View Full Version : Should Caller ID be free?
Anastasis
07-02-2006, 11:19
I see that BT now include Caller ID in their packages for free. I wonder if NTL plan to match them on that? That is assuming of course you can get Caller ID in your NTL area which I am told is due very soon in the BH postcode (Wessex) area.
Hopefully, as £1.75 or whatever it is now, is just silly!
Ome of these things it would be nice to have (but I would not wish to pay for). Come on NTL try doing things that get you ahead of BT for a change and include this and one other extra for free! :D
It used to be free, but when they started charging I let it drop, didn't think it was worth the money!
Strange that on PAYG mobile you get caller ID for free, NTL charge £10.50 line rental + charge for caller ID, just wonder what the rental is for? Suppose that without it, landline calls couldn't compete with PAYG mobile for low usage (on PAYG for 10p/minute to any UK landline or mobile)
UncleBooBoo
15-02-2006, 19:28
As far as i'm aware NTL are now the only company to charge for it! :Yikes:
AndyCambs
15-02-2006, 19:51
There is also the problem about some exchanges not being set up for it.
Im in Huddersfield (Kirklees) and subscribed to caller ID months ago but, for some reason it didn't work and ntl blamed my phone.
Months went by and it never worked but then I had it removed.
Since coming back to ntl after a 2 month break with The Phone-Co-op (BT line req.), I asked does it work in this area and they said yes, so had it put back on - indeed it does now work around here and The Phone Co-op charged same as ntl for Caller ID but yes, BT have it included plus you get bills online with pie chart and paper-free billing and pay bill online ... etc.
ntl are quite behind the times even with phone services but, it doesn't bother me it's just I noticed the difference(s) within that 2 months away.
---------- Post added at 20:37 ---------- Previous post was at 20:27 ----------
Strange that on PAYG mobile you get caller ID for free, NTL charge £10.50 line rental + charge for caller ID, just wonder what the rental is for? Suppose that without it, landline calls couldn't compete with PAYG mobile for low usage (on PAYG for 10p/minute to any UK landline or mobile)
I did a trial months ago for ntl and you paid one flat fee and you got a certain amount of mobile calls included. They were testing out a new plan.
Not seen it implimented so I guess it's coming about :(
It was pretty good too and I got paid for doing the trial :D
I see that BT now include Caller ID in their packages for free. I wonder if NTL plan to match them on that? That is assuming of course you can get Caller ID in your NTL area which I am told is due very soon in the BH postcode (Wessex) area.
Free? Last time I looked you would be charged for it as an individual add on unless you got it in the BT Privacy package.
Actually I know for a fact you will still be charged for it if you had it before getting the BT privacy package and fail to stop the individual service once BT Privacy starts on your line.
---------- Post added at 06:33 ---------- Previous post was at 06:25 ----------
As far as i'm aware NTL are now the only company to charge for it! :Yikes:
BT Caller ID (http://www.bt.com/btcom-bin/btcom/store/product/detail.jsp?oid=230770&subcatN=Caller+identification&subcat=-33502&tab=Phone+lines+%26+call+services&parentcatN=Phone+lines+%26+call+services&obsOID=230770&obsType=PRODUCT&obsPage=%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fcatalog.jsp&vStore=1030&cookieFlag=Yes&UserSegment=SME)
Like I said, unless you take up the BT privacy package it is not free.
UncleBooBoo
16-02-2006, 09:20
it is free if you register your number through the tps via bt!
So it is infact free!
Unless of course you want london mobiles calling you day and night! :td:
Either way this option is far better than NTL's either pay up or P*** o** option!
Telephone Preference Service (TPS) (http://www.tpsonline.org.uk) is free to anyone - odd thing is my new ntl number is already reg'd according to the website!
NTL Caller ID is subscription based at £1.75 per month.
Telephone Preference Service (TPS) (http://www.tpsonline.org.uk) is free to anyone
Indeed it is. But if you are a BT customer, and sign up for TPS from the BT website, then BT will also give you caller ID for free.
