BT 1571 to be Charged For

[kraftee]

All I can say is .......old news

[NOSPAMnet]

to is engaged!!!

Ah right .Now I see what he meant .That's cos it goes straight to call minder or similar and that counts as an answered call..same as someone who lets the call go to an answering machine .

[Jasper]

Surely if you use your phone only for broadband or receiving calls then there would be no need to use the 1571 service anyway ?

jasper

[Bob Eager]

Perfectly reasonable - I only use my phone for receiving calls ***via BT***. I make calls via various indirect providers, but they're always going to come in via BT....it's a BT line. So, if I wished, I could have

1571 on that line and it would take messages for me. But because I never *make* a call via BT (I always use a prefix) I would end up paying the stated fee.

I have another line, just for ADSL, and that is never used to make or receive calls at all. No point in 1571 on that, since any incoming call is a wrong number.

[Mortimer]

Why not put ADSL on the original line and discontinue the second line - save yourself the line rental?

[Bob Eager]

Because it's ISDN.

[Mortimer]

OK, fair enough. Do you find you still use ISDN at all when you've got a faster broadband connection?

[Roger Mills]

So what's wrong with breaking the habit of a lifetime and *making* a few

*free* weekend calls via BT? You could even make them to your other line if you don't want to make *real* calls for some reason - a bit like my habit of sending a fax to myself every couple of months so that my free (PlusNet-provided) Fax-to-email facility doesn't lapse.

[Bob Eager]

What's the point, and what do I gain?

The POTS line is never used for incoming or outgoing calls. So why would I want 1571 on it anyway?

The ISDN line doesn't need 1571 (and I've stated my reasons for not wanting it). It has a PBX and voicemail system attached anyway, and is unlikely to be engaged because there are two channels. Anyway, no free

1571 on that because to be ISDN it has to eb (effectively) a business line.

So, unless I've missed something, what would making these free calls gain me? Apart from saving some small amount of money at certain times of the week? The disadvantage is that the ISDN line has extensions all round the house, and the POTS line doesn't even have a phone on it most of the time, and it has no extensions.

[Roger Mills]

In your own words (above) "I make calls via various indirect providers, but they're always going to come in via BT....it's a BT line. So, if I wished, I could have

1571 on that line and it would take messages for me."

I'm not sure which line you were referring to there - or how useful 1571 would be on it. But if you *wanted* 1571, you'd have to pay for it *unless* you made a couple of calls per month - albeit free - on it. However, if it's an ISDN line, I don't know how much of this applies anyway!

[Bob Eager]

As I said earlier, I don't approve of 1571 so wouldn't use it anyway. The PBX does all the voicemail, and there are five numbers (and five voicemail boxes) attached to it, so no need. But as it's a 'business' line (because you can't get residential ISDN) none of the offers apply anyway (or the call rates either!).

I could make free calls at weekends etc. on the POTS line but as I said it's inconvenient. I may hook it up when the PBX changes to Asterisk, and milk BT a bit more!

[Unbeliever]

Here is the 'offending' e-mail in full:

============================== Terms and Conditions

From 16th September 2008 some of our prices will be changing. These changes are summarised below:

Mobile Saver

The existing charge for calls on Mobile Saver is 9 pence per minute (ppm) in the daytime and 5ppm in the evening. From 16th September 2008 this will be simplified to 7.5ppm at any time of day. This change affects all customers who receive Mobile Saver.

Call Set-up Fee

The call set-up fee does not apply to inclusive Weekend calls for customers on the Unlimited Weekend Plan, inclusive Evening and Weekend calls for customers taking the Unlimited Evening & Weekend Plan or the Broadband Talk Evening & Weekend Plan, inclusive anytime calls on the Unlimited Anytime Plan or the Broadband Talk Anytime Plan, and calls to Freefone services. Other exclusions apply. From 16th September 2008, the call set-up fee for non-inclusive calls from landlines and for non-inclusive Broadband Talk calls will increase from 6p to 7p per call. The existing call set-up fee of

3p per call for BT Fusion, In-Contact Plus, Light User Scheme and BT Basic customers remains unchanged.

Calling Features

We are also making some changes to the prices of one-off calling features services, effective from 16th September 2008, detailed below.

. Dialling 1471 to find out the number of the last person who called you will remain a service available at no charge. The price of the call return service (dial 1471 then press 3) will change from 7.5p to 10p per use.

. Dialling 1571 to pick up your voicemail will remain a service available at no charge. Customers who do not make chargeable or inclusive calls with BT will be charged for BT Answer 1571 standard service. Customers who are billed monthly must make at least two chargeable or inclusive calls with BT in that month (excludes calls made with BT Broadband Talk) or BT will charge £1 a month for the standard BT Answer 1571 service. Customers who are billed quarterly must make at least six chargeable or inclusive calls with BT within that quarter (excludes calls made with BT Broadband Talk) or BT will charge £3 a quarter. The price of the call return service (dial 1571 then press 0) will change from 7.5p to 10p per use.

. The Ringback service provides a call back service from an engaged number when the line becomes free. The price of this service will change from 15p to 30p per use.

. The Reminder Call service allows you to book an alarm call. The price of this service will change from 20p to 30p per use.

. The 3 Way Calling service allows you to talk to two other people at the same time. The price of this service will change from 50p to 60p per use.

Ringback, Reminder Call and 3 Way Calling are also available on a monthly rental basis. Each feature costs £1.75 per month, or £3.50 per month for 2-4 features, for unlimited usage.

All of these prices include VAT and are subject to change.

=============================================

This should clear things up a little.

[Dave Liquorice]

And I suspect Mr Eager, like me, is annoyed that BT do not offer ADSL over an ISDN line. It's possible but BT don't do it.

[Dave Liquorice]

For me all voice is over the ISDN line. Data over the ISDN is the 3rd level internet connection backup, the second level being a wireless provided one.

[Bob Eager]

It's just 2nd level backup for me!

[Bob Eager]

Indeed. Although it's nice to have the POTS line in case the ISDN suffers a catastrophic failure.

[dennis]

Would anyone want to give up ISDN if they can afford both? ISDN is far better than POTS.

[dennis]

It didn't fit into the national frequency plan that BT had to agree with OFTEL AFAIK. There had to be a national frequency plan to support the unbundling of the local network so that other operators could take over and maintain the copper in competition to BT.

The fact that nobody has ever done that doesn't mean OFTEL could just let BT do what was technically possible.

[brightside S9]

Just one snag. Inclusive calls are not listed on my BT bill, so I would be pushed to prove I had made any should BT's administrative machine decide to charge me for Caller display or 1571.

[Reentrant]

My online BT bill lists the number and total duration of free calls in the summary section. They aren't in the itemised list but that wouldn't matter.