Whether you spend hours on the telephone or just make the odd call to the local takeaway you could easily be paying too much for your landline. Here’s how to slash the cost of your phone bill.
With the rise of the mobile the humble home phone is often overlooked. Yet for most of us it is still an essential household utility, so how can you make sure you're getting the best deal on your landline?
Make sure you have the best deal
As with any household utility, checking you are on the most suitable tariff and with the cheapest provider can help keep your costs down.
Look at your last few phone bills to find out where you’re calling and when, then shop around for the landline package that charges you less for the calls you make.
Most telephone providers offer unlimited packages with a set price or free calls at certain times in the week. So if you know that you only use your landline in the evening then opting for a package that includes free evening calls could easily save you money.
Find out what you'll pay for calls outside your tariff
Once you've found a tariff that fits the way you use your landline you need to make sure you know what's included and, more importantly, what isn't.
Find out:
- What your provider classes as peak and off-peak call times
- When you can use any free calls
- How much you'll pay for calls that aren't included in your package
- Whether there is a maximum number of minutes you can stay on a free call for without being charged
- Whether you are being charged for voicemail and whether you can opt out
- Whether you are being charged for a dial-back service and whether you can opt out
Once you have this information you'll be able to make the most of the free calls included, and minimise extra costs by calling via another channel.
Call for free over the internet
Internet phone companies like Skype are becoming increasingly popular and for good reason; they enable you to make calls over your broadband connection for a fraction of the cost.
Once you get set up you can make calls to other Skype users for free (computer to computer) wherever they are in the world.
The cost of calls to landlines and mobiles are minimal too, so calling through your computer really does provide an affordable means of staying in touch and could lighten your landline bill considerably.
Make the most of mobile minutes
If you have free minutes included in your mobile package then it makes sense to use these up before paying for calls from your landline. Fail to do this and you’ll simply be paying for the call twice.
It’s worth finding out exactly what you get from your mobile package (for instance are calls to landlines free) so you never go over your usage. Checking whether you get discounted calls to favourite numbers and picking these so as to maximise the savings is another must.
Use a landline override company
You can instantly cut the cost of your landline calls by using an override provider to get free or discounted call rates for UK and international calls that aren't covered by your landline package.
When you use a landline override provider you simply dial a short 'override' code such as 1899 , 18185 or 18866 before you dial the number. This routes your call through an override service so you still get connected, you just pay less.
The cost of the call will appear on your regular phone bill and will generally comprise a connection fee of 4 - 5p and then a charge for the call.
By using override providers you can save a quite a significant amount, especially if you are likely to be on the phone for quite a while or are calling abroad – but remember if your package includes free minutes to use those first!
In order to use these companies youll need to shop around to find the cheapest option for the place you want to call. Then simply register your details on their website and dial the code before you enter the full telephone number.
Avoid premium rate numbers
The majority of landline numbers cost less than 10p a minute to call, even mobiles numbers don’t tend to cost more than 30p a minute.
However if you contact an 09 or premium rate number, often used by television companies and professional advice services, you could be charged a whopping £1.65 a minute for your call.
The chances are that these premium lines won’t be included in your call package meaning you could quickly add quite a bit to your bill when you dial.
There are often cheaper alternatives than calling these numbers, especially if you are willing to visit the TV show or company’s website. In fact most companies list a call from abroad number which begins with +44 which will be charged at the national rather than premium rate - check out their Contact Us page and use this, or email instead.
If you are unsure how much a telephone number will charge, you can check using Ofcom’s Call cost guide. Premium rate numbers used in TV competitions must also state clearly the cost of the call on screen so double check you're willing to pay this before you pick up the phone.
Alternatively, the Say No to 0870 website is always worth a look as they list cheaper alternatives to the premium rate numbers used by most big companies.
Pay by direct debit
As with other household utilities if you can pay for your landline by direct debit, you should do so.
Paying this way could save you up to £5 a month with some suppliers as there is less work involved on their part and direct debit customers are less likely to default on repayments.
Just remember to check your bill each month to make sure you have enough funds to pay and avoid dreaded bank charges.
Combine you landline with your internet or TV package
If you are paying for broadband or digital TV every month then it's worth looking to see if you can save by getting a packaged deal. Often you can bundle a combination of landline calls, broadband and digital TV together and save money across the board.
As the landline service is treated as an extra in many of these packages you will need to make sure you know what calls are included, whether you’ll have to pay line rental on top and what you'll be charged for any extra calls.
Do all of these things and you could find yourself paying a lot less for your home phone!
