Paying landline phone bill

Faith

Hi all,

I own my own apartment and recently got an American flatmate. There's only the two of us and everything is going smoothly, more or less. We recently got a landline telephone. I have no problem paying half of the line rental, but am I expected to pay half of the call costs too? I just noticed that she's made several international calls. I assume she's responsible for paying these? I only use my mobile phone at the moment because I have a very comprehensive contract.

What's the best way to go about this when the bill arrives? Should I ask for an itemised bill and we pay only for the calls we each made? I'm new to this A) bill paying and being a landlord. I want to be diplomatic and fair about it, obviously.

ircoha

Faith wrote:

Hi all,

I own my own apartment and recently got an American flatmate. There's only the two of us and everything is going smoothly, more or less. We recently got a landline telephone. I have no problem paying half of the line rental, but am I expected to pay half of the call costs too? I just noticed that she's made several international calls. I assume she's responsible for paying these? I only use my mobile phone at the moment because I have a very comprehensive contract.

What's the best way to go about this when the bill arrives? Should I ask for an itemised bill and we pay only for the calls we each made? I'm new to this A) bill paying and being a landlord. I want to be diplomatic and fair about it, obviously.

Faith: an itemised bill is the way to go, there will be the odd number that u wont be able to remember but it should work.
If with eirscum consider getting the bill monthly for ease of recollection.
If u are not using itthen it should be easy to sort out.

As u prolly know most local calls in US are free, so ur pal may not know that eirscum dont do that.

Blush_01

As far as I know (they may have stopped it, but it used to exist) there's a way in which you can set up a code system on the phone. You have your code and you dial it before you make a call. She'd have her code for her calls. You'd have to call your service provider to see what the story is, but I know before I came to college my cousins who shared houses used to have their code for the phone, and would pay for the calls they made, plus their share of the line rental.

I'd at least check it out as an option if I was you, because otherwise it's very messy to get out your calculator and highlighter and go through the entire bill every time it comes.

Actually (isn't the internet wonderful!) just click here for Eircom information.Wunderbar

Either way, talk to her about it - bring it up subtly if you're not sure of the reaction you're going to get. As it's a new arrangement, don't be shy about discussing things with her. I spent the last three years renting with various different people and the only way to deal with issues like that is to say it. It's harder to bring it up after time has passed than it is to sort it out at the beginning - nip things in the bud, so to speak. The amount of hassle I had, even with getting people to pay their rent or bills on time (I was the only person on the lease and therefore was effectively subletting, making me responsible for the payment in full of the rent) because I tried not to make an issue of it the first time they were late. Being too polite will only lose you money, but that doesn't mean to say you should be rude about it either - it's treading a fine line, really. You still have to live with her!

Victor

Faith wrote:

I have no problem paying half of the line rental, but am I expected to pay half of the call costs too?

Specificly no. Its not your fault she is phoning foreign places.

Be very clear to her on the price structure that you sign up to. You can probably get much better value on call prices from other companies.

http://www.eircom.ie/cgi-bin/bvsm/bveircom/bladerunner/showContent.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1139775773.1160184491@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchaddjddilllicefeceiedffndffj.0&cid=CallTrackingUserGuideRes (you will need to change the SessionID)

eircom call tracking

Set up guide

Do you split your telephone bill? Do you need to record who is making what calls in your apartment or house?
eircom call tracking allows you to keep a record of the calls made by up to 8 people. Each caller keys in their call tracking code. A summary of their calls will be presented separately in the call charges section of your eircom phone bill.
eircom call tracking
Use eircom call tracking when the bill arrives to see at a glance who made what calls.
Separate code for each caller: you can select any access code from 01 to 08. These do not have to be consecutive.
Tip:

We recommend that you avail of free itemised billing as this will allow you to view a breakdown of the individual calls under each tracking code..

Cost

Monthly rental: 1.88 (inc. VAT).

Order now

Order now

*Not available on ISDN lines. eircom call tracking and eircom call barring services cannot co-exist on the same line.
Certain services cannot be tracked through eircom call tracking: abbreviated calling, alarm reminder, call answering, call forwarding, 1471, hotline, speaking clock.
VAT is currently charged at 21%.

You might consider going elsewhere than eircom for your international calls also. Eircom are 15-19c, you should be able to get it under 10c.

