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Post by fruitysuet on Jul 8, 2014 11:27:25 GMT
Blimey. It wouldn't occur to me to give up our land line. Maybe it is a UK thingy, but our internet package is tied up with the phone line rental. That. We live in a semi rural area and there are no cable companies running our way. Without the landline we can't access internet. And that is
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Post by JoP on Jul 8, 2014 11:31:24 GMT
Blimey. It wouldn't occur to me to give up our land line. Maybe it is a UK thingy, but our internet package is tied up with the phone line rental. That. We live in a semi rural area and there are no cable companies running our way. Without the landline we can't access internet. And that is Same here no landline not internet
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Post by gar on Jul 8, 2014 11:31:52 GMT
I used to feel that way. Now I use my mobile almost exclusively. I don't really see the point of a phone that is tied to one location. There is nothing convenient about it. And it's super expensive. I'd rather put the extra money into my mobile and have everything at my fingertips than have to be in one particular place to use it. I guess I'm all about convenience now. If there was a concrete reason why I need a landline, I'd go back, but I really don't see one right now. I guess the expense varies a lot depending on your set-up, different countries etc. In the UK it's often tied in with broadband etc so the situation is slightly different. I just feel comfortable having both but I get your reasons
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grinningcat
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,663
Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Jul 8, 2014 11:33:56 GMT
It's often in packages here as well (TV, phone, internet), but I get what you're saying.
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bellemagic
Junior Member
Baking Aunties Cookies
Posts: 64
Jun 26, 2014 0:58:08 GMT
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Post by bellemagic on Jul 8, 2014 11:52:05 GMT
We will be keeping our landline . After calling 911 from my home last year once for a fire (using landline) and once for a car accident near my home(using cell) the response time was very different.
Here cell calls are routed to state police first, then on to local police. We also live on a state line so which state gets the call depends on which tower our cells are connecting through. That can really slow down the response time when calling from a cell.
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Post by shescrafty on Jul 8, 2014 11:56:08 GMT
We keep a landline because my cell phone does not work in the basement and our service in the house is spotty.
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Post by *KAS* on Jul 8, 2014 12:03:34 GMT
I dropped my landline about 2 years ago but I can still make a call to 911, even with no service. I have a cheap $5 plug in landline that I keep in the kitchen in case of emergency. I'm not sure if that's universal or just in Georgia, but no issues calling 911 without paying $43/month for telemarketers to have a way to reach me. Haven't missed it for 1 minute.
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iowgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,274
Jun 25, 2014 22:52:46 GMT
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 8, 2014 12:15:24 GMT
I would really like to get rid of ours too. So many crap calls. DH wants it for emergency purposes, and believe it or not - we still have to fax a couple documents once in a while.
You can port your home phone number to a cell phone. You can add one of those $10/month basic phones to your plan and have it as your home phone. You won't be in the phone book anymore, but people that have your home number will still reach you.
I have had to call for emergencies (always fire), but I don't call 911 - I call the Sherrif's Office number. I call from my cell and I want a certain fire department to respond - so it is easier to call the dispatch for that county right away. We live near the county border, and the rural fire departments are by township. So I want the closest one to respond. We had one fire that had 3 departments at - never want that again!!!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 28, 2024 22:23:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 13:25:12 GMT
I haven't bothered getting rid of our landline because the TV/internet package was cheaper with the phone line. We don't really use it much. Soon as it costs more to keep the line, it's out of here.
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julieb
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,845
Jul 3, 2014 16:02:54 GMT
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Post by julieb on Jul 8, 2014 13:59:07 GMT
I had the opposite problem. DH wanted to get rid of and I wanted to keep. I got it down to $20 a month with AT&T. I only have 30 local calls a month- 10 cents a call if we go over, which we haven't. The main problem for me is that I can't even call my cell phone to try and find it from the landline. The number is not considered "local".
I wanted to keep in case of an emergency.
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Post by DinCA on Jul 8, 2014 13:59:43 GMT
I won't get rid of mine so I can't help but I will tell you why we keep it. Say we lose our electricity for more than a couple of days. It would be kind of hard to charge the cell phones. We have an old phone that is not wireless so we would be able to makes calls if necessary.
Also, I only give my cell phone number to people I want to talk to so all other calls go to the land line.
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Post by melanell on Jul 8, 2014 14:12:22 GMT
I insist on a landline for our home. And I also insist on a non-cordless phone. We live in an area where cell coverage is still spotty at best, and we are prone to power outages as well. BUT, I receive very few calls per day, and they are almost always real calls. We rarely get annoyance calls. So we don't pay any extras on out phone line at all. I think we pay about $30.00 per month to have it, and I'm okay with that.
