BT Basic Phone On It's Own Or With Broadband Cheap If On Certain Benefit's £10.07!

[nukecad]

So there we have it my contract ends 20th Feb in 12 days time.

TBH a broadband contract doesn't end just like that, it's an initial fixed term and the contract itself simply continues once that fixed term ends (unless you take out another plan).

You still have to actually cancel the contract once the fixed term has ended.

Virgin want 30 days notice, even once you are out of your fixed contract term:
https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...-how-to-cancel
From - 1. You may be charged if you’re leaving within your contracted period

If you're on a 30 day rolling contract or you decide to leave us after your minimum fixed term contract period, you'll just need to give us 30 days' notice.

If you do cancel with them then I suggest that you cancel any Direct Debit at your bank as well.
That stops them just keeping taking money once your 30 days cancellation period has ended. (And most phone and broadband providers are known for doing that).

[StarBright]

I'm still in contract at the mo ends 20th. So If I call them 21st to put my 30 days notice in I would have to leave the direct debit on until the last payment is due?. I'm not sure when that would be until I ring to cancel i'm guessing?

Never switched before.

I had a chat on BT & asked about if I should still pay for virgin until BT is up & running, she said they need 30 days so they can arrange for BT to be installed then or what ever day I would like. So once I've got my virgin last day I'm thinking to get BT set up a couple of days before so in case something goes wrong with BT there's a couple of over lap days. Does that sound sensible?

thanks

[StarBright]

Gus I forgot to say I can get 4G. I've very nearly gone with it, get rid of my landline & use my cheaper sim pack £5 a month just for calls & texts, mainly just so I don't have to go through this renewal nightmare!.

But as BT is all calls covered for £20 a month & there will be no more renewal haggling as long as I remain on IR ESA they just do a quick check with DWP every 12 months then email saying I've got another year or if I'm not on IR ESA anymore then I can choose a different plan or go else where I'm going with them

[nukecad]

Sorry, edited my last post you might want to take another look.

Regarding a possible gap in coverage while switching:
During lockdown I had no broadband and so was using my mobile phone as a router. It's an ideal solution for if you find yourself temporarily without landline broadband/wifi.

You can use your phone as a router in a couple of different ways, either directly connected to your laptop/computer via a USB port, or as a mobile wifi 'hotspot' so more than one device can connect through it.

Which phone provider are you with? Sounds like it may be EE if you have a £5 talk and text pack?.
And what phone do you have?

If it is EE you'll need more data that that £5 pack gives, but it will only be for a short time.
I was spending about £18 a month for EE mobile data packs, but that was general internet use and I wasn't streaming TV or anything like that.

If you have a phone on a monthly contract that already includes a data allowance it makes even more sense.
With a monthly plan you are already paying for that data whether you use it or not.

[StarBright]

I've go a PAYG sim with Asda which is on vodafone. 4p a min call 4p per text & 4p per mb. When I know I need to use my phone more I add a £5 a month unlimited calls & texts no data. They do data packs too

I've got a smartphone it's about three years old an honour

Thank You It's been a very busy day & my eyes are closing so will say night for today & check back tomorrow.

Thanks for your help as always Nuke

[nukecad]

Mmm, I think that if you wanted to use your phone for tethering your computer to mobile internet to cover a temporary broadband gap then an Asda data bundle may do the job for you.

They are currently doing them with unlimited data, calls, and texts, at half price so for just £10 a month
https://mobile.asda.com/bundles/unlimited?bundle=BUN20U
Two things to note:
1- Although it seem like those are only available with a new SIM that's not the case, futher down the page in the FAQ's it says:

How do I get unlimited data
If you’re a new customer, simply order one of the SIMs above and you’ll get unlimited data! For existing customers, you can buy an unlimited bundle through My Account.

2- The 3 different unlimited bundles there have 3 different download speeds - those seem to only apply to 5G; on 4G it just says up to 60mbps. Again see the FAQ's.

TBH though I'd probably still go for the faster £15 bundle if you intend to do any streaming or connecting more than one device by wifi.

There are other 'double data' bundles on that page, but with just £10 for unlimited everything I'm not sure why anyone would?

You already know how the bundles work, when you no longer need it you can just cancel it and go to a cheaper bundle or no bundle.

That's how I did it with EE, when I got a fibre broadband landline installed again I just went back to a £1 a week talk and text plan on the mobile phone.

Honor phones are made by Huawei, and tethering them to a computer using a USB cable, wifi hotspot, or bluetooth is basically the same as with an Android phone.
(Note- USB tethering is better than the others, rather than using your battery to power the wireless signal it's actually charging through the USB cable).
If you need any help with any of the tethering methods then give a shout, there are also plenty of guides about it on a google.

[StarBright]

Thanks Nuke,

I will have a look through what you have said

[beau]

What a load of tosh about phone lines, do they think you fell off the Christmas tree? Unless you use fibre all internet connectiond are via the phone lines which are run by Open Reach.

[StarBright]

I know, they kept on saying the same thing over & over again.

I already had my foot half out the door when I had to wait 48 hours for a reply, more so when it took 20 mins in between each question because they had so many conversations on the go at once. The thing that nailed it for me was having to wait another 15 mins because they were going for a break. At that point they could of said I'll give it to you free I would of said no.

I'm going to go with this BT deal. I've got to wait until 21st of Feb because my contract with Virgin ends 20th. Then I will call VM & put my 30 days notice in & once I get the end date I will fill out the online forms for BT.

You can use your own home phone or choose between a free coloured screen phone or have two free cheaper ones. I'm going to go with the coloured screen one as I only need one phone. It's this one:

https://newsroom.bt.com/bt-launches-...lexa-built-in/

[beau]

We have a phone that has a call blocker facility. Any number that is not in our phone book has to announce themselves before it will even ring out. Cold callers hang up straight away. I check previous calls and block those on the handset.