What do you do about a telephone in your property?

[SherborneCottages]

I know that these days most of us tend to use our mobiles and leave landlines almost redundant however we have three properties in Sherborne and unfortunately none of the three get very good mobile reception. In fact, our cottage has NONE and we have received several comments about it.

We are also wanting to set up internet in each of the properties (which I will discuss in a different topic) so I understand that we will need lines set up and have to pay line rental.

So far it looks quite expensive. We're having to pay BT £12/month line rental, plus £5 for phone calls. Also, if 10 calls aren't made each month then an extra £7 charge will be incurred!

So on top of all this (and the internet as well) we don't want to have to be paying for calls. I was just wondering what everybody else's experience had been with having a 'live' phone in your property.

I thought we could say in the manual that UK calls are allowed but no mobiles or international numbers however, given the poor reception I wouldn't be surprised if people do end up making calls. Is there any way I can set up some kind of a block? If so, how and how much will it cost?

If not, is there any way that I can check on my account everytime a guest leaves so that I can deduct from their security deposit immediately (we like to refund them as quickly as possible and don't want to have to wait til the end of the month when the phone bill comes through)?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences!!

[Mountain Goat]

Is there any way I can set up some kind of a block? If so, how and how much will it cost?

Have you tried asking BT? Or looked at this thread?

MG

[kendalcottages]

I'd been following that other thread and was rather hoping someone with a UK background might post.

I'm in a similar predicament to the OP. Our property does have mobile reception but I'd like to be able to provide a phone line (as a service more than anything) that has the ability to make just emergency and local calls (maybe national calls too), the cost of which I would imagine would be so minimal that we could absorb. It's when you get on to international calls or calls to mobiles, etc. that I would imagine a UK phone bill starts mounting.

If you find anything out, I'd be interested to hear.

[SherborneCottages]

Hello Kendall Cottages!

Lucky you being up there! I love Kendall and look forward to the film festival every year (maybe I've even stayed in one of your cottages before!)

Anyway, I contacted BT this afternoon and it sounds like having a standard line with call barring would probably be the best option for you. You'd pay the £12 line rental then they're cheapest calling plan is £5/month which includes all UK calls (24/7), 0800 0845, etc. Then if you want you can choose one of their call barring options (either call or go to the website for specifics). You can block international and mobiles or all outgoing calls. There are a whole bunch of various options. It costs £2.99/month I think.

I hope that helps some!

[kendalcottages]

Lucky you being up there! I love Kendall and look forward to the film festival every year (maybe I've even stayed in one of your cottages before!)

Hi SherborneCottages... you won't have, but maybe you'd like to...? We're opening our first property this Easter - it's a luxury apartment by the river. The dates for the festival this year are 18th-21st November and our changeover dates are Mondays and Fridays. With the 19th being the Friday, I'm expecting the 19th-22nd Nov to be one of the first dates to be booked with us as the film festival has *really* grown in popularity over the years. Drop me a PM if you're interested!

Anyway, I contacted BT this afternoon and it sounds like having a standard line with call barring would probably be the best option for you. You'd pay the £12 line rental then they're cheapest calling plan is £5/month which includes all UK calls (24/7), 0800 0845, etc. Then if you want you can choose one of their call barring options (either call or go to the website for specifics). You can block international and mobiles or all outgoing calls. There are a whole bunch of various options. It costs £2.99/month I think.

Thanks - that's really helpful and sounds pleasingly straightforward. Is this what you're going to be going for?

Paul

PS - There's just the one 'L' in Kendal... But don't worry, it's a common mistake, NatWest got it wrong on everything (cheque book, etc.) when I opened our account with them (in the Kendal branch!).

[kendalcottages]

Hi again

I just got an email from a friend and he happened to mention this:
http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/P ... D=PPP_0161

It reminded me of this thread and I thought I'd pass it on in case it's of any help to you.

Paul

[kendalcottages]

On the phone to BT now trying to set up this anytime plan at £5 a month and call barring at £3 a month.

They're telling me outgoing calls to mobiles can't be blocked but I'm pretty sure that's not the case... is it?

[kendalcottages]

From what I can gather, it seems you can only block them if you also block national calls.

Time to explore some alternatives, methinks...

[ccazes]

I recently looked into changing the phone provider for someone in my family in the UK.
If you are going to install internet, it is important to ask what each telephone provider offers and at what price as this is most likely who you will get your internet from. it might also be cheaper to get more than 1 service from the same provider.
Also if you are planning on having cable or satellite TV, companies like Virgin and Sky also do phone packages.
Even the Post Office has a phone package these days.
We leave a live phone in our house stating that local calls are free and that other calls will be charged for (I can look online). The phone has practically never been used at all so I am happy to leave it that way rather than pay to set up call blocking.

[kendalcottages]

Internet-wise I'm thinking of going with someone altogether different. I am wondering about Sky TV but didn't think Sky broadband was up to much.

I'd rather not have the faff of a fully open live phone, and the prospect of billing people for £8 or whatever after their stay.

For the record (and maybe for Sherborne's benefit), this appears to be the possible options with BT's call barring:

1. All Outgoing calls are barred except 999
2. Outgoing national and international calls are barred
3. Outgoing international calls are barred
4. Calls to Operator services are barred
5. Bars calls to manage your Calling Features
6. Bars calls to premium rate numbers

I really don't know what to do.

I do understand there are things called phone guards that you can fix to your phone point and limit access that way. Maybe that's going to be worth considering...

[SherborneCottages]

I've had a good look at it too and I think what we're going to do is perhaps is just leave the phone live.

I spoke to BT and they said that you can check your bill online and it is refreshed ever 12 hours or something? After I heard this I figured it would be easy enough to go online after the guests leave while we still have their security deposit and then whatever was spent (if anything that is - from what i've read on here, many people who leave their phones live haven't had them used!) can be deducted from the deposit before we refund it.

So we will leave a note by the phone saying that it is just for local/national calls (which are free) and that any paid calls will be deducted from the security deposit and possibly incurr a small service charge. (Not sure about the last bit but I suppose if it's happening frequently and becoming a bit of a bother we might do this to dissuade them)

BT have said that call barring can be added at any point so I figure we may as well try this out first and then add call barring later if we have to.

[kendalcottages]

Thanks, Sherborne... I'm starting to think this might be the best option also.

Wasn't sure whether to even ask for a security deposit (was thinking I might avoid the minor hassle of the admin with the refunds) but perhaps this also gives good justification for requesting one.

[kendalcottages]

Incidentally, will you bother blocking international or premium?

I don't suppose it's likely to happen but there is the potential to accrue a telephone bill of more than £100 (or whatever the deposit is) with calls to those kinds of numbers...

[kg1]

Hi. We are in the New Forest area & the mobile reception is dire. So we have a BT line installed but specify on the websites & in the terms & conditions that it is for incoming calls & outgoing emergency calls ONLY.

We check the usage online before we return anyone's deposit, & deduct as necessary, but we've never had a problem with overusage. We find that most people leave a note saying they've used the 'phone & to bill them.