Consumers Should Consider Bundle Deals Before BT Increases Phone Bills

The announcement from BT that they will be increasing the phone bills of customers who do not sign up to a 12 month contract is angering industry experts, who are now advising customers to shop around for the best bundle deals.

BT will increase call and connection charges by 10% and line rental costs will rise by 50p to £13.29 for customers receiving paper bills and to £12.04 for those receiving them electronically. BT customers can avoid these price increases by paying for 12 months line rental up front.

With these rises coming into effect from October 1st, with further price rises on the horizon resulting from the VAT increase in January, industry experts are advising customers to consider switching to a bundle deal which includes services such as broadband and even TV in one monthly payment.

For example, Mike Wilson, manager of mobiles and broadband at moneysupermarket.com said: “People can save up to £222 a year with Virgin Media compared to standalone products”, whereas Ernest Doku, communications expert at uSwitch.com is angry at these price rises when other industry sectors are tightening their belts during these financially challenging times:

“In a year of pay freezes and spending cuts we would question why phone customers are being slapped with increases of up to 19%. Customers will be well aware that this is the second round of price rises from BT this year. In a space of less than 12 months customers are seeing call charges jump from 5.4p to 6.4p per minute, call connection fees go up from 9.3p to 10.9p and line rental up from £12.79 to £13.79. This is on top of a shift in off-peak hours from 6pm to 7pm and an imminent VAT increase that will inevitably push bills up further come January.”

Mr Doku also recommends that customers use the months between now and October 1st to find a better phone deal:

“The good news is that BT has given customers several months to prepare for the price increases and is being very clear about what it will mean for customers. Those wishing to stay with BT should consider signing up to an Anytime calling plan which offers inclusive anytime calls, which will reduce the impact of the connection and call charge rises.”

However “customers need to be careful about not breaking the terms of their existing contract though and BT advises customers who are concerned about the changes to contact them directly to discuss their situation.”, he adds.