Changing email
I’m thinking of changing my broadband supplier ( BT) to Sky. But I’m not too sure about my email address, can I keep this or do I have to receive another one from Sky. If so how do I inform my contacts that it’s changed. Anyone done this and can help.
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You will have a new address from Sky but you don’t have to use it. You can keep and use your BT email but BT will charge you - it’s on their website somewhere.
One reason some folk use non broadband associated email such as Gmail is that they can continue to use it without changing if they swap internet service providers.
As for informing your contacts, you simply email them from the new address to tell them. You will need to physically alter the address on any account logins such as banking or camc.
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@hostahousey I have a BT internet email address and have had it for years. It has rather put me off changing internet suppliers! I think there is a facility to continue with a BT email address by paying a monthly fee but I think that is an expensive option and would probably negate the advantage of changing to Sky, purely from an internet point of view. My internet supplier is Plusnet and because its a BT company they seem to have allowed me to use the BT email for years without question. I think you will get a period of grace, an internet search will confirm.
If I need to do something with email or computers I tend to do a Google search and often find a YouTube video which explains the process as it happens which is usually easier to understand than written text. If you have lots of contacts just be aware that some suppliers limit the maximum number of email addresses you can contact in one go so you may have to split the emails into more than one group.
Don't envy you!!!
David
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I was in a similar position when we moved 2 1/2 years ago. I was with talktalk, moving to plusnet for a while and then onto another as yet undecided provider. This turned out to be a 4G supplier, 3, who do not have their own e-mail addresses.
Your current provider has to let you continue using "their" e-mail address without cost for a set time. Mine was 2 years, which I think is fairly standard. As the end time approaches you should be offered the opportunity to pay a set monthly fee if you wish to continue using it. With talktalk it was £5 a month, which I declined.
I set up a google e-mail address and over a period of one year slowly changed everything over as renewals for insurance arose. It was easier than I envisaged.
A bonus is the near total absence of Spam I now get. With talktalk it was a daily occurence. With google it is about one per month and that get caught in the spam folder.
Colin
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BT charge £7.50 per month to continue to use their email address with another internet provider. You have to pay for - what they call - "Premium Mail". I have been doing it for years - not wishing to loose my BT address when I changed provider some time ago.
However - now that BT and EE (my current provider) are the same company - providing I switch to EE's "Plus" fibre broadband, I will no longer have to pay the extra £7.50 for Premium Mail. Although it is slightly more expensive than my current broadband - saving the £7.50, will make it slightly cheaper.
I did have my own domain - and therefore unique email address, at one time - based on the name of our house - but having had it for 10 years - with no warning whatsoever, the domain host sold it on the open market because it was quite valuable - so I lost it!
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It is not clear if you use a BT internet address or not but if you do then the advice given is correct. Because we do change our supplier we do not use the suppliers e mail service but have hotmail and Gmail accounts which are free.. These and similar services are not tied to your e mail provider and you can use them whoever's broadband service you use.
My advice would be to change to one of these but possibly keep the BT one going for a short time to make sure everyone who contacts you this was can change their set up. These accounts are free although heavy users might reach its limit and are easy to set up.
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Well thanks everyone for your replies. I am with BT have been for years but I am finding other providers rates are far lower than BT. But now because my contract is coming to a close, they have informed me their rates are increasing. This is why I am looking to switch providers.
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@hostahousey - just a word of caution. I have been with EE now - for many years and although they are by no means the cheapest, I stay with them because their customer service is excellent. To give you an example - the other day, I had a minor problem with my email. I rang them - selected "ring back" and I got a call within 30 seconds!! The chap I spoke to went out of his way to help and eventually resolved the problem. This is typical of every contact I have had with EE.
On the other hand - last year - I was eventually tempted by a ridiculously low offer from KCOM (formerly Kingston (upon Hull) Communications - who are trying very hard to expand their network in this area. Before their engineer arrived, I tried to contact them with a query and I was hanging on the phone for 45 minutes and no one answered. When their engineer arrived, he had a 'couldn't care less' attitude and threw up all sorts of what I thought were imaginary problems. In the end I told him to go away and I cancelled the contract. Subsequent discussions with neighbours revealed a similar experience of appalling service from them. In the past I have had similar experience with Plusnet (also a BT owned company!) "You get what you pay for", springs to mind.
