Recommendation for cheap telephone line rental

[JonathanMP]

Hi all,

I hope everyone is well and enjoyed their weekend.

I am about to go live with a small business operating from my home office / bedroom to start with in order to keep costs as low as possible.

I live at home still with my parents and because I don't want to take the Michael am going to get a dedicated phone line installed for my business use which I will pay for through the company.

I am looking for a cheap provider at the moment to accommodate my needs. There will be alot of calls made from the line as it is a recruitment business so need a package with no restrictions.

I have contacted both talk talk residential and talk talk business. Talk talk business have quoted me £33.60 inc VAT all in for unlimited UK land-line calls (Broadband, box installation et etc) which I think is pretty good.

The residential package is cheaper by £9-10 p/m but they don't provide VAT receipts which I'll need when filing TAX returns? plus some other additional extras.


How does this sound to people? Has anyone got this package, if so how is it and the service provided? Does anyone know of another maybe cheaper option?

Thank you all for taking the time to read this post and any help provided.

Regards,
Jonathan

 

[billie1]

Contact Voipfone for a quote. I haven't used them myself, but they have been recommended on here in the past.

 

[14A]

Will you be VAT registered?

You'll find in the terms and conditions you can't use a residential line for business use (possibly)

 

[Faevilangel]

Get a voip phone using Voipfone you buy a phone from them from around £70 and then buy a number at £2.40 per month for a local.

Plug the phone into the internet and voila you have a working landline for £100 per year

The best bit about voip phones is you can plug your phone into any internet connection in the world, so when you decide to move into an office, simply plug your phone in and it works.

Also you can redirect the number to another number if you don't answer the call on the landline so you will never have a call (hopefully) go to voicemail.

 

[cjd]

I am about to go live with a small business operating from my home office / bedroom to start with in order to keep costs as low as possible.

Why not use your existing broadband and use VoIP over it? That way you're not paying for an additional exchange line and your service can grow as you grow.

Info:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/EP_UK_Telephone_Numbers.php

Give us a call and talk it over - 0207 043 5555

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

Hi JonathanMP,

If Voice-over-IP is an option for you, then also have a look at www.sipgate.co.uk

You can get 1000 minutes (landline+mobile) for £ 5.90 per month or the standard per minute charge is 1.19 p/min (landline) and 9.90 p/min (mobile).

You can check the numbers here http://www.sipgate.co.uk/user/tarife.php and http://www.sipgate.co.uk/user/tarife.php?show=2

Best,
Uwe

 

[JonathanMP]

Thanks for the reply's guys, very helpful as always. The VOIP option seems to be very popular and come to think of it it's a system I have used in the past with an old company I used to work for. As I remember there were some issues on occasion with connectivity and reliability? I must say that I am not certain it was Voipfone or another similar company but I do remember that (due to those issues) finding it quite frustrating.

The price aspect however and the 'plug and go' accessibility is very good and certainly something to consider perhaps when I do move into an office.

Since writing this message what I have come across is Vodafone offering a sim which has 2x numbers in one. So one is your land-line (eg. 0203) and the other, mobile, both of which come through to your handset. You set one as a default number and on incoming calls a code comes up so you can differentiate as to which number the caller is dialing.

I 'm thinking that at £33 in VAT for unlimited land-lines and mobiles (no fair usage policy) and 1gb of data for emails I'm thinking that would be the best option.

Does that sound like a good deal?

Thank you!

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

Sounds like a good deal to me. What is the minimum contract on that deal?

Will you be a lot out and about or mainly stuck at home?

 

[JonathanMP]

Sounds like a good deal to me. What is the minimum contract on that deal?

Will you be a lot out and about or mainly stuck at home?

Hi Uwe,

Yes, I think so too. The contract length is a 12x month one so Ideal. And yes, although I will be at home alot of the time, I will on occasion be out and about so have that advantage of not missing calls.

I think I'll go for it. I will certainly look at the VOIP option when I'm more settled.

Thanks for all your help and feedback.

Jonathan

 

[Amelixuk]

Hi we maybe a bit late here but we offer standard landlines for £10 per month on a 30 day rolling contract and calls to mobiles are 6p per min and landlines are 0.08 p per min

Love to help if we can

Plug over

 

[JonathanMP]

Hi we maybe a bit late here but we offer standard landlines for £10 per month on a 30 day rolling contract and calls to mobiles are 6p per min and landlines are 0.08 p per min

Love to help if we can

Plug over

Hi there, unfortunately yes. The amount of usage I will require and due to to my movements it just won't be a viable option. Thanks for the offer however.

