suspending/opening phone line

[Polremy]

I was very interested in billy10's posting. Last year we visited Orange's shop asking about the maison secondaire scheme. We were told we did not qualify since we did not have a first residence in France. Spurred on by Billy's experience, I e-mailed Orange and asked again. I just said I was English and spent long periods away from France. I had a reply within 10 minutes, asking for my address and phone number. Once I had sent those, I had a further reply saying that I could suspend my line at any time for any period from 1 month to 1 year. All I must do, apparently, is e mail them, give them the starting and finishing dates and state the exact amount of my last phone bill "to the nearest centime"! It all seems too easy. My husband is wary and thinks there may be problems about starting it up again. They did say that our number could be reallocated while we were away but guaranteed for when we return. He is also concerned about our 1Tel account. Would that be affected at all do you think? Are they connected in any way. Not sure how it all works. Anyone besides Billy with experience of this system - good or bad - please share it. Don't want to mess up our whole communication setup for the sake of 15 euros a month.

Thanks

Polremy

[AnOther]

[quote user="Polremy"]They did say that our number could be reallocated while we were away but guaranteed for when we return[/quote]So they'll maybe give your number to someone else whilst you're away then snatch it back for the fortnight you spend in your house, sound right to you ?

I think you got it in a nutshell "for the sake of €15 a month" !

[Clair]

This is the FT page where the service is explained: Agence France Telecom: ligne résidence secondaire

There seems to be a misunderstanding about the number being reallocated.

FT say that the maximum duration of the suspension is 1 year (minimum is 1 month). Beyond 1 year, the line will be cancelled and the tel number reallocated.

Edit: the service is aimed at people with holiday homes, who do not want to pay for a tel line in a home used for a few weeks of the year. There is a disconnection fee each time you suspend the line (see caractéristiques détaillées on the above link)

[tenniswitch]

We've had maison secondaire service for 5 years now.  Our primary res is in the US.  You can turn it on/off via the FT website, after logging onto your account there.  It could not be simpler.  They do not reallocate your number while it is turned off (unless you leave it off for more than 1 year, as Clair mentioned).  The disconnection fee is quite small.

The interesting thing (for us) will be when we set up service for our 2nd maison secondaire (now en train de renovation).