Switching line from BT to Sky

[ToeKnee]

I currently have Sky TV, Sky Broadband Unlimited and a BT phone line with their Unlimited Anytime Plan.

I have just received an offer from Sky for Sky Line Rental free for 3 months and £12.25 a month afterwards.
If I accepted this offer, I would also take Sky Talk Unlimited at £5 a month. However, as I would save £5 on my broadband for taking Sky Talk, this would be cost neutral.

I have 4 questions:

1. How long does it take for the BT line to be taken over by Sky?

2. The Sky Talk Tariff Guide states that Sky Line Rental will be going up to £14.50 a month on 1st September.
How do I know that I won't get caught by this and pay £14.50 a month rather than £12.25 after my 3 free months have expired?

3. In this forum there is mention of the ability to pay Sky the line rental upfront to save money (like BT Line Rental Saver). I see no mention of this product on the Sky web site. Is this still available and how do I get it?

4. Am I right in assuming that I will no longer be able to use override providers such as 18185 and 1899 to avoid Sky's high charges for calls to mobiles?

Thanks.

[Scubbie]

1. How long does it take for the BT line to be taken over by Sky?

Depending on availability of appoints with BTO, 10 days is a common period. This will be confirmed when you place the order.

2. The Sky Talk Tariff Guide states that Sky Line Rental will be going up to £14.50 a month on 1st September.
How do I know that I won't get caught by this and pay £14.50 a month rather than £12.25 after my 3 free months have expired?

It will go up to after the 3 months.

3. In this forum there is mention of the ability to pay Sky the line rental upfront to save money (like BT Line Rental Saver). I see no mention of this product on the Sky web site. Is this still available and how do I get it?

When on the phone, ask. It isn't generally advertised but it is available. Whether it will be affected by this offer which has been made to you, I do not know.

4. Am I right in assuming that I will no longer be able to use override providers such as 18185 and 1899 to avoid Sky's high charges for calls to mobiles?

Correct.

Personally when I need to call someone on a mobile, I use my mobile phone. I would do this no matter which call provider I was with as they all charge too much to call a mobile from a land-line.

[James_Mitchell]

Sorry to hijack this thread but £14.50 line rental increase from September 1st - that's the first I've heard about this

I wonder when Sky where planning on actually telling me this (as per their terms and conditions)????

[Scubbie]

Looking back, I think that this may be for new customers from September. Looking at the thread for price increases from 1st September it isn't mentioned.

Sky price changes from 1 September 2012

Sky Account and Billing | Sky price changes for 2012

Sky Line Rental

No change for existing Sky Talk customers

[RJM]

You, can still use "185185" by dialing "0808-1-703-703" - the, rates are not quite as cheap as via an BT line but, still cheaper.

[Richie Rich]

Anyone who already has Sky Talk line rental or takes out Line rental before the 1st of Sept will still pay £12.25 a month.

Anyone who takes out Line rental after the 1st of Sept will pay the new rate of £14.50.

If you have line rental with Sky at the moment, then you will not be affected.

[ToeKnee]

Thanks for all your answers.

The offer letter from Sky only mentioned that the line rental is £12.25 a month after the 1st 3 months and that the offer ends on 30 August. There is no mention of £14.50 a month line rental.

So it sounds like as "an existing Sky Talk customer" I would not be affected by this price increase immediately as long as I am connected before the offer ends.
I expect that this condition willl only apply for a short time (a year maybe) and that all Sky Talk customers will have to pay the new rate of £14.50 a month eventually.

The small print says that this is for a 12 month minimum term, so in theory I could always switch back to BT if they offer better value at the time. However, as I would be connected to Sky's network and no longer have a BT line, (apart from the BT Openreach cable from my house to the exchange, obviously) then I expect that I would have to pay a large fee to get a new BT line.

[ToeKnee]

You, can still use "185185" by dialing "0808-1-703-703" - the, rates are not quite as cheap as via an BT line but, still cheaper.

No being able to use overide providers like 18185 is not a deal breaker because I should still be able to use services such as Ratebuster (0844 735 0000) or other 0844 xxx or 0871 xxx numbers.

[ToeKnee]

According to MSE, Sky Upfront Line Rental is available by calling 08442 411 653, however I don't think that I will bother for the 1st year, as the offer of (£119.40 a year (£9.95 x 12) isn't quite as good as the offer in the letter of £110.25 for the 1st year (3 months free + £12.25 x 9).

[Scubbie]

Depending on which country/ies you are calling, Sky does allow free calls to some, so it may be a non-issue.