Calls within Ireland: Back to Call Calculator

Band Rate Price per minute*
Local Daytime 4.9257c
Evening 1.26424c
Weekend 1.26424c
National Daytime 8.1685c
Evening 4.9257c
Weekend 1.26424c
Vodafone (087) Mobile Phones Daytime 23.07328c
Evening 16.10368c
Weekend 11.57344c
O2 (086) Mobile Phones Daytime 23.07328c
Evening 15.45754c
Weekend 11.60974c
Meteor (085) Mobile Phones Daytime 27.42928c
Evening 19.4578c
Weekend 15.23248c
Premium Services (1512*) Daytime 360.581c
Evening 25.001c
Weekend 25.001c
Premium Services (1513*) Daytime 60.001c
Evening 60.001c
Weekend 60.001c
Premium Services (1514*) Daytime 75.001c
Evening 75.001c
Weekend 75.001c
Premium Services (1515*) Daytime 100.001c
Evening 100.001c
Weekend 100.001c
Premium Services (1516*) Daytime 150.001c
Evening 150.001c
Weekend 150.001c
Premium Services (1517*) Daytime 200.001c
Evening 200.001c
Weekend 200.001c
Premium Services (1518*) Daytime 300.001c
Evening 300.001c
Weekend 300.001c
Premium Services (1520*) Daytime 15.001c
Evening 15.001c
Weekend 15.001c
Premium Services (1530*) Daytime 33.001c
Evening 33.001c
Weekend 33.001c
Premium Services (1540*) Daytime 60.001c
Evening 60.001c
Weekend 60.001c
Premium Services (1550*) Daytime 95.001c
Evening 95.001c
Weekend 95.001c
Premium Services (1559*) Daytime 89.0449c
Evening 89.0449c
Weekend 89.0449c
Premium Services (1560*) Daytime 125.001c
Evening 125.001c
Weekend 125.001c
Premium Services (1570*) Daytime 175.001c
Evening 175.001c
Weekend 175.001c
Premium Services (1580*) Daytime 240.001c
Evening 240.001c
Weekend 240.001c
Premium Services (1590*) Daytime 290.001c
Evening 290.001c
Weekend 290.001c

International Calls
Band Rate Price per minute*
UK Daytime 15.3559c
Evening 14.43388c
Weekend 12.43738c
UK Mobile Daytime 34.57312c
Evening 27.64708c
Weekend 27.64708c
Near Europe Daytime 24.201c
Evening 24.201c
Weekend 24.201c
Mid Europe Daytime 38.721c
Evening 38.721c
Weekend 38.721c
Mobiles for Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland Daytime 48.25096c
Evening 41.89846c
Weekend 41.89846c
U.S.A. & Canada Daytime 19.04398c
Evening 15.23248c
Weekend 15.23248c
Far Europe Daytime 92.18122c
Evening 79.8973c
Weekend 79.8973c
Mexico & Caribbean Daytime 76.61578c
Evening 68.8984c
Weekend 62.02318c
Australia/New Zeland/Far East Daytime 85.77064c
Evening 68.52088c
Weekend 43.78606c
Australia Mobile Daytime 85.77064c
Evening 68.52088c
Weekend 43.78606c
Middle East & South Africa Daytime 124.39384c
Evening 124.39384c
Weekend 110.4256c
Rest of Pacific Rim Daytime 122.81842c
Evening 122.81842c
Weekend 122.81842c
Diego Garcia, Solomon Islands & certain Pacific Islands Daytime 360.581c
Evening 360.581c
Weekend 360.581c
Rest of World Daytime 221.1406c
Evening 221.1406c
Weekend 221.1406c
Beligum, France Mobile Daytime 39.68416c
Evening 37.12138c
Weekend 37.12138c
Germany, Netherlands Mobile Daytime 39.68416c
Evening 37.12138c
Weekend 37.12138c

Internet
Band Rate Price per minute*
Internet 1892 Daytime 5.06848c
Evening 1.26424c
Weekend 1.26424c

Calling Time Guide
Daytime - 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday
Evening - 6pm to 8am Monday to Friday
Weekend - Midnight Fri - Midnight Sun and Public Holidays

Other Calls
Calls to other numbers Price per minute *
FreeFone 1800 FREE
Callsave 1850 6.351 per call
LoCall 1890 Local call rate

Other Calls
Calls to other numbers Price per minute *
1530 33.001
1540 60.001 per call
1550 95.001
1559 73.591
1560 125.001
1570 175.001
1580 240.001

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* All calls are subject to a minimum call charge of 6.35c (inc. VAT). Per second pricing applies to specified customer direct dialled calls and certain calls using eircom chargecard and Ireland Direct. Standard rounding applies for presentation purposes only. Rates do not apply to calls from payphones or mobile phones.
All prices shown are eircom standard rates. Discounted rates are not shown.
Correct as of 15th September 2005.
The prices displayed above do not include internet subscription based services.
All prices include VAT.




