Frequently Asked Questions

The best way to pay your bill is to set up a regular Direct Debit. Payments are automatically taken from your account each month, so it's convenient and secure. Please note that if you don't pay by Direct Debit, you'll need to pay an additional charge of £0.50 per transaction if you’re paying by credit or debit card

Pay online
1. From The Sparta Telecom Website
Log in to My Sparta Billing to see how much you owe and quickly pay your bill.
Payments you make online before 9pm will be processed on the same day. It's a secure, quick and easy way to pay your bill with a credit or debit card.

2. One-off payments
3. Pay by Direct Debit

To set up a Direct Debit you can arrange this with your bank or call us on 0800 915 9396 and we can set this up for you or have a Direct Debit mandate sent to you.

You can pay Sparta Telecom by one of two types of Direct Debit:

1. Whole Bill Direct Debit
A Whole Bill Direct Debit lets you automatically pay your whole bill when it's due by Direct Debit. Your bill will include the date when we plan to take payment (which will be at least 8 days after the bill date).

2. Monthly Payment Plan
A Monthly Payment Plan lets you spread the cost of your quarterly bill by making fixed monthly payments by Direct Debit, based on an estimate. Each quarter we review your payments and if you’re paying more or less than you’ve used, we’ll let you know through your quarterly statement and automatically adjust your payments.

Over the phone
Pay your bill with a credit or debit card by calling 0800 915 9396
Please have your bill handy so you can check any details you'll need. We accept Visa Delta, Visa Debit and Mastercard.

Pay by bank transfer
You may be able to pay your bill through a simple bank transfer from your current account, over the phone or online. We don't charge for this facility, but you should check with your bank or building society concerning any charges or terms and conditions that might apply. You will need to quote our bank account number (00000000) and sort code (00-00-00). You may also be asked for a reference number - please use your Sparta Telecom account number (shown at the top right of your bill, for example 12345).

Pay by post using Sparta Telecoms’s address
You can pay your bill direct by posting us a cheque or postal order. Do not send cash in the post. Please use the addressed envelope we sent with your bill (stamp required) or send it to:
Sparta Telecom Ltd
Futures House
The Moakes
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU3 3QB
Please make sure to:

• Write cheques or Postal Orders payable to Sparta Telecom Ltd
• Write your customer account number on the back
• Include the payment slip from the bottom of your bill

Pay by cash
You can use a Sparta Telecom payment card to pay your bill at any Post Office or PayPoint outlet displaying the yellow PayPoint sign. You'll find them in supermarkets, newsagents, local shops and petrol stations. Take your bill and bar-coded card with you to the PayPoint. Please keep your receipts.
You can get a payment card by phoning us on 0800 915 9396 from your home landline. You need to have your account number handy. You can make part-payments towards your bill too, as long as you pay the full amount by the date requested on your bill.

Late payment charges
Please pay your bill promptly as failure to do so could lead to a late payment charge of £10.50. Switching to Monthly Payment Plan or Bill Direct Debit means there's no risk of getting a late payment charge.
There is no need to call us to let us know you have paid your bill.

How long does it take for Sparta Telecom to process my payment?
The time it takes for your payment to reach your account depends on how you paid.
We can't guarantee that we'll process your payment within a certain time, but below are the normal times you can expect. There may be delays on Bank Holidays.

Online
Payments made online before 9pm will be processed on the same day. It's a secure, quick and easy way to pay your bill with a credit or debit card.

By phone
Payments made before 4pm will be processed on the same day. If you're paying this way, you'll need your Sparta Telecom account number handy, which you can find at the top of your bill.

PayPoint
PayPoint payments will reach us on the next working day.

By post
We'll process a payment sent to us by post on the day we receive it.

At the Post Office
If you pay at the Post Office between Monday and Thursday, we'll get the payment the next day. If you pay on a Friday, we'll get the payment the following Monday. And if you pay over the weekend, we'll get it the following Tuesday.

At a bank If you pay at a bank between Monday and Thursday, we'll get the payment the next day. If you pay on a Friday, we'll get the payment the following Monday. And if you pay over the weekend, we'll get it the following Tuesday.

What is a Monthly Payment Plan?
A Monthly Payment Plan lets you spread the cost of your quarterly bill by making fixed monthly payments directly to Sparta Telecom by Direct Debit. We estimate your monthly payments based on your usage and review them each quarter, or when you change your products with us, to make sure you’re paying the correct amount. If you’re paying the wrong amount, we’ll let you know through your quarterly bill and automatically adjust your payments.

