Calling cards /companies: Has anyone tried this outfit ?

Hiya guys-

Has anyone tried 1899.com ?

They claim that UK national calls are free and calls to the US are also free , just a 3p connection charge PER CALL . ( oh i forgot to mention Germany is also free..just the 3p connection charge ).

They say that if you are a non BT customer they provide you with an 800 number to re-route the call

My carrier is Telewest but i just have a land line...no international or UK national plan as of yet...

Has anyone had any experience with this or any other similarly cheap calling plans ?

Thanks
Zu.
PS i am shooting for a calling plan that will cost me 2p for UK national (daytime weekdays ) and 3p for U.S. and Europe (24 hours )

I think someone else posted about them recently. I haven't tried them but  I did look at their site a few weeks ago and it said the free call thing is just a special promotion for a limited time. I think you have to set up a direct debit payment with them so presumably when they end the promotion they will start deducting the charges from your account.

Here's the link to the original thread about 1899.com: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=11055.0

Zu - I use onetel...and love 'em.  Check out the website - I think they may give you what you need.

Hi thanks for quick reply guys.

the only thing with 1899.com is that their UK national calls are not cheap ( most calls i will make will be local and national UK calls )

Re: Onetel, i have signed up with Telewest for my landline so i cant switch to another carrier since i have the one year obligation..i was hoping to find something like 1899.com where i wont have to switch providers, just re-routing the calls to a cheaper provider.

I am looking for a   2-3p per minute carrier (or calling card ) for making UK national-wide calls at peak hours.

cheers
Zu

OneTel, as well as Superline and many others are call carriers that work IN ADDITION to your existing BT or cable phone line. You keep your line but dial a 4-digit access number to get your calls routed through their services. I only know about OneTel and Superline: you can order a tiny gadget ('auto-dialler') that you plug between your phone socket and phone set which will automatically route all calls through them. Alternatively, you can request a so-called 'carrier override' which makes the gadget redundant. It won't interfere with any line features you're subscribed to (caller ID, 1571, ect.).

the only thing with 1899.com is that their UK national calls are not cheap ( most calls i will make will be local and national UK calls )

I don't understand why you think that.  I have Telewest and use 1899.com and all local and national calls are free.  I haven't had any problems with them.  Some calls are more expensive because of the 0808 access number that is used when there isn't a BT line.

We've used Onetel to call the States since I've been here: the standard rate used to be 5p a minute, but now is 3p. I don't think you'll find a better rate than that....

We signed up with Telco, who were then bought by Onetel, for all phonecalls - local, national and international. We pay 2p per minute for calls to the United States, and there's no membership fees, access number or things plugged into the phone socket, just straight through.

With my onetel I just have no charge on any call within the UK...it's part of the package I got...the whole deal of having a BT line, using onetel for UK & international calls costs me on average about £18-£20 per month...which I think is brilliant...you ought to check to see if you can get UK coverage with your service...

Thanks ya'll.

...but thats what i dont understand about 1899.com and i would be happy if someone can explain the following info i got from the 1899.com site

UK fixed lines 0.0 !!
UK mobiles (sat/sun) 2p
UK mobiles (weekdays) 10p
UK (070 Personal) 15p
UK (0845 Local) 3
UK (0870 National) 7p

Ok so it says UK fixed lines are free but then why does it say numbers with 070/0845/0870 numbers cost what they cost ?
Basically I dont understand the difference between fixed lines and  personal/local/national numbers ?

Zu.

Strongly simplified ...

07xxx # are mobile numbers;
08xxx # are service numbers;
09xxx # are premium numbers;

local/national (fixed) UK numbers start with either 01xxx or 02xxx and only calls with these area codes fall under the cheap call plan offers.

It doesn't matter what call provider you're with, all of the above 07/08/09 (except 0800) numbers are charged higher than the 01/02 numbers. Primiarily companies use 0845/0870 numbers to allow access through one major line no matter where calls are from within the UK.

sorry for piling it on like this...

Come to think of it my PAYG with 3 network wont let me call 0870 numbers either.

what your tried and tested advice girl ?

Short of signing up for the one year pay-monthly mobile service...are there any affordable solutions ?

Hate to get tangled up with a one year contract for pay-monthly but that might be the only way out huh ?

speak soon
K