BT - aaarrggghhh!

[Junior Bianno]

We're taking over a business which is closing down completely. We want its main phone number to divert to our offices, but BT (current provider) want £50 setup plus £150 a quarter to divert. So £650+VAT this year just to divert the calls. We can't keep the current account going as the premises are going to a new tenant so the line will be shut down.

Does anyone out there in PH land know of any alternatives? Seems a huge cost for a single, low volume number, but it's BT so why am I surprised!

[Mr Overheads]

Yep redirection with other companies is much cheaper. Ping me a pm and I'll see what I can do.

[silverous]

Junior Bianno said:

We're taking over a business which is closing down completely. We want its main phone number to divert to our offices, but BT (current provider) want £50 setup plus £150 a quarter to divert. So £650+VAT this year just to divert the calls. We can't keep the current account going as the premises are going to a new tenant so the line will be shut down.

Does anyone out there in PH land know of any alternatives? Seems a huge cost for a single, low volume number, but it's BT so why am I surprised!

I would think you could "port" the numbers to your own provider, who may charge a fee.

[Junior Bianno]

silverous said:

I would think you could "port" the numbers to your own provider, who may charge a fee.

Tried that - nothing they could do apparently.

Mr O - PM sent. Thanks

[cold thursday]

One off £30.00 fee from these guys.

http://www.dmclub.co.uk/number-porting/

[C Lee Farquar]

I had exactly the same problem, although the starting point was that BT originally said I couldn't have the number at all.

After recruiting the help of a previous director I managed to get that sorted.

Anyway, after BT I went to a Company that was charging me £20 a month plus call charges.

I'm now in the process of moving to a new Company that's supplying a phone system and telecom services and they're are doing it for £2 a month plus notional call charges.

PM me if you'd like the details.

The Company I took over shut 8 years ago but I'm still getting orders. I also managed to keep the free Yell entry which picks up a few thousand pounds of work a year.

[silverous]

Junior Bianno said:

Tried that - nothing they could do apparently.

Mr O - PM sent. Thanks

Nothing your current provider could do? Or nothing BT could do?

My understanding is that they ought to allow you to port the numbers to another provider, if your new provider can't cope with it I'd be questioning that as porting numbers is fairly commonplace.