This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
It is now possible to choose between a range of phone companies for phone lines and equipment providers for telephone handsets, faxes and switchboards. As well as BT, other phone companies now include NTL (incorporating Cable and Wireless plc) and Energis Communications (for business customers only), and various cable phone service companies.
Before choosing a phone company find out what phone services are available and how much they will cost. For example:-
Each phone company issues a Code of Practice that covers issues like repairs, maintenance, disconnection and their complaints procedure. Check the Code of Practice before choosing a phone company. For the addresses of where to obtain copies of the Codes of Practice of the individual phone companies, see the section on Complaints about a phone company.
When you apply to have a phone installed you will be sent an application form which will show what the phone company and the customer will both agree to in the contract. For example, you may have to agree to be responsible for rental charges for one year. If you wish to terminate the line rental before the end the year, you will have to pay the full year's rental if you agreed to this in the contract.
From 26 May 2011, you must be offered the option of a 12-month contract. No contract can last for more than 24 months.
From 31 December 2011, phone companies are banned from selling you a rollover contract. This is a contract which automatically ties you into a repeated minimum contract period, by default, unless you tell your phone company that you don't wish it to be renewed.
Where you signed up to a rollover contract before 31 December 2011, your phone company can continue to automatically renew your contract until 31 December 2012. However, if you do not wish this to happen, when you receive the renewal letter sent to you by your phone company, you must respond to it in time and inform them that you don't wish to renew that deal.
If you feel that any of the terms and conditions in a contract are inappropriate or unacceptable consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Some phone companies may ask for a deposit before providing a phone service. For example, you may have to pay a deposit if you have an outstanding court order against you for non-payment of any bill. Even if they do not charge a deposit, a phone company may limit the amount of calls you may make. As soon as a certain level of calls have been made a bill will be sent.
Before agreeing to supply a phone service, the phone company may make credit checks using a credit reference agency.
For details of credit reference agencies and how to check a person’s credit records, see Credit.
If the phone company does charge a deposit, you will be notified of this and the amount payable.
Any deposit will be held by the phone company for a certain period. If you establish a good payment record, the deposit (plus interest) will be credited against future bill(s).
If you are being asked for a deposit and you feel it is either too high, or you should not pay a deposit at all, consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
You may have to pay charges before your phone is installed or connected. For example, for the installation of phones if there is not already a phone on the premises, or the re-connection of an existing phone line. Charges may also be made for additional equipment such as extensions to existing installations, new plugs or extra bells.
You can rent or buy phone equipment. Get details from the sales office of the phone company.
Check that any equipment you buy is approved for connection to the UK public telephone network. This is important to check as phone companies may remove any unapproved equipment from their network. Approved equipment is marked with a green dot.
The phone company will not have responsibility for equipment that was not rented or bought from them.
Your contract for the rental of phone equipment may include conditions about free repairs to the equipment.
The phone company may also offer a range of additional maintenance services for quick emergency repairs. You will usually have to pay extra for these unless the phone company gives exemptions, for example, BT does not charge extra to customers who are very severely disabled.
BT produces a phone directory. You can choose not be included in this if you do not want general access to your phone number.
No charge is made for a listing in the telephone directory.
If you are listed in the directory, your telephone number will also be available from companies which deal with enquiries about telephone numbers. These companies charge for their services, unless a person is disabled. Disabled phone users must register with the phone company before they are eligible for this.
Each phone company has a different policy on repairs, and you will need to check the phone company’s Code of Practice.
Codes of Practice on repairs will usually cover issues such as whether there is a time limit during which repairs should be started once a problem has been reported and whether faults are repaired free of charge. This is often the case unless the phone company decides the fault was due to damage caused by the customer.
If you have a problem with repairs consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If your phone is not working properly for more than a certain time after being reported, you may have a right to a rental rebate on the standing charge. The phone company may also have to pay compensation for the period when the phone service was not available. Details will be in the Code of Practice.
