BT phone lines for low income

[Rainman]

Hears some thing I did not know, BT has a Phone package for low income house hold called BT basic. Sounds good for some one who needs the use of a phone but can't afford the price's going on now.
This was taken from thier website.

The new service is called BT Basic. We created it to help customers who receive Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment Support Allowance (Income based)or Guaranteed Pension Credit to budget their money
How much does BT Basic cost?
The BT Basic line rental is only £13.50 every three months (including VAT), and you can pay your bill however you like.

Your line rental includes a call allowance of £4.50 every three months (this includes VAT). This means that if your phone calls to normal UK or international destinations never go over that amount, your bill will never be more than £13.50 every three months (including VAT).

[Lord Nikon]

If they don't do something about the line installation cost I can't see it attracting that many new customers. For those on income support the install cost is what's going to do it really.

[joglynne]

Originally Posted by Lord Nikon

If they don't do something about the line installation cost I can't see it attracting that many new customers. For those on income support the install cost is what's going to do it really.

BT Basic was launched in October 2008 and replaced the previous Light User Scheme which was designed for people who didn't make many calls.

Bt have attempted to address the issue of people without a land line but I think even their solution would be too costly for anyone one on a fixed low income and they haven't taken on board what being on a fixed low income really means

Q. Can I get BT Basic if I don’t have a BT phone line?
A. No. You need to have a BT phone line to get BT Basic. If you don’t have a BT phone line then you will need to change to BT before you can get BT Basic. A one-off connection charge may apply to some customers. We'll let you know if this charge applies once you've ordered and we've made some checks. If the charge does apply you can spread the cost over a 12 month period (without incurring any additional charges). If you do choose to spread this connection charge, you will have to pay £24.99 as the 1st initial payment, followed by 4 quarterly payments of £25 each.

http://www.btplc.com/inclusion/Needh...qs.htm#BTphone

[Lord Nikon]

ok, let's compare that to mobiles...

Orange have 13 PAYG handsets under 20 quid at this time. 22 under 40.
T-mobile have 5 phones under 20 on PAYG, 18 handsets under 50
Vodagroan have 8 phones under 20 on payg, 23 under 40
O2 have 2 phones under 20, 5 under 40.
Three have a few under 30, a nice selection under 50 but offer a few things the others don't

Whichever way you look at it, the mobiles seem to be a better offer than BT.

[joglynne]

Agreed.

My father was on the original scheme, already having had a BT landline for many years. He never wanted to bother anyone if he needed help, slightly confused, receiving a state pension and small occupational pension he didn't have much money to spare so the Light User Scheme was a cost effective way of making sure he had a phone that we could use to keep an eye on him during the days when I couldn't visit him.

Looking at the qualifying conditions for the new Basic scheme he wouldn't have qualified and knowing how his mind worked he would have ditched the idea of having a BT phone line installed altogether in disgust with much darn grimmitting.

Goodness knows how he would have coped with a mobile phone though. It would have been impossible for him to use on so may levels and I suspect that would be the case with a fair few other people.

[Lord Nikon]

That was why Motorola developed the Motofone F3, nothing fancy, voice prompts, speakerphone, easy to see screen and buttons, battery lasts 2 weeks, unbreakable e-paper screen. And sold at the time for about a fiver.

[joglynne]

Well that would make it more doable for some people. My father would still have been unable to use one though being blind and extremely forgetful he would never know where the mobile was and unable to see what he was doing even if he found the "dang" thing. Been there done that,

[Scrubbs]

Originally Posted by joglynne

Well that would make it more doable for some people. My father would still have been unable to use one though being blind and extremely forgetful he would never know where the mobile was and unable to see what he was doing even if he found the "dang" thing. Been there done that,

maybe one of these would/could help someone like your father?

[joglynne]

Originally Posted by Scrubbs

maybe one of these would/could help someone like your father?

Good find. That does look very usable for the less dexterous and even those people with sight problems could find it useful, a bit on the expensive side though for those people on low incomes.

I wish I had found one like that whilst my Father was still alive it would have made all our lives a lot simpler. With the neck strap he would have had more chance of not loosing it. I lost track of the number of "simple" big key mobile, and cordless phones he managed to "misplace" in the space of just a couple of years. Got quite expensive.

[Turkey Machine]

Also bear in mind with these phone lines that you can't have ADSL on them.

[AndyCambs]

Originally Posted by Lord Nikon

ok, let's compare that to mobiles...

Orange have 13 PAYG handsets under 20 quid at this time. 22 under 40.
T-mobile have 5 phones under 20 on PAYG, 18 handsets under 50
Vodagroan have 8 phones under 20 on payg, 23 under 40
O2 have 2 phones under 20, 5 under 40.
Three have a few under 30, a nice selection under 50 but offer a few things the others don't

Whichever way you look at it, the mobiles seem to be a better offer than BT.

Very true, but the original light user scheme on BT which this replaces was aimed at pensioners who needed the phone to remain in contact and had a lifeline system.
Elderly people can't always manage the small buttons on cell phones, and you can't attach lifeline systems to them.
So there's no choice really for some.

[richard1960]

Originally Posted by Lord Nikon

ok, let's compare that to mobiles...

Orange have 13 PAYG handsets under 20 quid at this time. 22 under 40.
T-mobile have 5 phones under 20 on PAYG, 18 handsets under 50
Vodagroan have 8 phones under 20 on payg, 23 under 40
O2 have 2 phones under 20, 5 under 40.
Three have a few under 30, a nice selection under 50 but offer a few things the others don't

Whichever way you look at it, the mobiles seem to be a better offer than BT.

I am with three and got a deal for £20 with minutes texts and unlimited internet and a decent phone a nokia 6700 classic,there are some very good mobile deals around as you say,much cheaper then paying a land line rental.

[Turkey Machine]

Originally Posted by richard1960

I am with three and got a deal for £20 with minutes texts and unlimited internet and a decent phone a nokia 6700 classic,there are some very good mobile deals around as you say,much cheaper then paying a land line rental.

£20 a month? More than the £4.50 these phone lines are a month then? Think about that.

[Thomas T]

Also assuming the people on these low incomes could GET a contract with three or indeed any other mobile operator.

I do like the idea of a cheap pay as you go phone tho.