Telephone Preference Service (TPS) (http://www.tpsonline.org.uk) is free to anyone - odd thing is my new ntl number is already reg'd according to the website!
Numbers get recycled (bt and ntl) they go into quarantine for about 6 months I believe, so it is possible the former owner of you number was just as cautious as you.
andygrif
16-02-2006, 13:46
Free? Last time I looked you would be charged for it as an individual add on unless you got it in the BT Privacy package.
Actually I know for a fact you will still be charged for it if you had it before getting the BT privacy package and fail to stop the individual service once BT Privacy starts on your line.
I think they still have it as a menu option at a price for people who don't route their calls via the BT network (such as Talk Talk, tele2, etc), as one of the conditions is that you make 'calls' using BT - I assume that means more than one, but I don't know.
To be fair to BT, when I phoned to order my line a few months back, I said I wanted Caller Display and they were more than keen to tell me that I could have it for free with the privacy scheme.
So I think it's still fair to describe the offer as 'free".
King Of Fools
16-02-2006, 15:01
Well, it took NTL about 4 years to offer free Voicemail after BT introduced it so I would expect the same for Caller ID!
ian@huth
16-02-2006, 16:06
It is time that NTL woke up and noticed what their competitors are doing especially on the telephone front.
For me there would be a very small monthly saving in call costs with BT, not enough in itself to make me go to the trouble of transferring. NTL's charges for CLID and itemised billing are a joke though and would definitely trigger a move to BT for me if they did charge me for them.;) ;)
All that is with not taking into account two other factors which make NTL less competitive. Those are Friends and Family discounts and the NTL call connection charge.
There are other reasons for preferring BT over NTL though. The range of other call cost providers is much greater and easier with a BT line and of course ADSL broadband is available from a wide range of ISP's. Wouldn't dream of moving to ADSL from NTL BB as things stand but havingf the option to do so quickly is worth having.
Why am I still using NTL for telephone I ask myself, even with the non-standard charges I am paying?
King Of Fools
16-02-2006, 16:29
When NTL introduced its 321 tariff it made BT's charges for national calls look huge and that was my biggest reason for getting an NTL phoneline.
Nowadays, BT is undercutting NTLs call prices after a series of price reductions but NTL are still stuck at the same price and I would probably now get a BT phoneline if I was allowed to.
it is free if you register your number through the tps via bt!
So it is infact free!
Unless of course you want london mobiles calling you day and night! :td:
Either way this option is far better than NTL's either pay up or P*** o** option!
If you read my post I said it isn't free UNLESS you take it via BT privacy (which is registering you for the TPS service via BT). Take it as a seperate item and it is not free, you will be charged a fee per quarter for the service wether you make calls via your line or not. This is because some people do not want the privacy package and are happy to just have (and pay for) the single additional service on their line.
As to BT telling people that it's free via the privacy option I'm afraid it's down to individual customer service advisers wether you get told that or not as it's not been a policy yet to tell customers they can save money by going on the privacy service, you are told to assume that the customer is happy to pay for their service and not to question the set up unless the customer queries it ;)
UncleBooBoo
16-02-2006, 20:13
I called BT earlier and asked for information on cost etc if I come back to BT and I was also told I get free caller display and line rental at £10.50 if payed by direct debit and they can switch my line on right now if I wanted to.
As im on contract with NTL for another 3 months I said I will call back then.
So in my opinion it is free, and if people want to pay for something they can get for free then good for them but I don't.
At least BT give you an option of getting it for free. More than NTL would ever do!
I called BT earlier and asked for information on cost etc if I come back to BT and I was also told I get free caller display and line rental at £10.50 if payed by direct debit and they can switch my line on right now if I wanted to.
As im on contract with NTL for another 3 months I said I will call back then.
So in my opinion it is free, and if people want to pay for something they can get for free then good for them but I don't.