If you are having problems with rebates and compensation, consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
You may be able to claim on your house contents insurance policy for the cost of repairing or replacing damaged phone equipment if this is not provided free of charge by the phone company. Check your policy to find out whether there is an excess or loss of no-claims bonus since the cost of replacing damaged telephone equipment is usually quite low.
BT has an obligation to provide a phone service to anyone who asks for it, unless a prospective customer has been in debt with BT before. In this case, BT can refuse to provide a new service.
If a prospective customer lives somewhere remote, the price of providing a phone service may be extremely high, and the person may not be able to pay the full connection cost.
None of the phone companies other than BT have an obligation to provide a phone service.
If BT refuses to provide a phone line or the cost seems unreasonably high, consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you want a new phone line installed, inform the phone company of the date you want it to start. This can be done over the phone but you will then need to make a written application.
If you want to change your phone service provider, notify both the current and new companies.
If the phone company agrees to supply services, the terms and conditions of supplying the phone line will be set out in the company’s standard terms and conditions. The services must be provided within a reasonable time. If the phone company does not supply the phone line or services as set out in the contract, it will be in breach of contract.
For more information about problems with services, see Buying Services - your rights.
If you want to change (or switch) your telephone company, contact the phone company you want to move to. The new company will sort out the move for you.
Before you are moved over to your new phone company, you should get two letters - one from your old phone company and one from the new company telling you that you are moving.
You should also get certain key information about the move, for example the date of the switchover, the charges and your right to cancel the move if you want to. This is a legal requirement.
Once you've agreed to change your phone company, you should get another letter telling you that you that you have been moved.
If you don't get the key information before your move or a letter confirming the move has taken place, you can complain.
All phone companies must allow you to keep your phone number when you change companies. This is known as number portability.
Number portability usually only applies if you are changing your phone company without changing address.
With some phone companies, you may be able to keep the same number even if you change your address. However, phone companies don't have to offer this service. If they do offer this service, they can charge you for it, as long as it's a reasonable amount.
If you have agreed to move your old number to a new phone company, you must have the number moved to the new phone company within one working day once:
The old phone company will have to compensate you if they delay or there is any fault in the process of moving your number.
After you've agreed to move to a new phone company, you get a ten-day cooling off period. During this period, if you change your mind about moving, you can cancel the new agreement without charge. To cancel the move, contact either the old or new company and say you don't want the move to go ahead.
You can also cancel if you've been mis-sold the new service or moved without your permission.
If you have not been allowed to cancel the move or are charged for cancelling, you can make a complaint to the new company. As well as complaining to the phone company, you can also make a complaint to the telecommunications watchdog Ofcom. They won't be able to get involved in your individual case, but if enough people complain about the same phone company, they can take action against them.
Your phone company can only stop you moving to a new company if:
Your phone company is not allowed to stop you moving for any other reason. This includes if you haven't paid your phone bill.
If your phone company tries to stop you moving for any reason other than the ones mentioned here, you can make a complaint. As well as complaining to the phone company, you can also make a complaint to the telecommunications watchdog Ofcom. They won't be able to help you individually, but if enough people complain about the same phone company, they can take action against them.
A phone company is not allowed to move you from another company without telling you first or without your agreement. This is a practice known as slamming.
If this happens, you should contact both the phone company who has moved you and the company you've been moved from to say that you don't want to move. You should put this in writing.
If things aren't sorted out in a way you're happy with, for example the company takes ages to move you back or tries to charge you, you should complain. As well as complaining to the phone company, you can also make a complaint to the telecommunications watchdog Ofcom. They won't be able to get involved in your individual case, but if enough people complain about the same phone company, they can take action against them.
Ofcom has issued some tips to help you avoid being 'slammed':
There are several other things a new phone company isn't allowed to do when it's trying to sell you it's products or services or persuade you to move to them.
A phone company is not allowed to mis-sell you its products or services. This means that when they are trying to sell you something, they must not leave out information, or give you wrong or misleading information. For example, they mustn't give you wrong information about costs and tariffs, savings or special offers.