Is a Monthly Payment Plan for me?
You should consider setting up a Monthly Payment Plan if:
You have consistent call charges
You want to pay a fixed amount each month so you can budget
You don’t mind that your monthly payments may change each quarter if you're paying too much or too little, or if you change your products with us
A monthly Direct Debit may suit you better if you'd prefer to pay your exact bill amount each month.

If you decide to leave Sparta you could receive up to three invoices after you have asked to cancel. You will continue to receive bills until all charges have been added to your account. Your Sparta services are billed in advance but your calls are billed in arrears.

Why are you charging me after I've left?
If your bill is produced before your account is cancelled it will contain your usual advance service charges. A bill dated after your account has been disconnected will have credits for any service that you did not use. This will show in the Adjustments section.

Your final bill from Sparta will have a balance of £0.00. This shows that we have received all payments on your account and added no new charges.

Our policy
We will apply a termination charge if you stop your service when still within your contract term. When you sign up for a minimum term service, the costs of that service are spread across the term period, for example over 12, 18 or 24 month.. Early Termination charges are applied to recover the costs of the service provided to you over the minimum contract period.

Our prices
Early Termination charges apply to all our products or service taken out. If you terminate your 12 month or Longer Term contract before the expiry date, you are liable to pay us a termination charge as follows: Note: A Termination charge doesn't attract VAT.

Examples:
If terminating a 18 month contract after three months, the remaining 15 months rental will be charged, i.e. £12.99 per month line rental x 15 months remaining = £194.85 Termination charge
If terminating a Longer Term contract i.e. 24 month after six months, the remaining eighteen months rental, for the remaining contract term will be charged. £12.99 per month line rental x 18 months remaining = £233.82 Termination Charge
In accordance with the conditions for Sparta Telecom, if you terminate the contract within the minimum period, you will have to pay us any applicable rental charges for the remainder of the minimum period.

Early Termination charges frequently asked questions:
What are Early Termination charges?
Why wasn’t I told about the charge?
What are Early Termination charges?
Often, customers that order services from us agree to take those services for a minimum period (usually 12/24 months). Sometimes customers will choose to give up a service within this minimum period. If they do, we will usually charge them for doing so.

Why wasn’t I told about the charge?
When you ordered the product with us, the prices and terms and conditions of service would have been explained by our sales advisors. Re-confirmation of length of contract, and our terms and conditions would have been sent to you in our order confirmation email, should you have chosen to receive one. We also highlight the length of term in many of our product descriptions on your bill.

If you need to query you bill either the rental charges or any particular calls, then ensure you have your bill in front of you, then call our customer services line on 08009159396 and ask for accounts department. You will be put through directly and you can then ask our billing accounts to sort out the query you have. If we need to investigate we will hold the amounts in query, we will just ask you to pay amounts which are not subject to query.

Sparta Telecom provides low cost land-line and very fast broadband internet connections to all its customers at a very reasonable rate compared to other telecommunication providers. If you switch to Sparta Telecom you would save a lot of money on your phone bills. You also get reasonable rates both on your calls and line rental along with quality assured services.

There are also various plans and features which you can activate to further reduce your phone bills. There are various packages available at our website where you can take up a package as per your usage and requirement which would be very cost effective for you. There are features like evening and weekend calls on your package by which you can easily make calls at cheaper rates to your friends and relatives during weekend and or the evenings. Using the phone would become much easier as well as cost effective if you use these plans on your phone.

Moreover you would also save a lot of money on your phone bills as these plans are very cost effective and cheaper than most other providers. You can even analyse your bill and find a new plan as per your usage. Choose a plan as per your usage pattern from our website as you have a wide variety to choose from. And all are cost effective and reduce your bill to a great extent.

Sometimes plans keep changing depending on market demand so you can always take the help of our sales representatives and ask them to give you the best deal.
Our representatives are always happy to help you.

Improve your Broadband speed if slow
From checking your router position to keeping your PC secure, here you can get useful advice on speeding up your broadband. By understanding what affects your broadband and making some simple changes, you can enjoy faster broadband speeds.
If your broadband was fine, and you've just seen a big drop in your speed, it might be down to a network issue in your area. (call us to check if there is a problem on your line)

These are the most important things that affect your broadband speed:

How close you live to your telephone exchange

The length and quality of the phone wiring in your home (this doesn't apply to fibre optic broadband like Sparta Xtream

Whether all your broadband microfilters are correctly installed.

The processing speed of your computer, router or modem

The speed of the connection between your computer and your modem or router e.g. using an Ethernet cable is faster than a wireless connection i.e. WiFi

If you're having problems viewing web pages or difficulties connecting to your Router, then you've come to the right place.
Five things to try first
Many of our customers with broadband connection problems find that the following steps help.

