Phone advice

[ffutures]

My BT phone bill this month was over £50 - with no calls made, just line rental and internet. Admittedly it's fast internet, but I think the price is getting a bit silly. I've resisted changing phone company until now because I didn't want to change my number, but I'm beginning to think I ought to bite the bullet if there's a better option.

Any recommendations for an alternative in the London area? I want phone and internet, not really interested in extra TV channels etc.

Comments

[original_aj]

I have just bitten the bullet to finally change ISP and have gone for Virgin. They are transferring the BT landline number to the web & phone package I have gone for (also not interested in TV).

VIVID 300 fibre broadband and home phone
£44 a month
for 12 months

Then £55 a month
12 month contract
£20.00 activation fee applies
Includes Virgin Phone line

I was advised by the engineer when he was checking that the fibre was available for my address that I should threaten to cancel after 11 months because I'd get the new connection discounted rate for another year.

http://www.virginmedia.com/shop/broadband/compare.html

[ffutures]

That's going to be more than I'm currently paying after one or two years, but it's certainly a possibility.

[original_aj]

that's the fastest (300Mbps) option. There are cheaper options if you're happy with a lower speed.

[susanreads]

I recommend The Phone Coop, https://www.thephone.coop/. My landline + broadband is usually less than £25 a month, and their customer service line is answered by humans. They also do mobile deals, and fibre. I think you can keep your phone number too.

[ffutures]

Thanks - I'll give them a ring on Monday and ask about the number. It seems to be a lot cheaper if you install it yourself, any idea what that involves?

[susanreads]

I guess it's whether they need to send anybody round to do it for you. If you've got your own hardware and know how to set up a router, they can just send you the password and stuff. If your existing router is going back to BT, it shouldn't make that much difference - I used to get "own router discount" (I don't know whether that's still available), then my router died and they sent me one of theirs, already configured, for £6 P&P, and the only trouble I had was working out which way round the clip-on pieces go. (Routers can be flat-packed to fit through a letterbox now! You couldn't have done that with my first one.)

[ffutures]

OK, that's fine - I thought it meant you had to run the cable in or something. I can do that, no problems.

[ffutures]

And done!