A phone company is not allowed to put too much pressure on you or use aggressive behaviour.
A phone company salesman isn't allowed to claim they are acting on behalf of a company they don't actually work for. This is a practice known as passing off.
A phone company salesman is not allowed to get you to sign a contract by telling you that you're only signing up for information. They are not allowed to forge your signature on a contract.
If you think a phone company has mis-sold you a product or service or you have concerns about the behaviour of one of their salesman, you can make a complaint. As well as complaining to the phone company, you can also make a complaint to the telecommunications watchdog Ofcom. They won't be able to get involved in your individual case, but if enough people complain about the same phone company, they can take action against them.
You can get more information or advice about moving to a new phone company from the telecommunications watchdog Ofcom. This includes information about what to check if you're thinking about changing your phone company, and a list of the licensed phone companies.
Carrier pre-selection (CPS) is a phone service that allows a BT customer to make calls using another phone company. You can do this either by dialling a short code or freephone number on your BT phone (which connects you to the other phone company) and then dialling the number wanted. Alternatively, you can have an adaptor plugged between the socket and the phone that allows calls to be diverted to another phone number without your having to dial a code first. Carrier pre-selection must be made available to BT customers. Other phone companies, for example, mobile phone companies, can choose whether to make it available to their customers.
Certain types of call are not included in CPS, for example, emergency numbers, operator assistance, directory enquiries and flat rate Internet access. You will still have the same access to these.
You do not have to make every call using CPS. For example, you may want to use a CPS provider for international calls but another provider for local calls. In such a case, once you have arranged to have international calls put through via a certain provider, you dial the code for that provider before dialling the international number. You can choose four options for CPS: national calls only, international calls only, national and international calls and 'all calls', which includes, local, national, international and mobile phone calls.
BT will still own, run and send you the bills for your phone line. Your phone number will not change. However, you will get a separate bill for call charges from each different phone company that you use. More information about CPS is available from Ofcom.
The person whose name is on the account is responsible for the phone bill. Some phone companies will allow only one person to be named on a telephone account. Other phone companies allow joint names to hold a phone account. In this case each of the joint named account holders is responsible for the bill and may be pursued for payment.
If you have a high bill as a result of calls made by someone who is not a joint account holder, for example, a friend or a lodger, you will have to pursue that person for the money. If the calls were made to premium rate services (see under heading Premium rate phone services), you could also contact the premium rate services regulator PhonepayPlus for help with claiming compensation.
Your phone company may offer an itemised billing service, showing the date, time, duration and cost of calls costing more than a certain amount, or it may show all calls made. You will need to check with your phone company to see if it offers such a service, and if there is any charge. This will help you to minimise disputes about the size of the bill.
You may consider that a telephone bill is too high. In general, it is rare for phone equipment to give wrong information but it is possible for there to be a fault. Occasionally a handset may be faulty and fail to disconnect at the end of a call or you may, by accident, fail to replace a handset correctly.
If you wish to challenge the bill, consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If a landlord has a payphone put into a property, they are responsible for the rental and for paying the phone company for calls made. Some payphones can be programmed (by the landlord) with a special scale of charges. This may be considerably higher than public payphone charges. The landlord must display the charges on or near the payphone.
Each phone company has its own policy on disconnections and it is vital that you refer to the Code of Practice.
If a bill has been sent and not paid, the phone company will usually send a reminder. Depending on the phone company’s Code of Practice, you will have a certain time within which to pay the bill before the phone service is disconnected. Once the reminder has been received it is better to either post a cheque directly to the phone service provider or pay directly at an office of the company if such a facility is available. This is because payments through the post office or bank may take several days to process.
If you are disputing the bill, you should pay the amount you consider you owe and send a covering letter. This should prevent disconnection at this stage.
If your phone line has been disconnected and you want it to be reconnected, the phone company will usually make a charge for reconnection.
