Does Brittish Telecom give their customers who have call charges lower than the standing charge which is £35 per quarter a fair deal. There are many pensioners who are on low income who need this as a lifeline but are held to ransom with these charges, I say this is unfair.

What do you think.

I think they have a low use tarriff - lower rental, but higher call charges.

They do a rebate scheme but have strict conditions for qualification-DETAILS.
I was put on this scheme for several years but then BT tighetened the rules and started to charge me the full tariff.

BT has a light user scheme but the restrictions make it rubbish IMHO..

You're not eligible if you have any other phone service, including a mobile
and you can't have ADSL.

p.

My late mother in law was on a scheme which credited her with 11p for evey 10p she was below a certain level. I don't remember the details, but her average three monthly bill was around £14

Well why not use Telewest?

Telewest line rental is £10.50 per month and offers free weekend calls to landlines across the country. (Talk weekends package)

Telewests phone service is ideal if:

1. You only want to make a few calls during the week.
2. You call at weekends.
2. You only need it as a lifeline.

They don't ask for a deposit and never have a credit limit.

Although, you may be in an NTL region which means you'll have to use their service instead which is basically the same.

Does anyone live in the Wight Cable area?

Wight Cable covers; Isle of Wight,Cumbria,lancashire and parts of Scotland.

Wight Cable has a telephone tariff with no line rental.

www.omneuk.com

All of which mean it's ideal if you are elderly and don't really use the phone but only have it there as a lifeline in case of emergencies.

Why should BT subsidise you for having another service?

It is what is called Social Telephony.

What about what BT does do for the elderly and infirm?

Free conversions and extensions for lifelines, free tonecaller equipment for customers that have problems hearing the phone ring, age and disability services where people will visit the customers property to give advice to people that are having difficulty in using the phone.

FFS... I said it was my OPINION..

Has something changed in the week since I posted that? I am no longer entitled to an opinion???

BT don't subsidise me for anything..I am not a BT customer.

what about all the people who want to have broadband or who already have a mobile? PLENTY of whom are elderly and on low incomes? Why should BT dictate to them that they have to pay line rentals that are far more than their call charges???? It's nothing to do social telephony that a company that makes billions of pounds a year can impose ridiculous conditions on their services.

seven days ... why wait so long to have a go??? I'm getting so tired of some of the people on this forum...

p.

well said again timboy , bt is the only telephone providor that provides a service dedicated to low users , I for one think they should not . they should do away with both the lus discount scheme and incontact as it is just another excuse for the dodgers out there. the amount of foreigners we get on the phone wanting lus or incontact so they then can make cheaper calls through these telephone cards, no other telephone company gives these cheap tariffs . and there all bloody at it .
claim they have never had service before but seem to know all about these services, i swear they must have local meetings where the elders tell them what things they can do to get cheap services.

And when you ask if they have a mobile, at 1st they do, then it's somebody elses who does live with them and then within the same conversation they live elsewhere.

You don't plan on using the phone.

If there is the choice of TW and BT with CPS, then TW doesn't even make it to the bottom of the list.