Keeping BT internet address if leave BT broadband?

[Tambajam]

I just wondered if anyone has kept a BT internet address and is no longer using BT internet/ broadband?
I'd like to change to Virgin but it would be a pain to lose my email.

[Poss]

It's actually a Yahoo email account, you should be fine. I was, haven't been a BT customer in years.

[BadgersPaws]

The "usual" situation is that when you change ISPs you loose access to your email address.

BTs official line seems to be that that is true and if you want to just maintain access to your email account and not use BT as an ISP then you need to pay some small charge per month.

However some people are saying that they can still access their email after they leave BT, some of them saying that they've been switched to use some sort of dial up account every few months in order to keep the account live.

I have found some ISPs that I used in the past would keep email access up for quite some time after the actual death of my account, however one day they would then just spontaneously die.

So unless BT tell you for sure that you'll be able to keep access after you leave them then I'd consider any access that you do get to be something that could be taken away at any moment.

My advice? Set up a free email account with someone (for example Yahoo directly or Gmail), start to switch over and count any time with your old email address after you leave BT as a blessing rather than something you can rely on.

The best thing about free email accounts is that they give you the freedom to move ISP as much as you like, oh and that they don't cost anything

[MrAnchovy]

I have successfully maintained my @btinternet.com email addresses for years after leaving their ISDN service (that shows how long ago it was!). You need to convert to their pay-as-you-go dial-up package, which you need to use once every 3 months - just for 10 seconds if you want - although I only do it when I get a reminder and that is about every 9 months.

Do get a Google Mail account though for the long term.

[Tambajam]

Thanks!
I am slightly embarrassed to say that I'm not sure whether my email is yahoo or not. I access it through bt yahoo on internet explorer but it doesn't have a yahoo in the address.
BT say that if I pay a nominal fee after my broadband switches off my email will be maintained but 'they would say that, wouldn't they'. I don't know if I could risk it disappearing though.

[BlackLetterDay]

I have a btinternet addy and no longer have bt broadband, the buggers charge me a quid odd for the priviledge each month but I'm too lazy to change.

[WebDude]

Tambajam - lots of different domain names might be using Yahoo! (or any other big commercial service).

Would go with BP and consider any time it works as a blessing, and that you cannot count on it continuing. Would check it daily and tell any wanted contact to swap to your new mail address (eg on Google Mail) ASAP (and keep on telling them, if they persist!)

I don't think I've ever used BT as internet service (there's a small chance before 2000, I suppose, but I went from dial-up to ADSL then), and had a working Yahoo! account for years, but later it just died.

One good feature of Yahoo! was that it handled automatic forwarding to another mail account (I have used Runbox.com for years, and that allows for filtering and other features, but isn't free).