If you are facing disconnection or have been disconnected, consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Someone who is assessed under the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 as having a particular need, may get help with telephone charges. Some local authorities will pay for installation, others will pay for the rental costs.
If you are disabled and want more information about help with telephone charges, consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
There is usually a standard charge for running a phone line into a property and installing a phone. However, if you live some distance from the nearest cable, the phone company may charge for part or all of the cost of laying new cable, poles and so on. Contact the phone company for details of, for example, how near you are to other customers or phone cables, and the likely costs of connection.
If a phone company wishes to install cable, telephone poles or pylons or other equipment, it must get permission in writing from the occupiers of any land concerned including land needed for access. Various problems can arise:-
If you refuse permission for a phone company to carry out an installation, it can apply to get this permission from a court.
If you want more information about installation of telephone equipment on your land, consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
All direct marketing companies are banned from making unsolicited phone calls to people who have registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), who can be contacted on 0845 070 0707. You can find more information about TPS at www.tpsonline.org.uk. Direct marketing companies in the European Union are not allowed to send unsolicited faxes to anyone who has not given their consent to receive faxes from the company and this is the case whether or not they have registered with the Fax Preference Service. The telephone number of the Fax Preference Service (FPS) is 0845 070 0702. You can find more information about FPS at www.fpsonline.org.uk.
Making an obscene, harassing or malicious phone call may be a criminal offence. If you receive such a call, report it to the police. The police can, for example, authorise the phone service to trace malicious calls. If the person who is making the calls is prosecuted, you may have to give evidence in court.
The phone company may have procedures which deal with malicious, obscene or harassing phone calls. Check the phone company’s Code of Practice. For example, BT has a special phone number to call - 0800 666700 for a 24 hour recorded message.
Silent calls are normally caused by automated caller systems used in some call centres. Ofcom guidelines say that call centres should play an information message if a call is abandoned. If you receive silent calls, contact Ofcom if you know the name and number of the company concerned. For the contact details of Ofcom, see under heading Useful organisations. If you can't identify the company, you should contact your phone company for help.
Almost all phone companies supply a service called ‘caller display’ or ‘caller return’. Caller display shows the number of the caller, provided the phone receiving the call has a visual display unit. Caller return enables the person receiving calls to find out the number of the last caller by phoning 1471. To delete the last incoming number, dial 1475.
Caller return may be of limited use in the case of malicious calls, as the person making the call can withhold their number by phoning 141 before making the call. This does not mean that the number cannot be traced once the police have authorised this. In the case of nuisance calls, the phone company can trace the caller's number even if the number from which the call was made has been withheld. You can also decide not to answer a call if the caller’s number is not displayed.
If you get itemised phone bills then any calls to telephone helplines will be listed. This means that other people in the household will be able to see that you have phoned a helpline. Almost all phone companies supply a last number redial service, which means that other members of the household can check the last telephone number that was called.
Some phone companies itemise only those calls above a certain limit and so, to protect confidentiality, you could make a very brief call to a helpline and ask them to call you back. Most helplines that do this do not use caller display equipment and they withhold their number when making or returning calls to customers. Calls to freephone numbers beginning 0800 or 0500 are not itemised on the phone bill unless made through a switchboard.
If you do not want the helpline to know your telephone number, you should dial 141 before entering the helpline number. This works only if you get through to the helpline immediately; it does not work if you press a ‘redial’ key.
Many phone companies offer a range of special discount and rebate schemes including schemes for light and heavy users of their phone services. Information on these schemes is available from individual phone companies.
BT offers reduced line rental and a small free call allowance to some of its customers who are on benefits. This is under a scheme called BT Basic. You must be getting one of the following benefits:
To apply for BT Basic, you must fill in an application form. To request an application form, call BT on: 0800 783 1675.
For more information about BT Basic, go to BT's website at: www.bt.com.
For more information about Income Support, see Help for people on a low income – Income Support.