1. Make sure there are lights on your Router. If not, check the power cables are plugged in properly and it's switched on at the mains.
2. Turn off your Router, computer and any devices you're trying to connect for five minutes before restarting. This can really help.
3. There might be a temporary problem with the network that's affecting every broadband connection in your area. You can check for network problems by calling us.
4. Broadband needs a working phone line. So check you can make a phone call and that there's no noise on the line.
5. The issue may be with your internal telephone extensions rather than being a problem with your phone line itself. You can easily check this by connecting your Router to your test socket.

If we can't find a fault or fix the problem online, we'll give you the option to book an engineer appointment.
If you can't connect to your Sparta Telecom Broadband, you can also do all of this using your mobile internet connection.

Home wiring and broadband set-up - a checklist
If you're having trouble with your broadband, a few simple checks can get you up and running again. First, you'll need to check your type of master socket. This is the main telephone socket where the phone line enters your home (usually found in the hallway near the front door).

Check your wiring and set-up - single socket
If you're having trouble with your broadband connection there are a few simple checks that could fix the problem straight away, saving you from having to call us. They might also help you avoid paying any unnecessary engineer call-out changes.

Follow these steps if your master socket has one socket, like this:

Step 1: Check your phone line is working properly
Problems with your phone line can affect your broadband, so start by checking it's working properly. Plug a phone straight into your master socket and listen for a dial tone. If there's no dial tone or the line is noisy, you can fix landline problems and report a fault by calling is immediately.

Step 2: Hub check
Check all cables are firmly plugged in. The broadband cable (grey ends) must be plugged into your Router and the other end into the microfilter socket (usually marked "DSL" or "ADSL"). Make sure the power cable is connected to your Hub and the power socket.

Check that the Router is switched on and the lights are steady blue

Step 3: Master socket and microfilters check
You must use a microfilter for every phone socket in your home with any phone or broadband equipment plugged in (including your Router, phones, answer machines, digital TV boxes, and alarm systems).

Step 4: Set up rules and scenarios
The microfilter must be the first thing connected to the master socket, followed by any other equipment
Avoid using extension cables for your Router as they may cause problems with your connection. If you must use one, then use a new, high quality broadband ADSL extension cable
To connect more than one device to your phone line, you'll need a splitter. The splitter must connect to the phone part of the microfilter
Some other TV services such as Sky need a phone line, in which case the TV box must connect to the phone part of your microfilter. Please refer to your user guide or TV service provider for help

If your master socket has a line across the middle, remove the faceplate by undoing the two screws or unclipping the faceplate. Gently pull the lower part of the faceplate forwards. On the right hand side you'll find a test socket. Connect your Hub to this test socket through a microfilter and try connecting.

By using this test socket you bypass all internal phone wiring. So if your broadband now works, it points to a problem with your internal wiring (phone extensions) or with something plugged in to an extension.

Screw the faceplate back on and then unplug everything that's connected to a phone socket in your property (phones, answer machines, digital TV boxes and so on). Plug things back in one at a time, checking to see if one of them is causing broadband problems. If there is still a problem call us on 0800 915 9396

Does your master socket have a single socket with no line across the middle?

This is usually what an extension socket looks like. If all your sockets look like this, then one of them will be your master socket. It's most likely to be the one nearest where your line comes into your home.

You'll need to unplug all equipment connected to every phone socket in your property (phones, answer machines, digital TV boxes like Sky and so on). Now connect your Hub to the master phone socket using a microfilter and see if your broadband works.

If your connection works then it means that something you've unplugged was causing the problem. Plug things back in one at a time to see which one might be causing the problem.

If your broadband connection problems seem down to your internal wiring, you can get a local electrician in to check your wiring. Or, we can arrange an Openreach engineer come and sort it out for you for a £105.00 + Vat.

Minimum Guaranteed Access Line Speed
The broadband line speed you can get will vary depending on a number of factors such as how far away your home is from the local telephone exchange and the length of your line.

When we look at all the customers who have a similar type of line (for example, customers who are 3km from the exchange) and the same level of service (for example, all with 'up to 8Mb broadband'), the 'Minimum Guaranteed Access Line Speed' is the fastest speed that any customer in the bottom 10 per cent of that group of customers can get.

So, if there are 20,000 customers who fall into the group covered by this example, we would look at the 2,000 customers with the slowest speeds. The Minimum Guaranteed Access Line Speed would be the fastest speed that any of those 2,000 customers actually achieve.

If your line speed is significantly lower than the estimated range that we quoted when you placed your order you should contact us on 0800 915 9396. We will always try to improve your line speed. If the cause of the problem is outside our control, we will endeavour to explain the possible causes to you and how you may be able to address the problem.

