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Calls & Rental
Frequently Asked Questions: Low cost calls and Line Rental
This page contains answers to the questions we are most frequently asked by customers.
If you have any questions that are not covered here please don't hesitate to contact us
Q. Do I need a computer or an Internet connection to use your business telephone call service?
A. NO! Absolutely not. The Cymru 1 Business Telephone Call Service is NOT a "Voice over IP" (VoIP) service, where you usually need an Internet connection, some additional equipment and in many cases a computer in order to make or receive calls. On the contrary, no Internet connection is required, no special equipment is necessary, and all calls are carried over proper telecom-grade networks. Please see the answer to the question below for more details.
Q: How does it work?
A: A number of large telecommunications companies other than BT have networks that can carry telephone calls both within the UK and internationally. By arranging for your calls to be routed through one of these "Alternative Carriers" as they are known, companies such as Cymru 1 can offer lower call charges to you because the Alternative Carriers usually offer much lower call rates than BT, especially for daytime calls.
If you choose to rent your line through us, everything happens automatically and transparently. The biggest difference is that you will need to call a different number to report faults. Your phone number will not change. No engineer will need to visit (unless you need to make significant changes to your line).
If you decide to only move your calls to us, everything still happens automatically and transparently through a process known as Carrier Pre-Selection. Basically this means we arrange for each call you make on your existing telephone line (other than calls to the operator, emergency services, BT faults etc) to go through our supplier's networks instead of through BT's. This means there is no need for special codes to be entered before making a call, nor for any equipment to be installed on your line. Everything happens automatically in the telephone exchange. However, if you ever need or want to route a call through BT's network instead of though our service then you can always instantly do so by simply entering a four-digit code (1280) before the number you want to dial. In this way your telephone number remains the same and your line rental remains with BT. The biggest change that occurs is simply the network through which the majority of your call is routed and the company that bills you for your calls.
Q. How much will I save?
A. The exact saving will depend on where you call, when you call them, how long you call them for, and which of BT's many bewildering "discount" options you may currently subscribe to. But compared with BT's standard non-discounted daytime rates, you should save 43% on local calls and between 55%-90% on National & International Calls, and on average most of our customers cut their total call costs by 45-55% when switching from BT.
Also remember that because there is no minimum call charge (unlike BT), you will see additional savings on short calls such as fax calls, hanging up immediately when you reach an answer machine, reaching a company but then finding the person you require is not available, and being cut off after reaching a mobile in a low signal area. And for many businesses, such short calls represent 30-50% of all calls.
Each individual company will have its own individual calling pattern based on type type of business you run and the nature of the calls you make, however. This means that examples and statistics are not necessarily the best way to determine exactly how much you will actually save if you switch to our low cost calls service. Instead, the only sure way to do so is to look at your most recent bill and make a direct comparison using our prices.
For a quick and simple way to estimate how much you could save, please use our online call savings calculator.
All you need to do is enter some simple summary information from your existing bill and the spreadsheet will estimate how much you will save.
Click here to launch the calculator
Q. How will my calls be carried and how reliably?
A. All calls are routed through high quality networks at the local or regional exchange level. This means that changing to us will not disrupt your telephone service in any way at all, and the quality of calls with us is normally exactly the same as if you had dialled the destination with BT. Our service is NOT Internet-based.
Q. Will I need to change my telephone equipment or telephone number?
A. All your existing telephone and data transmission equipment is compatible. You will not need to change your telephone number. However, if you were using another non-BT company for your calls before joining joining us then any routing boxes installed by that company between your telephone line and your telephone equipment or PABX will need to be un-plugged, de-installed, or simply switched off. Or, if your old non-BT telephone call company modified the programming of your telephone system (e.g. a PABX) to dial a special access code number then this programming will have to be turned off.
Q. What about my line rental?
A. If you DO NOT switch to us for your line rental, BT will continue to bill you quarterly for your line rental, for any calls you make that begin with the prefix of 1280, and for any extra BT services you subscribe to (call waiting etc).
If you want to reduce your costs further and switch your line rental to us, once your line has been switched over to us we will bill you for your line rental instead of BT.
Q. Is there a signup fee? What is the minimum contract period?
A. There is no sign-up fee. The minimum contract period is just 1 month - not 1 year, 2 years or 3 years like the majority of our competitors. And in the unlikely event you decide you no longer wish to use our service you simply need to give us 30 days written notice. However if you are willing to signup for an extended period (e.g. 3 years) then we will be able to reduce our call costs even further. We strongly discourage customers from entering into long contracts, however.
Q. What if something goes wrong with my service?
A. Problems are extremely rare, but just as with BT's service they can happen from time to time.
You will be given a special freephone number to call to report faults when you sign up.
If you have switched your line rental over to us you should use this number to report all faults on your line.
