thanks


Its Primus Planet Talk's Saver Option 2 which you can find here on the www.uswitch.com home phones website area:- www.uswitch.com/directory/home-phone/provider-742-primus-planet-talk.html

Unfortunately since the website manager for Planet Talk Primus is clearly a total imbecile who has no idea what customers are looking for you cannot find details of this product or its rates on their own website.  However if you go to www.uswitch.com select Home Phone then select your Postcode and then tell them you make 4 calls a day all at the Evening and Weekend and that they are National Calls (also that you don't make mobile or international calls) then the Primus Planet Talk option will be listed as will Just-Dial Saver.  The main snag with Just-Dial is that it is part of Onetel/Centrica and so up for sale.  Chances are Tele2 or TalkTalk will buy it and you will lose the free weekday evening calls.  So Primus Planet Talk seems a better long term bet.  You will also see a listing for a TalkTalk line rental deal but this is a con as you don't get the cash back until after your first full year and have to remember to claim it.  Also TalkTalk will bar you from using services like 1899 and 18185 because you switch your whole line rental to them, which allows them to impose such bars.  Also TalkTalk don't provide free Caller Display so if you need this their line rental is actually more expensive than BT's.

Planet Talk Primus might sell a lot more of this product if their own website actually marketed it properly. Roll Eyes Shocked

Actually I just checked www.just-dial.com and I see they are doing calls to uk mobiles for 1p per minute in the evening and 0.75p per minute at the weekend (as well as free evening and weekend 01/02 calls) so perhaps this is a better bet and at least their own website is selling the service.  If they are eventually taken over by another company (when Centrical sells them) I suppose whoever takes them over would be foolish to start charging a more expensive tariff if they want to keep these customers.  But there again many companies do often act foolishly in commercial terms. Shocked

See www.just-dial.com/pages/plans_saver_lite.asp

I notice that if I actually pick a mobile phone company with Just-Dial they show a much higher rate than 1p and 0.75p per minute in the evening and at the weekend!  Something wrong somewhere and no phone number to call to challenge them on any of this.  I wonder what happens if one phones Onetel, who are owned by the same company, to ask the question? Undecided
Back to top
« Last Edit: Dec 4th, 2005 at 6:41am by N/A »  
 
IP Logged
 
NonGeographicalMan
Ex Member


Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #10 - Dec 4th, 2005 at 6:47am
 
Matters on the mobile phone charges seem to be clarified by this statement in the Voip part of the Just-Dial website:-

"Calls to UK mobiles are capped at a maximum of £0.20 off-peak, £0.15 weekend for up to 20 minutes, the normal pence per minute rate then applies. Calls costing less than £0.20 off-peak, £0.15 weekend will be charged as standard."

See www.justdialvoip.com/pages/jdvoiplite.asp

Now presumably the above rule also applies to Just-Dial Lite but they have forgotten to mention this under that tariff? Shocked Undecided
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
bigjohn
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 2,316
Gender: male
Re: Primus CPS package?
Reply #11 - Dec 4th, 2005 at 8:17am
 
farci wrote on Dec 4th, 2005 at 5:03am:
Quote:
www.planet-talk.co.uk (now part of Primus) have a CPS tariff that has no monthly rental with free evening and weekend calls.  I suggest this in conjunction with 1899 is the best bet as dialling 1899 in the week will still override the Primus CPS service.


Can you help further - I could not locate this on the Primus website? Thanks


Here is the link for Primus Saver 2.You can now sign up over phone using 0800,rather then put commission into U-Switches pockets.
http://www.planet-talk.co.uk/SaverProducts.aspx?source=saver

Unless you call mobiles a lot e&w ,i would steer clear of JDS. As their Customer Service is bad.Often being discussed on MSE site!!!
Back to top
« Last Edit: Dec 4th, 2005 at 8:19am by bigjohn »  

BJ.
 
IP Logged
 
NonGeographicalMan
Ex Member


Re: Primus CPS package?
Reply #12 - Dec 4th, 2005 at 10:25am
 
bigjohn wrote on Dec 4th, 2005 at 8:17am:
Unless you call mobiles a lot e&w ,i would steer clear of JDS. As their Customer Service is bad.Often being discussed on MSE site!!!


BJ are you saying that the www.just-dial.com billing is unreliable so one often has a need to contact customer services to sort it out?  The various Finarea brands like 1899 and 18866 and 18185 have non existent customer service but it doesn't matter as the billing has always been accurate on every single bill i have checked.  The only thing Finarea have done wrong (and I think it is very short sighted on their part) is not to give their customers any form of notification of their price rises (unlike their price falls which they always notify).  As Just Dial are part of Onetel (of whom I am also an indirect prefix customer) and their billing is normally trustworthy (unlike TalkTalk who have thoroughly untrustworthy billing that charges for calls dialled but not connected) why would JustDial be any worse?  Surely it all runs on the same computer platform but just has a different tariff rate and no voice customer services?  Or is it just a brand Centrica has taken over and runs with completely different computer systems and staff to Onetel?

Are you saying that with Just Dial Saver one often doesn't get the promised local rates on mobiles etc so has to hassle them to change the bill etc?  The savings on mobile calls in the weekday evenings with Just Dial Saver are truly remarkable.  At the weekend other people are also offering cheap rates to mobiles.
Back to top
« Last Edit: Dec 4th, 2005 at 7:03pm by N/A »  
 
IP Logged
 
bigjohn
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 2,316
Gender: male
Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #13 - Dec 4th, 2005 at 6:11pm
 
NGN.

I have read a number of complaints about them the main one is not replying to E-Mails,then theirs problems in signing up,and some people have been charged for free calls.To get a flavour of the situation read this thread  http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=112157&page=2&pp=10

Its a shame cos their offpeak/weekend  mobile calls capped charging package  is excellent.
Back to top
« Last Edit: Dec 4th, 2005 at 6:15pm by bigjohn »  

BJ.
 
IP Logged
 
questa
Newbie
*
Offline



Posts: 25
Re: If I ditch 18866 who should I use?
Reply #14 - Dec 4th, 2005 at 7:01pm
 
DOesnt primus charge 4p per call???
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Pages: 1 2 
Send Topic Print
(Moderators: Forum Admin, bbb_uk, Dave, CJT-80, DaveM)

Website and Content © 1999-2024 SAYNOTO0870.COM. All Rights Reserved.
Written permission is required to duplicate any of the content within this site.

WARNING: This is an open forum, posts are NOT endorsed by SAYNOTO0870.COM,
please exercise due caution when acting on any info from here.


SAYNOTO0870.COM » Powered by YaBB 2.5.2!
YaBB Forum Software © 2000-2024. All Rights Reserved.


Valid RSS Valid XHTML Valid CSS Powered by Perl Source Forge