Matelot Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Hi there,As sterling loses more and more of its value, I am looking at ways of saving money with our maison secondaire in France. In particular the dreaded phone bill. The situation is this: We have had a ‘bog standard’ land line with France Telecom for over ten years. We get over to the cottage several times a year, but there are gaps of several months between visits, and I am starting to begrudge paying in the region of €50 every two months for the telephone line rental when the cottage is closed. We have no computer at the house and the phone is used just for calling French friends or phoning home from time to time. Cunning Plan A: I have read that it is possible to suspend the line rental for periods of a month or more when the property is vacant and thereby save on rental charges. I have looked at my France Telecom online account, but the facility does not seem to be there. It may be because our contract is over ten years old. Is it fairly straightforward to change to a new contract where the suspension service is available? If so, what should I ask for? Cunning Plan B:If the above proves to be a huge pain in the derriere, my better half has suggested that we ditch the land-line altogether and purchase a French pay as you go phone that we leave at the cottage. I have read that Leclerc are doing some good deals on pay-as-you-go? How easy is it to cancel a phone contract with France Telecom? I value any suggestions on the above and thank you for any advice. BTW – What is the French term for Pay As You Go? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I have one of the Leclerc pay as you go phones, it has been fine to use as our house does not yet have a land line, however when I came back to UK last time I ran out of credit, I then got a text message saying I had 60 days to top up or my phone would be cancelled, since I was going yo be in UK for longer I phoned my brother who purchased a top up from Leclerc and e-mailed me the codes, despite being only 30 days since I ran out of credit it will not let me top up either from the normal 732 or from the international number! All I get is a message saying my call is free!![8-)]I did know the French for pay as you go but I'm having a senior moment[:$] .....if it comes to me......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weegie Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 "Téléphone avec carte prépayée" ?[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecossais Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 If the majority of the calls you make and receive when in France are to and from the UK – why not just take your UK mobile with you and use that?You say you are paying around 50€ every 2 months to FT – that’s £300 a year at today’s exchange rate! Using a UK abroad is getting cheaper all the time…..For example, with O2’s “My Europe Extra” which costs £10 per month (and can be added for a month at a time when you go abroad) you get free incoming calls and outgoing calls at 25p per minute to European landline and mobile numbers. Anyone phoning you from the UK would pay the normal price they would pay if you were in the UK. The only downside would be for someone phoning from a French landline or mobile – for them it would be an international call which could be costly.The LeClerc PAYG mobile is a good idea if you want a French mobile, so long as you get good reception on the SFR network at your cottage – LeClerc is a “virtual mobile network” on the SFR network.http://www.leclercmobile.fr/compte/tarifs/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Chris Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 We both have (and regularly use) UK pay-as-you-go mobiles on the Orange system, and we've lived in France for two years. No problems at all.Mind you, we also have a France Telecom fixed line...Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ontheway Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 call ft and tell them you have a maison secondaire and they have a contract where you can use the phone in your house several times a year and you only pay the abonnement when you use the line. they need about a weeks warning to put the line back on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I use the mobile to call relatives and friends resident in France, so they wouldn't appreciate me calling from an English mobile[Www] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ontheway Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 when i use my french mobile to call friends in england it is my mobile that gets the extra charges, it does not cost them anything extra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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