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Post by annabella on Jul 8, 2014 14:22:59 GMT
My landline cost $25 a month and comes with a feature to block numbers. But sometimes I do answer and just tell them to take my number off their list. I also put my number on the do not call list. Now my cell phone on a weekly basis gets soliciting calls from numbers in my area code.
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Nink
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,955
Location: North Idaho
Jul 1, 2014 23:30:44 GMT
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Post by Nink on Jul 8, 2014 14:37:23 GMT
We will be keeping our landline . After calling 911 from my home last year once for a fire (using landline) and once for a car accident near my home(using cell) the response time was very different. Here cell calls are routed to state police first, then on to local police. We also live on a state line so which state gets the call depends on which tower our cells are connecting through. That can really slow down the response time when calling from a cell. I can see it then if your 911 system is set up like that. I've had to call 911 twice on our old neighbor when he would beat the crap out of his wife. I called once when we had land line and once from cell phone and there was no difference in the call or response time. So it probably depends on where you live. Thankfully they moved a while back and don't have to deal with that anymore.
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houseofcurls
Junior Member
Posts: 82
Jun 26, 2014 17:21:12 GMT
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Post by houseofcurls on Jul 8, 2014 14:52:03 GMT
We have a landline, but we also have 5 children. Most of them do not have cell phones. There is one day out of the week when DH and I both work, and I'd like them to have a telephone to reach us or emergency services.
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Post by quinlove on Jul 8, 2014 15:03:56 GMT
"Does DH give you any reasons he wants to keep it?" (Haven't figured out quoting yet) He feels like it is the universal number where our family can be reached. "It rings upstairs and down, I don't have to carry my phone with me". But that doesn't mean they can't leave messages. And we all have cell phones that we use for most of our contacts. The home phone is just a telemarketer haven, in my opinion. Ptamom - just click on the posters name and a little black bar should appear with - quote like share more. Click on quote and you are in business. At least that's how it works on my iPhone. HTH
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Post by Dori~Mama~Bear on Jul 8, 2014 15:13:10 GMT
We don't have a land line. We got rid of it after my mom passed away 5 years ago. The only reason we had it was she lived 250 miles from me and didn't have a cell phone and long distance on cell phones here was bad then and they didn't have good unlimited plans. and I would talk to my mom a bunch. our cable had a great deal on land lines and we only paid $15 with free long distance so it was a great deal for us. then after she passed the phone only rang when it was a salesperson, so we got rid of it.
We all have cell phones and we always called the cell phone of the person we wanted to talk to so even if I was home and husband was at work he would call my cell phone because he knew I wouldn't answer the land line.
show him the bill the next time you get it and show him that the phone never gets used. he will not want to waste the money on the phone any more.
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Post by krazykatlady on Jul 8, 2014 15:23:15 GMT
We gave up our landline over 10 years ago so I have nothing to add other than this photo. I just took this phone from my mother's house last month and gave it to my SIL who collects old stuff. Isn't it lovely?
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Post by 2peafaithful on Jul 8, 2014 16:12:27 GMT
My dh wanted to keep ours and I was willing to do it for a while but the telemarketer calls just kept increasing. It was getting so old. It used to be 2-3 a week and became 3-5 a day from 8AM-9PM. I was DONE. Ours cost us $20 a month so he thought it was worth it but he finally saw it wasn't about the cost but the hassle of all the calls. I also turned off the ringer for a while and just used it for outgoing calls. I am sure I missed a few in there but they have our other numbers if they needed us.
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Post by wholarmor on Jul 8, 2014 17:08:11 GMT
I had the opposite problem. DH wanted to get rid of and I wanted to keep. I got it down to $20 a month with AT&T. I only have 30 local calls a month- 10 cents a call if we go over, which we haven't. The main problem for me is that I can't even call my cell phone to try and find it from the landline. The number is not considered "local".
I wanted to keep in case of an emergency. wheresmycellphone.com That's if you have a computer, I guess. If you have a phone plugged in, you can call 911 without paying for service. I haven't had a landline in years.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,709
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Jul 8, 2014 17:18:56 GMT
If you have a cell phone only, does it have a pass code? Is it always fully charged? Always in the same place? Always somewhere your child can physically reach it without help? Does your child know how to access the phone portion? Do they have your pass code to get into it? Do they know how to charge it? Can they cut it on if it's off?
I think it's easy to cut a landline to save money and not consider these things if you have young children. It takes seconds for a child to pick up a landline and dial 911. There are entirely too many variables that can block a child's access to a successful 911 call on a cell phone.
It isn't worth the risk to me.
