Home Phone Price changes and Line Rental Saver

[#1]

Quote from: Matt_2k34

Erm, not really? How many people still use their landline for calls? hardly anyone I know  Most people use their mobiles instead. Less calls + less revenue = prices must increase.

A lot of people cannot afford a mobile phone. Many elderly people have no idea how to use a mobile phone.

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Next you'll be moaning that Royal Mail have put the stamps up, (Same problem... Who uses the postal service these days for personal use? NO ONE!) Regards

Tell that to my postman who is expected to deliver up to 8 sacks of mail in 4 hours.

[#2]

Quote from: Matt_2k34

How many people still use their landline for calls?

People who live in areas where there is a poor mobile signal.
People who want the assurance of a phone that is more likely to work in an emergency. A mobile phone with a flat battery is no help in a power cut. Landlines continue to work.
People who don't expect friends and families to pay many pence per minute to call them when calls could be free to a landline.
To name but three reasons some people prefer landlines

[#3]

+1) People who have teenage kids at home who would rather save their mobile minutes for when they're out

[#4]

This £1 increase in line rental is a rise of 8.3% – well above inflation, and is the second rise within a year (the last was in January 2011). However, I don't blame PlusNet for this. Since BT's prices are also rising, and since PN sell a service provided by BT, I assume BT are the cause of the rise.
Whenever I compare prices – for example, when one of BT's rather pathetic letters begging me to go back to them drops through the letterbox –, I find PN are consistently cheaper. Given that PN are much more responsive than BT, this is two reasons not to move.
But how is it that the cost of these already-installed wires and exchanges is rising much faster than inflation, when technology in general is becoming cheaper and cheaper?
I do wonder about the long-term future of the POTS (plain old telephone service). If one doesn't make many calls, it's already looking expensive (£12.99 / 60 mins a month, for example, is 21.6p/min), and rises like this one make it worse. If the same copper wires didn't carry broadband, many more would start wondering if they could do without them.
It's true that it's cheaper for friends and relatives to call a landline – at least, it's true for the moment. But Ofcom has already forced mobile companies to cut their 'termination charges', and by 2015 it should be just as cheap, or almost as cheap, to call a mobile. Mind you, 'should be' isn't 'will be'....

[#5]

Well I use my landline regularly.
I hardly ever use the mobile and hardly ever receive calls on it either.
Using the landline is cheaper than using the mobile : it's PAYG - so I don't have any included calls.
Needless to say when people ask me to ring a mobile for a standard non urgent call - I don't....'tis amazing how quick they get the drift and provide a landline number.
I'm on BT, from what I've seen round here if you are not on BT for your phone - when it goes off due to a fault it's a multi day wait at a minimum
Conversely the fastest ever response I've had from BT is at my doorstep within 2 hours of the fault being reported.
Message received is -  keep your phone on BT.
In my opinion BT voice calls/line rental are subsidising broadband costs,which are being hidden and not passed on to those using the internet the most.

[#6]

The trouble is these days BT have you over a barrel if you don't live in a cable area. If you want internet access you have to pay L/Line rental unless you resort to using a dongle. Maybe when high speed WiFi is more available that will stuff BT.

[#7]

There has been questions about referrals, but it did not seem to address my question.That is if I go on to LRS and pay a year up front, how do I get my referral monies? Do PN send a credit DD each month to my account on the usual date? Just to check, if the people I have referred also go onto LRS so they and I are paying upfront, then PN still just continue to now pay a credit DD instead of a debit DD monthly?

[#8]

not sure about how you get it, but one of mine has always paid yearly and it shows up differently, its the first one
Referral ID: workplace - manual association
Discount received: £0.25
Referral ID: new_signup                   
Discount received: £0.50

[#9]

The situation is rather simple but stupid as I just found out (I had a few free months from the old referral offer)
The referrals only apply a discount to the broadband charge even when the referral includes home phone. So paying line rental up front or even to BT doesn't affect it at all.
If there is no broadband charge on the account then the referral isn't paid and then you need to wait until the amount owed reaches £5 when they add a credit via the way you normally pay or by cheque if that is the only possibility.
I questioned this because I was still paying for my phone but temporarily not for broadband so I didn't get a referral credit that month.

[#10]

Thanks, Jim.Would have been nice to have a staff comment though.

[#11]

Digicare dont really work over the weekends, anything you see here over the weekend by a member of staff is *normally* them 'working' on their own time
I'm sure a member of staff will confirm this first thing in the morning.
Regards

[#12]

I have just done the calculations and, if I have got my sums right,  for an Anytime calls package with Caller Display PN's phone customers would be better off switching to BT than take PN's LRS deal  (unless the difference in cost of chargeable calls is sufficient to negate the saving).
PN £113.88 + 12x£3.50 + 12x£0.99 =  £167.76
BT £120.00 + 9x£4.70 +  12x£0.00 = £162.30 (Caller Display free with Privacy at Home, Anytime option free for first 3 months)
Conversely anyone with BT who already has its Anytime package will have to pay full price for it each month and so could save by switching to Plusnet.
BT £120.00 + 12x£4.70 +  12x£0.00 = £176.40

[#13]

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Digicare dont really work over the weekends, anything you see here over the weekend by a member of staff is *normally* them 'working' on their own time I'm sure a member of staff will confirm this first thing in the morning.

That's Monday gone,perhaps they only work Tuesday/ Friday.
So customer sevices close over the weekend, gee and I thought they got awards for their service to customers.

[#14]

Digicare is NOT (just) customer service, they work the forums. the Callcenter works 7 days a week, 365 days a year 
Im sure one of the mods will flag this up to a member of staff to look, its possible they didnt view the thread, mainly as its full of people whittering to each other 
Regards

[#15]

Hi all,
As Jim mentions referrals still work in exactly the same way whether Line Rental Saver is opted for or not.
let me know if there's any specifics re this you want to query or want me to confirm.