At least BT give you an option of getting it for free. More than NTL would ever do!
you could try telling NTL that your considering going to BT as soon as your contract is up becuase of the caller display being free on BT see if NTL are prepared to let you have Caller display FREE to make you stay with them ;)
UncleBooBoo
16-02-2006, 22:58
Nope NTL phones service is more expensive than bt anyway!
Also you only get it free for a few months until they do an audit on your account at which point they start charging you plus they back date the cost a min of three months!
happened to loads of people on here who have had discounts or free services not worth the hassle!
ntl do audits on accounts to make sure that people are being charged for the services they are receiving, it came to light that some people were not being charged line rental and instead of it being backdated, 3 months charges were applied. i bet some people knew damm fine they weren't paying for what they should be but did they ring up, nope, they sat in silence and then complained when it came to light having got away with months and months of free service.......
ntl is a business and every business is there to make a profit regardless of which industry they are in so why should they give free stuff away because some people think they shouldn't pay for it :rolleyes: Remember it's not www.ntlcharity.com ;)
UncleBooBoo
16-02-2006, 23:42
Ummm if NTL remove a phone line and say you are not going to be charged for it anymore, and it will work out as you receiving a credit of £10.50 on every bill in future and NTL do this for several months you don't expect them to turn around several months later and say tuff we changed our minds now we want the money as they have done in several cases posted on this forum!
There is a big difference in having a service and not paying for it without a company's consent! That is theft plain and simple!
If I call a company and they offer me a service for free I expect to get it free!
I never said NTL were a charity! Please point out where I said that!
Are BT a charity NO! but they are cheaper than NTL and prob make twice as much profit as NTL every month! (No proof figure of speach!)
After all BT ain't ever been on the verge of bankruptcy so they must be doing something right!
I do however expect to get a competative price for the services I pay!
I also don't expect NTL to give anything away, I will go to the company that offers best value for money and that is not NTL!
snipped
calm down, crikey, you'll be in the "am i having a heart attack thread" soon :erm:
none of my remarks were aimed at you, it was general comments having read some posts from here and other threads, things like encouraging customers to lie to ntl about moving to a non-cabled area to get out of the contract etc (can't remember who said it).
I don't blame anyone for trying to get the best service and deals available but some folk seem to think they are are doing businesses a favour by having their services, demanding discounts and freebies (yep, lost count the number of calls I had on the very subject)
UncleBooBoo
17-02-2006, 00:26
I have never had a discount with NTL other than one month’s free family pack and that was because NTL cut off my STB and connected somebody else’s on my account for a period of nearly two weeks! And the hassle I have and the hours I spent on the phone to resolve it was not worth no poxy £8.50!
I have paid full price for all my services from day one, never been late with a payment and in fact my bill is paid before I receive my bill as I pay by card over the phone.... Most months I'm always in credit!
I am not the only one to recommend a member to inform NTL about moving to a non cabled area. Guess its ok when the regs do it but not me!
Ohhhh and I have already been in the "am I having a heart attack thread" what you expect I am an ntl customer!
If we ain't doing NTL a favour by being a customer why so many of the special deals to encourage old ones to stay as well as get new one's then?
Not to mention the reps knocking my door every 12 months!
Without customers there is no business.
Instead of giving new customers and one's that want to leave all these discount's and deals why not scrap them and bring your overall prices in line with your competitors so all NTL customers get a better deal?????
After all if NTL is that good you don't need to do all these special offers and make people like me pay for them. (3 price increase's so far since I joined NTL 9 months ago if you include the new charges!)
Nope NTL phones service is more expensive than bt anyway!
Also you only get it free for a few months until they do an audit on your account at which point they start charging you plus they back date the cost a min of three months!
happened to loads of people on here who have had discounts or free services not worth the hassle!
:Yikes: you'd think they'd let you keep a free service if they've given it to you free.
I mean if them giving free caller display to someone means that they keep all their NTL services and say this someone uses the phone quite a bit, surely the money they make on calls + line rental + other services outweighs the money they'd lose by not charging for the caller ID. :confused:
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