Hello all!

can anyone recommend 'first:telecom'? www.firsttele.com , i'm currently with B.T. and finally fed up with paying trough the nose for their call charges.

I've ran a search through U Switch and these guys come out top for value for money, with also the added benefit of not having to dial a 'prefix' number before you dial out, and i must say first:telecoms prices look very good. (I can't see any catches!! )

I don't mind keeping BT for the line rental.

So does this seem like a good deal or is it a case of buyer beware, let me know what you guys think!

What FT Saver Package are you referring to?

Personally i would use the combo 18185 for cheap peak geo calls,and your mobile ,ngn,and intl calls.

Plus Primus Saver 2 for FREE Evening and Weekend Geo Calls,and keep your line rental with BT.
Last edited by blazor : 04-09-2006 at 23:31

I was looking at first:telecom's Saver 1 package initially, but the Saver 2 package looks very tempting with 200 anytime minutes to UK landlines.

Like i stated i can't see any catches in the small print (unless you guys can tell me any different!) , and i like the idea of not having to dial a 'prefix' number every time i have to call someone.

The 200 minutes cost £2.I know you dont like them but you could make 66 calls on 1899 for the same price.

Also you may not have noticed unlike BT their is no cap on their Evening and Weekend rates so your probaly end up paying more.

Betty,
if you want the best prices, then the prefix numbers are definitely cheaper.

However I also understand about not wanting to dial a prefix with every call (I used to find it a pain, and was impossible to ensure everyone esle also did it).

However (again, is that bad English ), there is a way around this, and that's to get a pre-dialler box , this plugs into your phone line, and you phone plugs into this. The box then looks at what you dialled, and automatically adds the prefix that you need for the type of call and time of day.

For examples
1) say you call a mobile number (eg 0789 12345), then it can add 18185 in front of the number and dials 18185 0789 12345 without you having to think about it.

2) say your local exchange is 01234 and you dial someone local (eg 76543), the box can see it's a local call and add not just the prefix (1899 cheapest for local calls) but also the STD code and so dials 1899 01234 76543

3) final example, say you decide to keep BT landline, but use Primus saver 2 (as someone else mentioned), which is different from the First:Telecom package and gives free calls at the weekend, then the box can also detect times of day etc and automatically use this rather than 1899 for the local call in example 2).

This may sound confusing, but basically it's all hidden, so you just dial and you automatically get the prefix added .

Have a look at http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...d.html?t=15502, which gives a link to Orchid electronics that sell these, and also how to get a 20% discount.

Hope this has been helpful to you.

Check your PMs Betty.

Many thanks for the valuable advice guys, and special thanks to Heinz for the P.M!

Right, what i plan to do is:

1) Keep my BT line rental (i'm currently on Option 1)

2) Sign up for the Primus saver 'option 2' package.

This should give me totally free Evening & Weekend calls, 6pm-8am- mon-fri, 6pm-8am fri-mon Is this right??

3) Rather than sign up for both 1899 & 18185 i decided i will sign up with just 1899 for the rest of the calls i make, purely for convenience, rather than signing up here there and everywhere.
If i got this right i only pay a 3p 'connection charge' and can use the phone as long as i like. I do make international calls once , maybe twice a month to Eire only and they charge 1p a minute to a landline there! Is this right??
I very rarely call 0845 numbers etc. and also do call 'orange' mobiles, but only rarely.

So hopefully this should save me a bit. I do also plan to purchase one of those Orchid V4 LCR Diallers with the handy Time/Day Routing feature. - Do these units require power?? ( Am aware of the discount through MSE! )

As i said earlier, thanks for the advice so far, so what do you think?

Yes, 6pm to 8am Monday to Friday and all weekend (from 6pm Friday to 8am Monday). That's to UK 01/02 numbers only though.


Yes, 3p connection and 0p/minute to UK 01/02 numbers weekday daytimes (i.e. at any time Primus free evening and weekend calls aren't available) and 3p connection and 1p/minute at any time to Ireland.


Yes, although you can get away without because the necessary voltage normally comes from the (BT) telephone line. The Orchid V4 Plus LCR - £5 extra - comes with a mains transformer which is recommended to backup the BT line voltage to maintain the unit's internal clock (essential for time/day routing).
Last edited by Heinz : 05-09-2006 at 16:43

Hi Betty,
Heinz is a great fellow in answering questions so I'm not going to re-iterate what he's already said.
An alternative to the V4, if you want it, at the same price (still from Orchid Electronics) is their Ranger 400 DECT cordless phone. It's basically a cordless phone, with the V4 in the base unit, and as it comes with a power supply already, that part is sorted, and it doesn't need a seperate box plugged into the line.
You still get the 20% discount too (I bought the triple pack and still got the discount)

I think your ideas of keeping the billing simple are excellent, and I don't think you're going to go far wrong .
Last edited by rc3675 : 06-09-2006 at 08:17

Cheers! ,

a couple of points i forgot to mention,

1) I have BT caller display which they provide free because i signed up for the BT Privacy scheme a while back.
Now, if i no longer make chargeable calls through them will this service cease? I think i read somewhere that you have to make at least two chargeable calls per month with them otherwise they charge you £1.75??