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Post by maryland on Jul 8, 2014 17:19:33 GMT
I only use our landline. I hate to talk on my cell phone. The connection is never as good for me as the landline. Also, I like the feel of the landline phone better. I am a clumsy, and would probably drop the cell phone if trying to fold laundry while on the phone. I am the only one in the family that uses the landline (well, my 11 yr. old does too) and it doesn't bother my husband at all to keep it. Also, if we are calling a family member to wish a Happy Birthday, it's easy for us all to pick up one of our 5 landline phones.
I do use my cell phone to text and call home from a store (to see if anyone needs something), but other than that, I hardly ever use a cell phone.
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Post by maryland on Jul 8, 2014 17:22:48 GMT
I forgot to add above, when the landline rings (me calling home), it says who is calling (and it's on caller ID) so the family knows to answer it. If I call their cell phones, good chance that the cell phone is not on them and they won't hear it. We have the landline phones throughout the house, so someone always answers it. If I would call their cell phone, chances are they won't hear it. Or can't find it. Or has the volume off.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,709
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Jul 8, 2014 17:27:26 GMT
One more thing; if you don't have a landline, it's essential you have a babysitter with a charged phone or a charger on their person. And as evidenced on this board, not all parents want their teens to have cell phones.
I've gone without a landline and currently have one. I much prefer having one and would NOT go without one if I had children.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on Jul 8, 2014 20:34:12 GMT
Since he seems determined to keep it (which I agree with for 9-1-1 purposes but that's neither here nor there, lol), can you find a cheaper plan? Are you on the Do Not Call list? That seems like a crazy amount of calls. I work from home and we have a landline. Ever since being on the Do Not Call list, we get maybe 1 unsolicited call per week. I get more annoying calls on my cell phone than our landline. we are on the do not call list and we average 10 telemarketing calls per day.
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Lissy007
Junior Member
Posts: 97
Jun 25, 2014 19:30:58 GMT
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Post by Lissy007 on Jul 8, 2014 20:50:46 GMT
We gave ours up a year ago and we haven't missed it at all! 90% of the calls were from telemarketers. It was freeing!!!
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Post by snappinsami on Jul 8, 2014 20:55:34 GMT
We gave up our "real" landline (like, through the phone company, wires, etc.) almost 5 years ago. We were paying almost $50 a month, got very few calls, and our long distance only included the continental US. When DH called his sister in Canada, the bill would almost double. Nuts. For a few years, we used Vonage. Had no problems with them at all, except that we realized we rarely used it. So a little more than a year ago, we dumped that too. Now we're cell-only, and it's fine. I've never had to call 911 from home, but the few times I've done it from the car, I've never had any problems. Other posters have brought up good points about things to consider if you have young children who don't yet have their own phones. I have a friend who solved that problem by adding a separate line to her cell plan with a separate phone that only was used at home. It was less than $10 a month at the time, and was calls-only (no texting, not a smartphone, etc.), so it was great for if they had babysitters come or if their younger son needed to use it. Once he was old enough for a cell of his own, he got that one. Problem solved.
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Post by elaine on Jul 8, 2014 20:57:48 GMT
I wouldn't think of giving up our landline. We have a set of handsets that make it very easy to block callers (up to 200 phone numbers), so we have caught many of our regular telemarketers and blocked them.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,159
Jun 26, 2014 8:22:26 GMT
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Post by Gennifer on Jul 8, 2014 21:11:21 GMT
It's actually more expensive for me to not have the landline because of the bundling, but I can't see ever getting rid of it. You never know when your power might be out for days, and if your cell phone is dead, it does you no good.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 28, 2024 22:23:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2014 21:14:30 GMT
Since he seems determined to keep it (which I agree with for 9-1-1 purposes but that's neither here nor there, lol), can you find a cheaper plan? Are you on the Do Not Call list? That seems like a crazy amount of calls. I work from home and we have a landline. Ever since being on the Do Not Call list, we get maybe 1 unsolicited call per week. I get more annoying calls on my cell phone than our landline. we are on the do not call list and we average 10 telemarketing calls per day. Is there some loophole they're going through? What's the point of the list if it doesn't work, LOL. You have to renew it at some point too, I think. My mom is adamant about reporting telemarketers who call her (she's on Do Not Call) and they stop once she reports the number. But I ain't got time for that We let all calls go to the machine on low volume and just delete the hangups once in a while. Register your phone number: www.donotcall.gov/register/reg.aspxReport a complaint: complaints.donotcall.gov/complaint/complaintcheck.aspxOkay, well, I checked my registered numbers and there must not be a time limit. Our home number has been registered since 2003 and my cell since 2012.
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