For more information about income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, see Benefits for people looking for work.
For more information about guaranteed Pension Credit, see Benefits for people over sixty.
Premium rate services give information and provide entertainment over the phone, for example, weather information, competitions and message exchange services.
Premium rate calls cost more than ordinary phone calls, and rates for calls from mobile phones, telephone boxes and hotels can be higher still. Charges from an ordinary domestic phone must be shown in the advert for the service.
The phone numbers of most premium rate services start with '090', and services of an adult nature start with '0909'. Some premium rate services on mobile phones may use short access codes. Directory Enquiry services which begin with '118' are also premium rate numbers.
You can bar any dialling from your phone line to all UK based 090 premium rate numbers. This will include calls from your home computer, if you have one. If you want to do this, you should contact your phone company.
If you have a problem with a premium rate telephone service, or have been wrongly charged for using a premium rate number, you can complain to the premium rate services regulator PhonepayPlus.You can complain by phone, by text, in writing or by using the online complaint form.
PhonepayPlus will investigate your complaint and when the investigation is complete, will let you know of the outcome. If a company providing the premium rate service has broken the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice, PhonepayPlus may do any of the following:
If you have used a premium rate service which has caused widespread harm to consumers, you may be given an automatic refund, even if you have not made a complaint about the service.
If you have a complaint about your phone company, you should speak to them about it first. If this doesn't solve the problem, you can make a formal complaint to the company. You can find details of how to do this on the back of your phone bill. If you can't find these details, the company's customer service staff will tell you how to make a formal complaint.
All phone companies are required to have a formal customer complaints process. If the company hasn't got one, you should tell the communications watchdog, Ofcom.
If you have made a formal complaint to the phone company and this hasn't solved the problem, you can try using the company's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme. Your phone company might belong to one of two ADR schemes which have been approved by Ofcom:
All phone companies are required to have an ADR scheme. They are breaking important consumer protection rules if they don't. If your phone company won't tell you about its ADR scheme, you can call Ofcom.
If you have a complaint about a premium rate number service, see the section on Premium rate phone services.
Contact Centre
Riverside House
2A Southwark Bridge Road
London SE1 9HA
Enquiry line Tel: 0300 123 3333
Switchboard: 020 7981 3000
Textphone: 0300 123 2024
Fax 020 7981 3333
Website: www.ofcom.org.uk
Ofcom is the telecommunications watchdog in the UK. Ofcom do not investigate individual complaints against phone companies, although they log every complaint about a company. If one particular company seems to be causing concern for consumers, they may consider investigating them.
PO Box 730
Warrington
WA4 6WU
Tel: 0330 440 1614
Textphone: 0330 440 1600
Fax: 0330 440 1615
E-mail: enquiries@os-communications.org
Website: www.os-communications.org
Ombudsman Services: Communications (previously known as Otelo) may be able to help you with a complaint about a phone company if the company is a member of the Scheme. You must have first used the company’s own complaints procedure.
24 Angel Gate
City Road
London
EC1V 2PT
Tel: 020 7520 3827
Fax: 020 7520 3829
E-mail: info@cisas.org.uk
Website: www.arbitrators.org
CISAS (Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme) may be able to help you with a complaint about a phone company, if the company is a member of the CISAS scheme. You must have used the phone company's own complaints procedure first.
Northern Ireland Advisory Committee on Telecommunications
The Secretary
7th Floor
Chamber of Commerce House
22 Great Victoria Street
Belfast
BT2 7QA
Tel: 028 9024 4133
Fax: 028 9024 7024
Freepost WC5468
London
SE1 2BR
Tel: 0800 500212
Text: 0207 407 3430
Website: www.phonepayplus.org.uk
E-mail: secretariat@phonepayplus.org.uk
PhonepayPlus is the premium rate services watchdog. PhonepayPlus have a number checking facility on their website which allows you to find more information about premium rate numbers that appear on your telephone bill. They can also give you advice about what to do next.
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