If the fault is within our control and we are unable to resolve, you may be entitled to cancel your broadband contract without paying a charge for ending it early.

Cancellation of your service will be subject to the following conditions:

the fault must be reported within the first 90 days of your contract start date

speed faults will not be accepted within the first 10 days initial stabilisation period

all checks within your home must be completed as requested by our Helpdesk advisors

at least one Openreach engineer visit must be accepted if your line speed result from from a speedtest and which is below the Minimum Guaranteed Access Line Speed

Sparta Telecom is allowed up to 28 days to resolve the fault

you will be able to cease without penalty if Sparta Telecom is still unable to improve the speed measured by our speedtest above your Minimum Guaranteed Access Line Speed.

the Minimum Guaranteed Speed relates to line speed only, not to download speeds.

Go to http://www.supportal-test.co.uk/ and run a speed test, remember to enter your telephone number at the bottom of the result so its recorded.

Here are some simple manual steps to get your Sparta broadband connection up and running again.
Perform a 'power cycle'
Many connection problems are solved by 'power cycling' - which is simply shutting down and turning off your Sparta modem, and computer in a controlled manner, then turning everything back on again.
Try restarting your Sparta modem first, then your Hub.

Check your phone line's working
Problems with your phone line can affect your broadband so it's useful to check it's working.

Have you checked your leads?
If there are no lights lit up on either your Sparta modem or Hub, check that their power cables aren't loose, and double check that they're plugged in properly and switched on at the mains. You should also check that the cable from the Sparta modem to your Hub is securely connected at both ends. If you're using an Ethernet cable to connect your Hub to your computer, make sure that's also securely plugged in at both ends. When you push it the connector in, you should hear a click as it locks into place.

Is your computer compatible?
If you didn't check your computer was compatible before ordering Sparta Broadband or you've just changed to a new computer, your problem may lie here. Please check the computer requirements page and upgrade any components that do not meet the minimum standard.

Do you have security software installed and enabled?
If you don't then it could be that your connection is running slowly because of a virus or trojan or spyware. if you haven't done so already, then we recommend installing one of the Sparta security software to deal with these specific problems and generally keep you safe online.

Can't connect wirelessly?
Electrical items such as microwaves and halogen lighting can interfere with wireless connections. You'll also have an unreliable wireless connection if your computer is only just in range of your Hub or router.
Your computer might not be able to find the wireless signal from the Hub. Or you might be able to see the signal, but your computer can't connect to it. Use the links below to get more help setting up or fixing a wireless connection.

First check your phone as your broadband comes down the same wire. Listen for anything unusual with the sound from the phone, try dialling or call your number from another phone just to make sure you don’t have a faulty line.

There can be a number of reasons your broadband may drop. If you are running a lot of programs at the same time, they could be taking up resources which means there is not enough resource to transmit on the broadband. If you are running a lot of programs at the same time, try closing a few to release resources.

Internet Security software blocking websites
If you were able to load websites until you updated your browser or windows update or until your Internet security software was updated, reconfigured or a new one was added, your Internet security software (including firewalls, antivirus programs, anti-spyware programs, and more) is likely preventing your browser from connecting to the Internet.

You can also get this if website are no longer at the URL you typed in or if the website is slow you may see error code timed out.

In general, you should make sure your Internet security software is up-to-date and remove your browser from your program's list of trusted or recognized programs, then add it back.

If you still have problems give us a call on 0800 915 9396

Firstly make a note if the fault is seen to be inside or outside the property, i.e. hanging or broken wires.

What the fault is i.e. noise on line, calls dropping, what you are experiencing, the more detail the better.

You can call us on 0800 915 9396 or 0800 008 7996

Our team can check the line for you to see if a problem is shown (you may have to disconnect the call for this test to be done) The team will call you back with the result.

If they can fix the fault they will, if not it may mean arranging an Openreach engineer to call to trace and fix the fault.

You will be asked to accept the engineer charge as below. If you do not accept the charge

(Please note if the fault is found to be your own equipment such as, wires or your socket you will be asked to pay for the visit currently £105 + Vat. If the fault is found to be outside of your property anywhere from the exchange to the point where the line enters your property, this is classed as a network fault and is not chargeable)

What Sparta Telecom service do you have a problem with?
Remember to tell us if the fault is with your landline phone or broadband or both

Give us a call on 0800 915 9693 to check the progress of your fault report or if the fault is still occurring call us and let us know.

Sometimes a fault may be intermittent which are difficult to detect, always let us know if this is the case. Where we have arranged an Openreach engineer, it may be that work is required in the road or the exchange, which may take a bit longer, you can call us to get an update.