Class Telecommunications

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's happened to the 1st Class Phonecard service?

A: The 1st Class Phonecard is being withdrawn on August 31st 2010 and is being replaced with Homelink, a simpler and more convenient service for you and your children to keep in touch.

Q: How does Homelink work?

A: Homelink is your personal freephone telephone number that allows your child to contact up to 10 nominated people from any landline telephone.  As Homelink  is a freephone number, no charge is made to the telephone that is being used to make the call (that is not the case if your Homelink number is called from a mobile phone - charges are made to call an 0800 number from mobile phones).
Your child simply dials their personal Homelink number and presses a number from 0 to 9 to connect directly to the person selected. There is no PIN the PIN is a like a password that prevents other people from using your service. It is numeric code used to unlock the phone and/or complete a call or data transmission. It must be entered each time you use the phone, unless you disable it. (Mobile services) number to enter or telephone numbers to remember and you can decide and control who your children can call. Once registered, you will have access to our on-line portal to make changes to your Homelink service.

Q: Can I leave messages for my child with Homelink?

A: No the Homelink service cannot offer that service.

Q: What happens if someone else uses my child's Homelink number?

A: As Homelink is set up to only allow calls to be made to your own designated numbers, calls to random numbers cannot be made.

Q: What happens if my child has to use a payphone to ring their Homelink number?

A: Calls made from a BT Public Payhone will incur a surcharge of 15p per minute [this is a levy imposed by BT]. There is no charge raised when using a private payphone.

Q: What happens to my remaining balance on my 1stClassPhonecard?

A: Any remaining funds will be refunded as a cheque on request (please note that this will incurr an administration fee). If the Homelink service is taken up, the remaining funds will be credited to your Homelink account. 

Q: How do I request a refund?

A: Please ring the Homelink team on 0800 999 6001 when your 1st Class Phonecard has ceased. 

Q: Why do I have to pay a monthly rental charge for the Homelink service?

A: The service has a rental charge as it is a bespoke-built service [which we have had set up in order to be able to replace an existing phonecard service which is being withdrawn by our phonecard supplier].
The rental charge is also in place so that parents can benefit from even higher security measures and also access our secure on-line web-portal to change speed dial numbers quickly and view service usage. Call rates are also considerably lower than the 1st Class Phonecard.

Q: Will I be charged the monthly rental during the school holidays?

A: Unfortunately yes. However, the service can be used outside of term time by all of the family - especially where a mobile phone may not be to hand. 

Q: Is there any alternative product to Homelink?

A: Not at the moment. For parents whose children are very low users, we are suggesting the usual alternatives such as a high street phonecard, reversing the charges or carrying change to make calls from a payphone - of course this will depend on your school's rules with regard to making phonecalls and personal circumstances. 

Q: How can I receive more information about the Homelink service or an order form?

A: You can contact the Homelink Team on 0800 999 6001 or send an email to homelink@classtelecom.co.uk. We can then send you further information regarding the service. Order forms for existing customers (currently using the 1st Class Phonecard service) and new customers are both available to download from the Homelink menu on the homepage. 

Q: What can my child/ren or I do if there's a problem with the Homelink service?

A: If your child is having issues with his/her Homelink service please refer to our   Homelink Troubleshooting Guide.

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