If you have only switched your calls to us, please contact BT to report faults with your phone line (e.g. no dial tone, crackling on the line and similar issues). If you consistently have a problem with a call to a particular number you can try routing the call over BT's network instead of ours by putting the special four digit code 1280 before the area code of the number. If this solves your problem, please document your problem and send us a report of when you made the call, how often you tried, the number you were trying to call and the number you were calling from by sending an email to support@cymru1.net. Note that you will be charged by BT, at BT's normal rates, for any calls you make with the 1280 code, and not by us at our reduced rates.
NOTE: If the fault still exists when you dial the 1280 before the number then the fault must be with your telephone equipment, on your BT line, or on the destination you are calling. In such cases please contact BT or your telephone system maintainer for further assistance as we will be unable to help.
Q. How will I be charged?
A. We will send you a bill around the 4th of every month for the calls you made during the previous month. If you do not rent your line from us, BT will continue to bill you for your line rental, any calls you prefix with 1280 and any extra BT services you subscribe to (e.g. Call Minder, Caller Display etc).
Q. How do I pay my bill?
A. Payment of your bill is collected automatically by Direct Debit around the 24th of the month.
Q. What happens if I'm initially on your Gold or High Volume Tariff but my usage goes down?
A. We reserve the right to switch you to another Tariff, but would not normally do so on the basis of just one or two bills under the amount required to be on our Gold or High Volume tariffs. Indeed would try to avoid making any changes to your account at all, especially if you have been with us for a long time. Customers signing up under our current Gold Tariff Special Offer would not be asked to change tariffs at all.
Q. What happens if I'm initially on your Standard or High Volume Tariff but my usage changes and my bills start to reach the amount that would allow me to be on the next Tariff up?
A. If you see that your bills are regularly going over the required amount, please contact us and we will arrange to switch you to the most appropriate tariff as quickly as possible.
Q. Can I use your service if I do not have BT phone lines?
A. No, unfortunately you MUST have a BT line in order to use our service. Remember, by "BT line" we simply mean that you pay rental for your telephone line to BT. If you simply get a bill for call charges from a company other than BT but still pay BT for your line rental then you can use our services.
Q. If I don't rent my line from you, can I still use the BT call diversion service?
A. Yes, but BT will bill you for having this service on your line and we will bill you for the diverted calls.
Q. If I don't rent my line from you, can I still use BT Calling Features (previously known as Select or Star Services)?
A. Yes, all of the following services - if they were set up on your line before you switch to us - will not be affected: 1471, 1571, Reminder Call, 3-Way Calling, Caller Display, Call Diversion, Call Waiting, Call Divert. You cannot use Call Barring, however (see below).
Q. If I don't rent my line from you, can I set up new BT's Calling Features (Select/Star Services) AFTER I switch to you?
A. Yes, with the exception of Call Barring (see below). BUT PLEASE NOTE : If you do so, in most cases it will automatically cancel your CPS service with us. Yes, this is completely mad and utterly stupid, but we have no control over this - there is nothing we or any other company offering a similar service can do about it at the moment. Worse still, if your service is cancelled in this way you will need to contact us to have the CPS service re-installed on your line, and we may have to charge you £5 + VAT for doing so.
Q. If I don't rent my line from you, can I still use the BT Ring Back service?
A. The answer to this question is both "Yes" and "No".
If you dial an engaged number with us you will not get the option to press '3' for Ring Back because this is a BT-only service. However, if this feature is particularly important to you, you can simply re-dial the number with the prefix 1280 to force that specific call to be routed via BT, and then you will be able to press '3' for ring back. The exception to this rule is if the number you are dialling has been specifically barred from accepting ring back requests, or the telephone exchange for the number you are calling does not support it. Please also note that all calls routed via BT will be charged to you by BT on your blue bill at normal BT rates, and not by us at our reduced rates.
Q. If I don't rent my line from you, can I still withhold my number with 141?
A. Yes, the 141 service works exactly the same as BT.
Q. Can I have Call Barring on my telephone line with you?
A. Unfortunately not. This is one of the few services which is not available with us as standard. However, if this is a major problem for your company please contact us and we will try to find an alternative solution.
Q. Can I use the service with my digital lines?
A. Yes, we can provide our service for ISDN lines in the same way as normal analogue lines.
Q. I make use of BT's FeatureLine facility on some or all of my lines. Is your service compatible with this?
A. If you do not rent your line from us, in most cases, yes. But in some very very rare cases there may be a compatibility issue with a particular line, and we would not be able to offer our services to you on that line.
We cannot, however, provide you with line rental services if you want to use FeatureLine.
Q. How do I join?
A. Simply complete an application form and Direct Debit mandate for the service you wish to subscribe to.
WARNING: We have recently changed our application forms. Please do NOT use the forms below. Instead please call us to discuss your requirements and we'll send you a copy of the new forms by email or by post.
Low Cost Calls application form (Microsoft Word format) |
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Low Cost Calls application form (Adobe Reader format) |
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DISCLAIMER
Please note that although will always try very hard to ensure that all the information on this page is accurate and up to date, we are, after all, only human, and sometimes do make mistakes.
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