Family Harmony

Jason McKinlay

Peace and quiet.

Time-management, record-keeping and cutting down paperwork.

That's all Jason McKinlay, a 42-year-old father of three from Wimbledon ever wanted from family life. And, for many years, that's just how things were.

Until his oldest child, Charlotte, turned 11.

"My daughter was always on the phone," Jason says. "Whether it was consulting friends about homework or fixing plans for the weekend, she hogged our landline all evening. It was costing me a fortune."

At first, Jason tried to reason with his daughter. Then he bargained. After that, the rows began. His quiet family home became a war-zone.

"It got so stressful," he says. "We could never use the phone ourselves. Then relatives started to grumble that they could never get through. And I worried that I might miss an emergency call."

I got a second line and unlimited calls for 5.99 a month. We must save at least 15 pounds a month

Jason refused to get Charlotte her own mobile phone. "She's too young," he says. "And anyway, mobiles cost a fortune."

One day, Jason realised something important. The fights with Charlotte weren't actually about phone calls.

They were about privacy.

"I finally accepted that Charlotte was nearly a teenager," he says. "She needed some personal space."

He decided that it was time to get a second phone line. "I'm not technologically minded," he says. "I just wanted something simple, with a set monthly fee. Vonage had the answer." Jason signed up to Vonage V-Plan UK

Within days, Charlotte had her own phone line and her own, private phone number, which she quickly handed out to all her friends. "She was delighted," says Jason. "I got a second line and unlimited‡ calls for £5.99 a month. We must save at least £15 a month."

Now, Charlotte gets the privacy she craves. The family phone line is clear for everyone else to use. Harmony has been restored. Jason can, once again, enjoy some peace and quiet.

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