Cheers,
Jonathan

 

[REVIDIUM]

If you have good broadband and you want to test the VOIP option you may want to go down the route of Skype. You get buy the number for £3.50 and they have unlimited call options to the UK for £4.99 per month. Easily scale as your business grows. The number location is limited though to major cities, so depending where you live that may be an issue.

You can check the full listing of city availability on our website http://www.go-startup.co.uk/skype-city--town-numbers-availability-list.html

You can also get a decent voiphone or headset if you will be making a lot of calls for under £40 on Amazon.

 

[Alan]

If you have good broadband and you want to test the VOIP option you may want to go down the route of Skype. .

Skype ......noooooooooo, we started with Skype but firstly the call quality can be poor, secondly their security is very weak (never lodge a card / set up auto pay with Skype unless you want to loose lost of cash and have along argument with Skype), and thirdly they are more expensive (skype number £2.92 ex VAT - Voipfone £2.00 ex VAT / month), fourthly with Skype you have a limited number of exchanges but with a voip provider you can get a number on your 'correct' exchange (probably are a few exceptions, but far wider choice than skype)

We switched to Voipfone about 15 months ago and never looked back.

If you want to test it why not get a free account with Voipfone

• A free 056 telephone number
• 5 minutes of free calls so you can test call quality to landlines and mobiles.
• A free software telephone

https://www.voipfone.co.uk/signup.php

All you need is a headset with a microphone. (and a computer & broadband )

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Have you looked at Vonage yet?

 

[Ash-CBO]

As a single phone user in my home office I have always used Voip, infact stemming from working in a small organization with less than 10 people, and have always found this to be a far cheaper way to do it.

I always found when researching permanent line installations and contracts the tie in period was quite ridged and would make it very difficult to leave the agreement.

 

[JandJC]

I tend to use Hangout via Google - I just pay for my broadband and have free calls to my contacts.

If I need to call mobiles then I have a great rate at 4.2p per minute from my landline, but I also have 4100 minutes on my mobile for £16 per month.

Sorry I'm not able to help you.

 

[Philip Cox]

Two coffee tins and a tight piece of string. A bit limited on distance but its free.

 

[prjbicell]

Hi Uwe

Am sending you a pm with some details so that you can make an informed decision and don't do anything silly

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Hi Uwe

Am sending you a pm with some details so that you can make an informed decision and don't do anything silly

Shame you cant post here on the forum so we can all see.

It rather ruins the forum if all people do is send PM's in response to postings.

 

[prjbicell]

I do appreciate what you are saying and I agree with you to a large degree.
The reason I have decided just to give someone a pointer by a pm is due to the fact that the last time I gave out all the details in open forum several people in the same game decided to slate the product and service I recommended. I just decided I could do without all that again. Sorry if it upsets or offends anyone doing it this way

 

[JonathanMP]

Have you looked at ["http:/vonage/?loc=google&source=ppc&gclid=CJff7cfo0rkCFYqE2wodUhsAgA"]Vonage[/URL] yet?

Hi there, Thanks for the feedback. I have called Vonage (I have just noticed one of their ads on a news channel advert).

They don't offer what I'm looking for. They have a cap on minutes up to 10,000 p/m although that's quite alot mobiles I think he said was between 250 / 350 p/m then 3p or so thereafter per minute. The contract is £15 p/m to start with.

Not for me on this occasion, but I do thank you for your interest and help.

Jonathan

 

[JonathanMP]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Some good recommendations and certainly some of which I will re-visit in time. I have to say that right now I am opting for the two numbers in one sim from who I've previously mentioned as it best caters for my needs, at this point.

Thank you!
Jonathan

 

[cjd]

Make sure you check their 'Fair Use' policy.

Also, you should be aware that the other mobile outfits that did the 'landline on your mobile' thing withdrew it. You need to form your own conclusions as to why.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I do appreciate what you are saying and I agree with you to a large degree.
The reason I have decided just to give someone a pointer by a pm is due to the fact that the last time I gave out all the details in open forum several people in the same game decided to slate the product and service I recommended. I just decided I could do without all that again. Sorry if it upsets or offends anyone doing it this way

Do also bear in mind the UKBF rules

 

[billie1]

The Vodafone deal sounds like a very good deal. I've got a personal mobile with them and they have been very reliable.