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Ring BT and haggle @hostahousey. Tell them you’re leaving. You might get a better deal.
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@hostahousey Just a thought, it might be worth thinking about getting something like a Gmail account as it will make no difference if you change internet supplier in the future. When I got my BT internet email back in the late nineties there was probably no such thing or if there was most people hadn't heard about it. The issue with changing a long established email address is not so much your usual contacts but the commercial contacts like your bank, insurance company, doctors surgery etc. These all need contacting individually, probably with some security hoops to jump through as well. With your current contact list you might be able to export it and import into a new supplier. This is fine for friends and family but not for commercial.
David
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Thanks again, my big problem is I am hard of hearing so not good on phone ( my OH too) and now nearly all company’s BT,Sky Banks etc , have all withdrawn their email address’s so it’s very hard to contact. Many have drop down options which don’t mostly apply to your questions, or have a robot that doesn’t understand what you mean. So really until I can find a broadband company rep say in a supermarket foyer I’m snookered.
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If cost is the main factor and you are not using your landline then it may be worth considering a 4G data/broadband only provider. Our 4G reception wit 3 is good and the speeds faster than down the line. We are now paying £22 a month for unlimited broadband. We can take our router away with us when in the UK to get internet in the caravan. This means not telling phones, tablet, laptop Firestick to link with weaker on site briadband that might be free or then again not.
Colin
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If you have an EE shop near you, they can help with EE/BT broadband questions.
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I have a broadband package which includes , landline, 700min calling plan, voice mail, and TV box , costing £57.80p I have seen other offers for around £23 which include Netflix and faster broadband. So this is what made me look into changing provider.
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I suspect you’ll find there are additional charges once you get into the nitty gritty of those plans, HH. Yours doesn’t sound too bad tbh.
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I changed my email address a while ago. It was a it of a nightmare. I would certainly echo those saying choose a generic address like gmail or outlook.com
Contacting friends was easy, it was the rest. Every magazine you have on subscription, every organisation you interact with, banks, building societies, dentist, optician etc Then there are all the organisations you forget.
A lot can be contacted via their web sites with various hoops to jump through. “Change my email address” worked with some chat bots. But some did have to be contacted by phone, although I guess you could write to them. I often do the phone interpretation for OH who is hard of hearing.
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@hostahousey - KCOM were offering superfast broadband for £24 a month. We're currently paying about £40 for landline, unlimited calls and 'normal' broadband with EE. It was that offer that made me think it was time to change. However - be aware that I think you will find that it is a limited time offer (it was with KCOM) and then it reverts to more or less that of the competition. I have built up lots of 'freebies' with EE - because of length of time I have been with them and all the devices I have connected - so when you add all that up - I'm actually getting a good deal.
I have been told before - and it was conformed again the other day when I rang EE - is that the BT/EE company is eventually going to operate in different areas. EE will take on all domestic contracts (including BT) and BT will concentrate on commercial and infrastructure via Openreach.
If you switch to EE and go for their EE plus package (or whatever it's called), you will get to keep your BT email address foc.
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I did read, I think it was on the ISP Review site that BT who had taken over EE and were going to rebrand the internet using the EE name that the new CEO has had a change of minds as BT is so well known as a brand.
Something that will impact on all of us with landlines in the near future is the closing of the copper wire exchanges with voice calls moving over to VOIP. For anyone with a landline, and a telephone number they wish to keep has to be very careful how they approach any change. I think it best to make sure your new supplier ports the number over from the old supplier before you cancel the old contract. If something goes wrong it can be the devils own job to recover a lapsed number. Obviously if you don't have a landline but use a mobile phone there is no issue.
David
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Our landline has been VOIP for over a year. I only kept it on as I wasn’t sure we were ready to give it up for incoming calls and the fee, without a call package, was small. However, very few of our friends / acquaintances use it, calling one of our mobiles instead. Much more convenient as when they’re on the house network any device can answer. Any number the landline does not recognise is sent straight to voice mail. They very rarely leave a message and when I’ve checked them on Google usually come up as call centres or scammers. Probably time for it to go when our current contract gets renewed.
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The contract will have a cancelation clause which details how you cancel. If you follow that then you can leave if the telephone is not for you. Virgin own O2 and the and EE and so do many others, they will talk you through your options and if you move the business will arrange the transfer for you. I you try the online search engines you may find deals better than anywhere else so check that.
