http://m.campaignlive.co.uk/article/...-email-service

See that link above?
Way back when I remember reading of this promised email address for life and I signed up. It has been my main email address for many years as it has been for many others.
Just today though I receive an email, in a month all of these accounts are going to be deleted unless you start paying a monthly fee.
But...Free email for life.....I'm still alive....Will there be death squads?

Anyone else using talk21 affected by this?
Any clues on how to save my emails? Maybe to shunt them over to a yahooaccount- which is exactly the same thing and totally free.

To anyone considering broadband, phone, etc... providers- Don't trust BT

I must be reading it wrong. But where does it promise an email address for life? I don't think any free webmail service can make that promise.

Yes a few posts down ...

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1873916

[quote=Josquius;67936434]


Any clues on how to save my emails? Maybe to shunt them over to a yahooaccount- which is exactly the same thing and totally free.

/QUOTE]

Transfer all your mails into an email client e.g. Thunderbird.

This may help http://forums.computeractive.co.uk/s...d.php?t=234891

Nowhere in the link that you give does it promise 'Free email for life'

I have a talk21 account....but I'm also a BT fibre customer.
For me it was a simple case of using the on-line form provided & linking to my BT email.
No fuss no charges and simple as.

Not an issue here.

In 1998, when I signed up, it was launched as a 'free for life' email address, a communication base for the 21st century, hence the '21' name. I too have had it as my main address for 15 years, using it for everything.

To be threatened with the deletion of my address and all its contents UNLESS I pay to get BT Broadband, or pay £1.60/month for an address I've had for free is nothing short of blackmail.

I now passionately hate BT, and will never EVER use any of their products, or recommend their broadband service, which I have done in the past. They are a bunch of thieving, greedy, miserable gits...

Surely you can just download all the email?

I'm still yet to see any historic or otherwise quote from BT offering it 'free for life' . Free yes, portable yes, accessible for anywhere yes, and probably a load of other things, but 'for life'?. If you can find an email claiming it will be free for eternity, or even something on Google Cache or Wayback Machine etc. it would be very surprising.

Anyway it is a legacy service and it's being mothballed. They are at least warning people that it is closing, which should give you a chance to back up your mail.

AFAIK BT are in the process of changing Email provider for all their subscribers and are ditching Yahoo for good. I cannot see them paying to make special arrangements to keep legacy mailboxes used by people who aren't customers.

There was never an offer from BT to offer it free for life. The 'talk21' address was never linked to an ISP. Over a period of time, it has just ended up in BTs ownership.

I wonder if more people would get pissed off if Gmail suddenly announced that in 4 weeks time, give us money or we'll delete your account??

BT has always only talk21 no? As for your Gmail comparison the difference between that and talk21 is how is it supported. Talk21 is run on an old business model where it actually costs BT to continue to support those email addresses with limited scope for advertising or monetising. BT rightly is choosing to withdraw the service unless you are a Broadband customer. Gmail is ISP independent and is supported through adverts, this is how Google make money on the service.

You might kick up a stink, it could be worse they could just tell you they were withdrawing the service tomorrow. They are giving you sufficient notice in which to find an alternative provider. Do as everyone else says download the email through thunderbird, signup with Gmail and back it up there.

Theres no such thing as free lunch

Look, I'm man to realise enough that no one gives a dam about this issue, unless your primary email address is a 'talk21' one. To be honest, I wouldn't care either if it wasn't mine! However, the principal is that anyone offering a 'free' email address, can then turn round, threaten to delete your account, or else give them money. I still get swamped with advertising on my email account, and don't mind at all as I know that's what pays for it.

But before you all jump on BT's defense saying how wonderful they are, and they should charge for everything, just think. If you are currently using a free email address that is not linked to your ISP, and they threatened to withdraw it unless you ponied up - would you be happy?

I think the real question is should you be relying on free providers for something that is as vital as email? I use my own domain and paid email host, even if the provider goes under I can keep the same email address.

Would you trust a service that offered to deliver your letters for free? How about a free landline service? Free mobile service?

You are right that Hotmail, Gmail et al. could do the same, and no, I suspect people wouldn't be happy. But it is the risk you take when you rely on something that is given away for free. While the advertising makes enough to cover the costs, everything is fine - but as soon as that stops being the case they will not hesitate to shut it down.

It's unfortunate that BT are saying 'pay up or get out', and I feel sorry for you, I really do - I know how much of a pain it is to get everything moved over. But perhaps paying for the email address would be the best option going forward rather than moving over to another free email address. This way you at least get a few extra rights as a paying customer.

it says nowhere in that article that the email address will always be free .



if you don't want too pay use one of the many many free email services available , if you want too keep that email as you think nobody will be able to reach you if you don't (which is rubbish) then pay up .

only takes a few minutes to send everyone your new email .

they never said it would be free for life . as you have acknowledged in your previous post .

An "email for life" is not the the same as a "free email for life". By allowing you to keep the email, albeit for a fee, they are keeping their promise.

I remember getting an "email address for life" at bigfoot.com, must have been in the late 90s.
it looks like the company itself has taken a different turn and they are now film producers - same name and logo. http://www.bigfoot.com/about-us.php


amazingly they do still seem to be going
http://ef.bigfoot.com/ef/en/index.jsp

Just seeing if I can re-activate it! I think I gave up on it after it became full of spam.

I couldn't emphasise this sentiment much more, I pay for my own domain name and subsquently my email address. That gives me the power to ensure I don't lose the email itself. Currently hosted with Google on their now discontinued free apps accounts however you can set it up with Microsoft on the live custom domains and then comes with Exchange Activesync.