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

Do also bear in mind the UKBF rules

You are right! However, I've never received a PM from prjbicell anyways...And I am not the one making decisions as I already have my system with sipgate up and running

Also, you should be aware that the other mobile outfits that did the 'landline on your mobile' thing withdrew it. You need to form your own conclusions as to why.

I agree with cjd, if that's the case you should ask them what happens to your landline number if they cancel this specific offer. Can you just take it to another phone company or maybe it would be better to get a land-line number (e.g. 0845 or a normal 020) from one of these providers and then redirect it to the Vodafone number just to make sure that you don't lose your number.

Starts getting complicated

Have a great day,
Uwe

 

[JonathanMP]

I agree with cjd, if that's the case you should ask them what happens to your landline number if they cancel this specific offer. Can you just take it to another phone company or maybe it would be better to get a land-line number (e.g. 0845 or a normal 020) from one of these providers and then redirect it to the Vodafone number just to make sure that you don't lose your number.

Starts getting complicated

Have a great day,
Uwe[/QUOTE]

It does doesn't it. I have raised it with them and they claim there is no signs to suggest it will be pulled. Obviously they would say that but one of their advisers I spoke claims they have increased the amount of training issued to staff on the tariff as it's one of their most popular. A good sign. Once you have completed the contract term that number is then legally yours if you wish to transfer it. One thing I do need to ask which you've prompted to do is if i left after 12x months whether I can use the 0203 number as a static land-line if I needed to depended on the volume of inbound calls i receive. Then what happens my mobile number??

I do have a habit of making things complicated!

Cheers

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

Good morning,

I assume you can move your mobile number to any other mobile carrier by requesting a PUK number. Anyone else have any ideas about that?

Best,
Uwe

 

[BusinessTeam]

Hi,

We have heard a lot of good things about Amelix Uk for fixed landlines that are affordable so it might be worth looking at them as an option. VoIP is much more reliable these days than previously, so equally this might be better than you thing. The one advantage with VoIP is the very flexible extras you can add as your business grows at a very low cost, for example call routing, additional virtual extensions, diverts etc.

Check out www.voicehost.co.uk as they offer a range of good services.

Best wishes with your business venture.

Richard

 

[10032012]

I agree VoIP is a good way to go but I wont go along with what others are suggesting regarding working from home.

Recruitment businesses work on strong relationships with your clients. Yes, anyone can receive CVs (by email) and calls from jobseekers... but there is much more to it than that.

You need dedicated premises to the business - you are probably looking at serviced offices to begin with. No need to worry about a high street location. Its strictly unprofessional working from home in particular for this kind of industry. People can tell if you are smiling on the phone, they can tell if you are smartly dressed etc. by the way you present.

They wont be able to know by the telephone line quality, but sitting around in your PJs all day, watching TV or playing GTA 5 while you wait for calls and lying on your bed... is a recipe for disaster.

How you going to meet clients to get the work for the jobseekers? Meeting at your home, coffee shop or renting a meeting room as and when needed?

You will need to disclose your home address. being anonymous isn't good for either the client or the jobseeker. At least you need a virtual office (mailing address and preferably one with secretary service to forward calls on to you).

I think its best to point this out - I am sure many people on this forum if they were a jobseeker wouldn't want to send their personal details over to an email address where they don't know the physical location, and would also agree if they were hiring through an agency they would avoid any agency with a residential address (nothing snobbish, doesn't need to be town centre retail unit or a dedicated HQ).

 

[JonathanMP]

I agree VoIP is a good way to go but I wont go along with what others are suggesting regarding working from home.

Recruitment businesses work on strong relationships with your clients.

Thanks for your input. I agree with alot of what your saying, however if I had a concern over how I was planning to run the business or indeed how that business worked I wouldn't be doing it. Working from home, albeit not Ideal for the first few months I see no problem with it. It will costs significantly less than if I were to rent regardless and will enable me to focus on far more important things. As your rightly said and that is the key, the relationship you have with your clients and the ability to listen and meet their requirements is the most important thing!

I would suggest that alot of people on here work from home and alot them run client orientated service businesses and do just fine.

I think that it would be far more commercially 'silly' of me to jump in to renting a small office serviced or not with a capital expenditure and commitment that would cripple my cash-flow near enough before I even started.

in regards to PJs all day and GTA5 as you put it, I think your on the wrong forum!

Listen, don't get me wrong - As soon as I am able, whether it be 3 or 18x months down the line, ofcourse I will look to develop the business and all that entails but I aim to do that properly and at a time where it is commercially viable to do so and have a forecast to sustain it!

Thanks again.

Regards,
Jonathan