CJT-80 wrote on May 15
th, 2014 at 10:45am:
Apologies,
I misunderstood
I can confirm that bigjohn is entirely correct in his deductions and that I was indeed referring to avoiding the P O Homephone ripoff 084/7 rates by using the Voip service of
www.localphone.comP O Homephone's little extras offers (compared to their rivals) of free UK mobile calls and free international calls to landlines in major countries up to an hour long (but there is no limit on the number of calls up to an hour long) and their 6pm evening start for free calls are all quite attractive, as is the fact that their payment for the year plan works out at only £10 per month line rental.
It is therefore a great shame they have spoilt it all with rates to 084/7 numbers that even dozy Ofcom or certainly the new Competition & Markets authority would I hope eventually judge to be wholly unfair and also monstrously anti-competitive because they involve a profit margin of thousands of percent a minute in relation to supply cost and are clearly intended to prevent people shopping around for the cheapest international call price.
I also can't begin to understand why they didn't at least wait until the new EU Consumer Rights Directive is effective in mid June at which point most genuine customer service numbers (including many customer service 0844s caught by their new extrem penal rates) will switch to using 03 included in your bundled minutes allowance. Even Tickemaster (as well known 0844 junkies on all their lines) have confirmed to me at very senior level that all their number involving after sales support will change to 03 on the last possible day.
Primus, who have a very bad reputation indeed on billing and customer service, have recently increased the price of what was a bargain deal at only £6.99 per month on line rental and free evening and weekend calls to £9.75 per month if signed up to via the MSE website page at
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/home-phone-calls and bearing in mind that this does not include Caller Display at £1.75 per month on top (which most of us here would I think deem essential) that the Post Office does include and is still a 12 month contract I would say the Post Office Homephone Line Advance deal at £120 (£10 per month equivalent) for the year is still one of the most attractive line rental deals so long as you do not expect to be moving home in the next few months to somewhere else where you cannot transfer that P O Homephone line.