Things are not going well for Post Office Homephone in move to Talk Talk network.

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2013/09/postoffice-uk-users-blame-network-m...

Oh dear... well that was a nice idea out the window then...

Can't run the risk of them stuffing it up. While I don't use voice very much I fear they could just end up breaking the entire line (through a billing/cease issue, or a physical disconnection.)

I'm aware of the FMP/SMP setup & that was my concern. OR will normally hive off the data side.

Time to talk to Easynet again & see how much they want for dry pairs xDSL service only.

Q wrote on May 13^th, 2014 at 6:33pm:


Really like some aspects of Zen's phone line rental such as no iniquitous massive per call connection fee and rounding up to the next whole minute on top.  Plus cleanly charging the real cost of 084 and 087 numbers without the recent P O Homephone price loading outrage.

However all somewhat spoilt for me by the fact their unnecessarily generous 5,000 minutes of 01/02/03 calls bundle per month is nearly £7 or so, more than an Anytime calls bundle costs with any of their competitors.  And on top of that you can't get the line rental down to £10 or so by paying annually or any other means.

If only they could also have a 2,000 minutes call bundle for say £3.30 per month then that would make them look a lot more competitive with the likes of Primus and Post Office Homephone.

Annoying though the ripoff Post Office 0844 and 0871 charges are they can all be avoided by using a company like www.localphone.com to make all international calls by Voip instead.

I certainly would not ever want to rent my phone line from BT again as a matter of absolute principle in protest at their disgusting ripoff line rental costs and the disgrace of the per call connection fee that has no relation at all to their underlying costs in connecting two calling parties.

Localphone dont provide cheaper rates to 084/0871 numbers as such.
NGMsGhost is suggesting that you use them or similar to make intl calls rather then calling  084/087 indirect access numbers,and incurring the rip off PO Homephone Charges for 0844/0871 calls.

The same would also apply to other companies who charge excessive amounts to call these numbers.

One of the benefits of LocalPhone is they dont raise a connection charge.

CJT-80 wrote on May 15^th, 2014 at 9:45am:


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.com

P 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.

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