VoIP supplier advice

[Newmedia]

Hi

I am going to get VoIP in my office (when I find a suitable office!) and I have come across a company I think sounds good - I would just like a second opinion

Here's the details=

£10 weekly rental for a phone and Internet

What's included?
Mitel 5320 Telephone
Direct Dial Number
Voicemail**
Internet Connection**
500 Minutes of*Free Calls per month (Local and National Destinations Only)
Each Starter Pack is supplied on a per person basis & cannot be split or shared
How do I pay for the service?
Your initial payment will be for*2 months (which includes*a*1 month retainer)
You will receive a monthly invoice for rental and call charges.
You can elect to pay by direct debit or credit/debit card with 'Future Pay'
If you elect to use FuturePay a*Service Charge of 4% will be added to your*monthly invoice.
Why do you hold a retainer?
The retainer is held against the phone and any call charges you may run up outside the free allowance.
It is fully refunded at the end of the agreement*when the*phone is returned and any outstanding call charges are paid for in full.
You will be required to give 30 days notice to cancel.

Call rates are=
UK Local *0.0295
UK National *0.0295
Mobile Networks O2/Vodafone/Orange/T-Mobile*0.109

What do you guys think?
Is there anything else I should look out for?

Many thanks in advance

 

[cjd]

Sounds a bit cheesy. What kind of number do they provide?
Are they members of ITSPA?

 

[RemoteTechs]

I know a company that sounds good an infact are good, we are happy customers of theirs......... and no we are not affiliated in any way, we just are glad to have a decent provider after having a rubbish one!

See ^^^^^^^^^ - Voipfone.

 

[Dominic Taylor]

I can highly recommed Voipfone, we use them for our phones and the flexibility is perfect for what we need - eg opening hours, diversion, PSTN failover (and extensions, and a bit of IVR (though we no longer use that at present, preferring that customers can simply ring right through to someone), and probably more I've forgotten about.

And their support knows what they're talking about too, not that we've needed to contact them for an awful long time - I simply pay the (very reasonable) bills and the phones work.

I remember call queuing wasn't too hot a year or so ago but maybe it's better now (though we don't use it - don't need it)

 

[leemason]

Also have a look at www.gradwell.com. £40.00 a month seems a little steep for a single VoIP line and the call charges seem a little high.

 

[henryc]

if they can bring the call charges down a bit it's not so bad as i know the cost of handsets / installation etc. Local and National calls have buy rates of around 0.6p and mobiles around 5.5p to give you an idea of what room they have to move.

Are there any connection fees?

Can i ask what the *'s are in relation to? Are you sharing voice and data? Have you checked to see that you will have enough bandwidth should you need to add more extensions?

 

[Consultant sea]

I would advise calling Voipfone. You will be surprised how easy it is to get set-up and how helpful they are. No strings attached, no contracts etc. Just good service at a decent price. There was no fancy boxes or complications when I went through them. Just plug your phone in to your internet connection/router and away you go.

 

[the locksmith]

Just to add my thrupence worth ... give CJD @ Voipfone a call. I've been with them since January and can't fault them.

The only thing I find hard to understand is why I was paying BT so much for what can only be described as poor and overpriced service. They couldn't even get caller display to work correctly on my line.

Now I have a concise and detailed list of both inward and outward calls (and caller display works too !).

 

[Newmedia]

Hi

The thing which attracted me to this co is a lot of the other tenants in the offices I am thinking about renting use them and there is no connection or outright hardware costs. Voipfone do look a great company and there call costs are lower so would probably be a better long term choice but like I say this has no setup costs.

Regards

 

[cjd]

Hi

The thing which attracted me to this co is a lot of the other tenants in the offices I am thinking about renting use them
Regards

then you're asking the wrong people - go talk to the other tenants.

Couple of things to be careful of

1. Make sure they give you a proper 01 or 02 number - none of this 08 rubbish
2. Check whether you can take your number with you if you move out or simply want to change - the likelihood is that they don't own the numbers themselves but are re-sellers; that could cause you trouble later
3. Ask them if it's expandable - ie can you add new number, telephones etc
4. Does it do standard stuff like call divert, voicemail, music on hold etc
5. Ask if there are any cancellation costs. Generally if they provide you with equipment and don't charge for it, it's either rubbish kit or there's a cancellation fee or both.

Finally, £40 per month is on the expensive side.

 

[Replacemyscreen]

I have used 'vonage' for awhile and am really happy with them.