For more information Freephone 1901



Countries within International Call Bands:
Britain: Great Britain, Isle of Man and Channel Islands (excluding Northern Ireland).
Near Europe: Andorra, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands.
Mid Europe: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark (including Faroe Islands), Finland, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Portugal (including Azores & Madeira), San Marino, Spain (including Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta & Melilla), Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City.
Far Europe and North Africa: remaining European countries not in Near and Mid Europe bands plus North Africa and Israel.
USA and Canada: Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, USA.
Mexico and Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nevis, Puerto Rico, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (USA).
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore: Australia (including Tasmania), Christmas Island, Hong Kong, Japan (including Ryuku Islands), Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore.
Middle East, South Africa, Argentina and China: Argentina, Bahrain, China (peoples Rep. Of), Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, United Arab Emirates.
Rest of Pacific Rim: Indonesia, Korea (Rep. Of), Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand.
Diego Garcia, Solomon Islands & certain Pacific Islands: Diego Garcia, Cook Islands, Tivalu, Papua New Guinea, Wallis & Futuna, Kiribati, Guinea Bissau, Solomon Islands and Vanuata.
Rest of World: see telephone directory for details.

Lex Luthor

If you have broadband installed, get Skype for your PC. If the person she/he is calling in the US has Skype, the calls are free. If they don't then she/he can make a call from the PC for 2c/min inc. VAT

So any calls they make from Skype to the US are charged to an account they set up and the registered Skype user is the payer, not the person the phone bill is used for.

You could also check out www.callcosts.ie to see which package suits you best

http://www.skype.com/helloagain.html

Request an itemised bill until then

wyndham

Faith wrote:

I only use my mobile phone at the moment because I have a very comprehensive contract.

Why did you get a landline installed then?

Personally, I feel that this is a disaster waiting to happen. In any case, if I were that American person, I would be using phonecards as it's cheaper. On a sidenote, who do you have the call charges with? I made a 25 minute call to the states last month and the total cost was e1.70. With Teleir that is.

Faith

I'm with BT because I'm in Britain.

I got a landline so I could get the internet installed, in case my mobile broke or went missing, in case of emergencies and so I'll have a phone when I'm finished with my contract in a few months.

I'm pretty sure she has Skype but doesn't use it.

I'm thinking an itemised bill is the best way to go, so. I haven't used the phone at all, so there's no reason in me paying any of the call costs, right? I guess I'll just say it to her when the bill arrives.

Lex Luthor

Itemised bill is the ONLY way to go. You cannot be expected to half the cost of a phone in a house if there are tenants.

I rented a house with 3 other lads before and we all had to sit down every 3 months and tick off what on the itemised bill was ours and then we split the rental 4 ways. It should be twice as easy with 2.

iguana

As you are in the UK tell your tenant to call 08448615151 before she makes any international calls, then type in the number she wants followed by the hash key. These calls cost 1p per minute to many countries including Ireland, the US and Australia. When you have the landline 3 months you can change service providers.

Toucan do a great deal for international calls. http://www.toucantele.com/talk/ad_ons/intl.aspx

shoegirl

This absolutely unfair on you and I sympathise as I got stung on this many times before by various flatmates who were happily ringing mobiles (I'd a billpay mobile at the time so never used landline for mobiles), a total tosser who was spending about 100-200 a month on the internet during the day, and a south african flatmate who was ringing home at about 1 pound a minute (these were the bad old days before real competition to eircom got going). I have paid out hundreds of pounds on phone calls I never made.

Best thing to do is say that its unfair for her to expect you to subsidise her long distance calls and that you expect her to pay for her own calls. Get an itemised bill and check against both your phone lists. Alternatively, switch to a discount plan that makes US calls very cheap, or suggest she uses one of the discount dial services.

Victor

iguana wrote:

As you are in the UK tell your tenant to call 08448615151 before she makes any international calls,

If you are going to mention a service like that, you could at least identify who is running it. http://www.bestminutes.co.uk/index2.php