2) I have one main BT socket in the hallway, off that i have two phones working from it, a normal 'wired' phone with caller display, and in the kithen a wireless 'dect' phone, also with caller display.

Will the one Orchid V4+ (with power supply), be all thats required?

Thanks once again for your help and time!

(1) You are right that you will need to make 6 chargeable calls on BT each quarter or they may charge you for Caller Display. However, as your minor variation of the Orchid program I suggested will only route 0844 and 0871 calls back on BT, you'll need to make other arrangements if, like me, you don't use such numbers often.

I program the number of my local Indian takeaway into my DECT phone with a 1280 prefix and, for me(!), that means at least one call per week goes out on BT. As they don't open until 6pm, I know each of those will only cost 5½p too!

The other possibility/backup is to keep a check on your current BT calls online. I did mine this morning and found I've already made 6 calls this quarter - so I've un-programmed the DECT until the next bill comes in. You can, of course, bypass the Orchid at any time with a 121 prefix - so, if you need to, dialling 1211280 before any call will bypass the Orchid and send that call out on BT.

(2) The Orchid V4+ will only route calls on phones plugged into the socket into which it is plugged. However, if I'm reading what you said correctly, your wired phone and DECT base station are both plugged into the main BT socket in the hall (using a doubler?). If so, the Orchid will plug into that socket and the wired phone and the DECT base station will plug into the Orchid (it has 2 telephone sockets - no doubler plug required).
Last edited by Heinz : 06-09-2006 at 09:38

Heinz, thank you so much for your help!!

I'm off to order my V4+ now!! (with discount!!!)

Has this changed recently?

It used to be just 1 chargeable call per quarter.

Yes - http://www.callsave.bt.com/terms.html

Last edited by Heinz : 06-09-2006 at 10:06

Betty, sorry, it's my turn to do the 'I forgot to mention' bit:

If you are not going to sign up for 18185 (I'd still recommend it BTW, it's no real hassle and, IMHO, a money-saver for calls to mobiles, 0845 and 0870 numbers), you'll need to amend how your Orchid routes 0845 and 0870 calls.

That suggested Orchid program I gave you routes them via 18185 (cheaper or the same as BT except for the 1p extra connection charge) and, if you won't have 18185 access, it's best to route them via BT instead (that may solve the Caller Display calls issue for you as well).
Last edited by Heinz : 06-09-2006 at 10:09

Ah, "From 1st October 2006" - thanks

Also I see "otherwise BT reserves the right to charge £5.25 a quarter" so does that mean they might not charge?

Edit: read ther terms properly now
Suggests a minimum of 6 calls per quarter is only required by customers who are using another supplier for their call charges. Guess that's another reason I'm happy I haven't got a CPS carrier attached to my line. I think I can still get away with making just 1 chargeable call per quarter.

But you are correct, from 1st October 2006 anyone with CPS (e.g. Primus Saver) and not making a minimum of 6 calls per quarter chargeable to BT will probably be hit with a caller display charge.
Last edited by dawson : 06-09-2006 at 10:40

It's a question of 'policing' the requirement I think - i.e. would it be financially viable for them to check?

Does anyone know out of interest, how much B.T charge for calling mobile phones on the Orange network?

Like i stated earlier, i very rarely call mobiles on my landline but i would like to know how much they charge so i can advise other family members.

When i get my dialler, my set up will be as follows:

B.T. - Keep my line rental with them.

Primus Saver Option 2 - For FREE evening & weekend calls!

1899.com - For weekday, mobile, and Eire calls.

All other calls, 0800, 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871 all through B.T

I know you can get cheaper mobile calls, 0845, and 0870 calls through 18185, but for sheer simplicity and the fact i keep these calls to an absolute minimum.

I think the above setup should save me a good few pounds, compared to what i was paying with B.T.

Have a look here;
http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/ukcallchecker/
It gives all the latest prices for all options, and as well as your current query can be useful for keeping your V4 up to date


I think your set-up sounds good for you and what I've heard of your personal requirement, and I think you'll probably save enough to have paid for the V4 in a very short space of time.

I don't know the dial codes for Orange mobiles (except 07989) but you can check what BT charge BT Together customers to call any 077, 078 or 079 number by checking on their Specialised Numbers price list.

I'd take a bet though that there's at least one (0844) dial-through provider listed on the MSE UK Callchecker's list that'll beat their prices (AND 1899's - except at weekends) hands down.
Last edited by Heinz : 06-09-2006 at 15:40

But surely if you are using a V4 dialler box then, it would be silly not to use 18185?

It's a case of ' horses for courses'!, everyone's different, and having done the maths, i reckon i will save a bundle compared to B.T.

Yes you could 'squeeze the pips' out of your phone service and have several different account's set up to get the very best of prices!, but hey, as long as your happy what does it matter.