SilentCallsVictim wrote on Feb 3^rd, 2010 at 3:02pm:



Where has that come from? My email from BT says ....

From 1st April 2010, the cost of UK landline calls made during the daytime will increase from 5.4 pence per minute to 5.9 pence per minute. (plus 9.9p set up fee)

sherbert wrote on Feb 3^rd, 2010 at 3:16pm:

A slip on my behalf, please retain the quote. I have however corrected the posting to avoid further confusion.

jrawle wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 10:41am:



jrawle.....see my original post and SCV's reply #1

The point about the web page for new customers is that they get a free first year upgrade to Evening and Weekend if they sign up for 12 months.

All three packages are also available without a 12 month commitment, but on different terms, which are not mentioned on the page. The only options presented are those for a 12 month contract. Given the special offer, it would not make sense to sign up to Evening and Weekend for the first 12 months at the normal price, because you can get it for free.

This is how the marketing people chose to present the options simply to new customers. They want them to sign up for a year, hopefully with Anytime!

After your first 12 months with BT you become an “existing customer” and so have a separate web page - http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayCategory.do?catego.... This shows all 3 plans and their terms.

Details of the special offers available are not shown, they are available by following the link at the top of the page. The point is that you cannot benefit from a special offer by downgrading - e.g. you cannot switch from Anytime to Weekend and get the free first year upgrade.

One can argue for ever about the way the deals are constructed and presented. One can always find some element of dishonesty in marketing as there will always be some point of detail that has been omitted.

Different people will chose different packages and providers for all manner of reasons. That is a fair point for discussion in this area of the forum, however my concern is purely about the impact of this move on revenue sharing numbers.

These damned “penalty charges” can make calls to 084 numbers appear to be cheap, if they are presented as being typical. I am anxious to try to get across the point that very few people will actually pay them, because they will be likely to sign up for Anytime. This is very important, given the way in which the Department of Health has framed the regulations for the NHS, which refer only to relative cost, rather than the prohibition of use of all revenue sharing and premium rate numbers which would have been much simpler and more effective.

I cannot rely on the suggestion that BT customers would, or ought to, use 18185 when making an appointment with their GP, thereby making a geo or 03 number cheaper.

There may well be many people who will now choose to take a £5 discount on their BT Bill and pay for their weekday calls as they make them through another provider. There may indeed be many of the 5.3 million Weekend only customers who already do this. I am however most reluctant to start getting into details about exactly what people actually do as I do not have the relevant figures.

The simple point that I wish to make is that the non-inclusive charges for calls that would otherwise be included in a package are NOT the true standard charge and should not be seen, or presented, as such. BT’s heavy promotion of Anytime serves to assist and strengthen that point.

There may be some who will say that Anytime is an expensive load of nonsense, used by only a few people, and the so-called “penalty rates” are BT’s normal charges. They will continue by saying that they are actually saving people money by giving them a 0844 number to call more cheaply, as well as giving them a better telephone service.

That is what I am trying to fight. I am not seeking to promote BT, a Swiss bucket-shop or any other provider, so I may be out of order in this area of the forum. I do not necessarily expect members of this forum to share my views on this, or any other, matter, so it may be best if we simply agree to differ.

sherbert wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 1:20pm:

Yes, I understand that the "free evenings" offer is sometimes extended beyond the first year.

Now that evenings are getting shorter in the Spring (except for early risers who call other early risers), it may be that "free evenings" will become a lasting feature.

Given the above, you can look on the "normal price" in two ways. I say that That is how I see BT presenting its position - how else can it justify continually increasing the cost of non-inclusive calls at 30% per annum, whilst the only package price increase was to accommodate the inclusion of 0845 calls.

A 0844 user would say that They could add that I have colour-coded my view against that which I am fighting, so as to make my position clear.

Dave wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 3:03pm:




Yes indeed I am on 'week end and evening' as I make very few day time calls and if I do I use my mobile where I get 75 free minutes a month. Ok I know I can't dial 0845 & 0870 numbers for 'free' from my mobile. I agree I am on the '12 month rolling contract'. They do send you an email before it runs out giving you the option of 'pulling out', if you do nothing you just carry on. I guess that is what a rolling contract is.

I am sure I could get it cheaper, my BT quarterly bill comes to about £75, and that includes line rental, a few chargable calls (about £1.50 a quarter) Broadband and VAT. That is just under £6 a week and for the amount of fun and use I get out of my computer, and for the use of my telephone, for the price of a couple of pints, I don't think it is dear. I don't think BT is as bad as everyone makes out. Also their help lines are now 0800 or 0808 and to tell you the truth, I very rarely phone them. You have to speak as you find and to tell you the truth, BT have never caused me any problems.

Anyway I know many people on our site disagrees with me.

Dave wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 3:33pm:



Yup, I agree with with everything say Dave. My mobile contact costs about £45 a year (less than a pound a week) for my package, so I still think I have got a reasonable deal.