How to make big savings on the cost of calling from your home phone.
Home phones are something we all take for granted, rarely thinking to review our usage and check what we're paying for. However, if you're not careful keeping in touch with your nearest and dearest can turn into an incredibly expensive pastime. Thankfully, simply by reviewing the call packages you use it's possible to cut this cost considerably and effortlessly save yourself up to £200* a year.
What are you paying?
Do you remember when you last reviewed your landline package? Chances are it was longer ago than you can remember and as the home phone market has become incredibly competitive of late there’s a good chance that you’re missing out on some big savings..
For example, customers on a basic package with BT pay 3.25p a minute plus a 6p set up fee for every call made and on top of a £10.50 monthly line rental. However, take advantage of the discounted rates offered by companies such as Call1899 and while you’ll still need to pay your BT line rental you can make free calls to most UK landlines all for the cost of a 3p connection fee meaning great savings for little effort.
Making savings simple
When looking to cut the cost of your home phone you’ll need to take a look at your last couple of month’s phone bills and work out who, where and when you’re calling. You’ll then be in a better position to compare provider offerings and, with a little searching, will be able to find a call package that saves you money.
They key is matching package benefits to your usage so if you're out at work all day go for a package that offers free evening and weekend calls, or, if you regularly call mobiles or international numbers look for an option that offers discounted rates on these.
The simplest way to find your ‘perfect’ call package is to use a comparison service such as uswitch as they compare call charge details of most major UK landline providers. You simply enter basic information about when and where you call. Based on an estimation of your usage, the comparison service will make a recommendation as to the providers that will help you save the most.
What’s more, as most price comparison services offer you the facility to switch provider there and then it means that you can start counting your savings straight away.
Switch without the stress
As with any big move, you may feel that switching landline provider is going to cause you a lot of hassle that you just don’t need. However, if the thought of all this disruption has put you off switching in the past you may be pleasantly surprised
The only thing that will change when you switch (aside from the cost!!) is the person that sends you the bill. Regardless of whether you move to a different supplier completely or use a diversion service that redirects your calls you’ll be able to keep the same phone number and won’t need any work on your landline, making the whole process completely stress free and well worth your while.
Say hello to even bigger savings
Even once you’ve switched to the cheapest standard call provider possible you can still do more to cut the cost of your home phone bill. These are all incredibly simple tricks that once you ‘know how’ start to become second nature.
- Calling mobiles
The rates charged for landline to mobile calls tend to be extortionate and are almost never covered in even the best call package. For this reason, if you can avoid calling mobiles from your home phone do so.
A good way to get around this is to either get friends to call you (if they have all inclusive mobile minutes), call friends from your own mobile (providing you have enough x-net minutes) or practice ‘tinkling’. This is where you call a friend’s mobile but hang up before they answer, leaving a missed call message as a sign for them to give you a ring. While this does work, it can get pretty annoying so it’s best to only do this with friends in the know!
If you have no other option but to call a mobile from your landline make the call cheaper by using a diversion service. This is where you dial an access number such as that provided by DiscountDial before entering the mobile number. You’ll be connected and billed as usual although your call will have been rerouted via the diversion company’s service, making a big difference to the cost for little effort.
.- Going international
If you don’t call abroad regularly enough to pay for a phone package that counts international calls inclusively, making use of the services offered by an international call diversion company such as
- VoIP
An even cheaper means of both calling abroad and making calls in the UK is to use VoIP. Short for ‘voice over internet protocol’ this service enables you to make heavily discounted and often free calls through your computer and over your broadband internet connection.
No matter where you are in the world using VoIP to call another computer is completely free and while landline or mobile calls are charged, this tends to be at a very low rate. For this reason, if you have access to a reliable broadband connection, VoIP can provide you with a great opportunity to save. What’s more, as a range of wireless VoIP phones are now available, you don’t even have to be next to your computer when you make a call. For more information on using VoIP click here.
- Say no to 0870
If you often have reason to call expensive, non geographic company phone lines there is a simple solution to cutting this cost. Thanks to saynoto0870.com you can find the landline based (and priced) alternatives to expensive premium rate 0800, 0808, 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871 numbers.
To make use of this money saving opportunity you simply need to visit this site, type in the name of the company whose details you are looking for and if it’s listed, a cheaper alternative will be provided, once again saving you money for nothing.
- Cheap broadband
If you use the internet at home it may be possible to combine this with a landline call package and get both at a highly discounted rate. A number of providers are now offering this type of discounted combi package and they can be a fantastic bargain if you usually pay for your landline and broadband separately.
Enjoy the savings
Once you’ve switched call package and supplier and have started to put the above money saving tips into action you’ll be well on your way to big savings on your landline bill. Obviously the exact savings will depend on the way in which you and the people you live with use your landline however, for next to no effort you could have an extra £200* in your wallet to enjoy each year.
* Based on savings from switching from BT option 1 package (£10.50 per month) with average monthly spend of £35 to local and national landlines (£420 a year) to Talk Talk option 3 anytime and weekends (£17.99 a month) which equals £215.88 a year making a saving of just over £200.