I am afraid moving from time to time will be the only way to keep the cost down though, so being faithful is not the way.
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Not quite. Telefonica and Liberty Global own the merged O2 and Virgin company known as Virgin Media O2. BT is the parent company of EE.
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Why not buy your own domain from somewhere like Ionos or GoDaddy? You can then create your own email account(s) and then access and send emails through any web-browser or mobile device. Doing it this way means your email will be completely independent of your broadband provider so you can change your service provider at any time in the future yet retain your existing email account(s). You also set up mail forwarding to any other email account(s) as you wish.
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Gmail is simpler and free🤷🏻♂️
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Don’t be fooled. The point is you don’t have any right to the ‘gmail.com’ domain so what happens when Google decide to start charging you for their GMail service or imposing usage conditions? With your own domain, which costs just a few quid a year, you retain full control of your email address and your domain use.
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You’re still at the mercy of the provider who could shut down or sell up at any time. Don’t be fooled, it happens.
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I think you are confusing the role of the Domain Name System (DNS) provider with that of the Registry Service Provider (RSP). Top level domains worldwide are managed by an appointed RSP. In the case of the UK it’s Nominet, a robust public benefit company that manages the UK’s national domain name registry for about 10 million organisations, corporations and individuals, and has done so since 1996. Irrespective of the organisation or company you choose to facilitate and manage your domain name, your domain name is protected by Nominet or outside the UK, the respective national RSP.
This arrangement means you remain free to change your DNS and transfer your Domain at any time to another DNS provider and the RSP will help registered domain name owners to facilitate this. So, in the case of a DNS company collapsing or revising its Ts & Cs, you are not at the mercy of that organisation.0 -
Whichever it is, I’m not sure it’s helping the OP much.
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@Captain Quick - sorry - but whilst that might be the theory - in practice it doesn't happen like that. I had my own domain for 10 years - registered with Nominet. I bought it when people were first starting to jump on the band wagon and it was quite an attractive one - commercially as it turned out. After 10 years, they were free to do what they liked with it and it was just 'taken' from me and next thing I know it was for sale on the open market for silly money. That's why I ended up reverting back to my old BT address which I also had and have hung onto it ever since by paying a monthly fee to BT.
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I have my own domain email address with my website which I never use. People that are quite techie will probably easily understand how it all works but there are many people who are not in that category and a provider email or third party like gmail or hotmail is probably the best way forward. Like Richard my domain email only lasts as long as I continue to pay the £100 odd pounds a year to keep my website running. I think over the years we have all learnt that nothing lasts forever and things do change but its how we manage those changes that counts. Margaret has a Hotmail email address, had for years. It suddenly started flashing up that there was only a small amount of storage space left. It puzzled me for a while until I realised that a lot of reply emails still have the original attachments include. Deleting all those messages saved the day.
David
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Richard, as the registrant did you contact Nominet and lodge a complaint about a third party using the domain you registered? If a domain renewal lapses (by not paying a renewal fee and not responding to reminders) then that domain can be ‘recycled’ and the original registrant will no longer have any rights to it. For many registrants particularly corporations, their domain name is considered as intellectual property and may be shown on their balance sheet as an asset. Whether or not this is the case, It is vital to ensure renewal fees are paid promptly and the DNS providers terms continue to be met by the registrant.
The only time a domain name can be ‘taken’ from a registrant is if the name constitutes the intellectual property of someone else. Nominet, along with other Registry Service Providers globally, has an established process for doing this and if the original registrant is deemed to have ‘cybersquatted’ or otherwise registered a domain name which is considered to be a established brand name or a registered trademark, then that domain name may be reassigned to the legitimate IP owner. The original registrant will however be made aware of this and an appeals process is available where there is a dispute.0 -
@Captain Quick - you are obviously more knowledgeable than I on this matter - and what you say was what my understanding was at the time. However, it was a very long time ago and I can't really remember in detail, what happened. Everything was paid up - so there was no reason for me to loose it and I seem to remember a third party being involved - some outfit in London who were impossible to contact either by phone or email. I went round and round in circles and eventually gave up trying to get it back.
I suppose there is no harm in naming it now - it was coach-house.com. I have just checked and it's for sale - but I can't see who is selling it - the web page doesn't give any clues. However, it says "offers under $1000 are not normally considered". I bought it, originally, for not a lot of money.
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