TalkTalk's free local calls could save BT customers £448m

TalkTalk introduces free local calls anytime while 11.8m BT customers still pay for them BT customers could save a total of £448m on their phone bills if they all switched to TalkTalk, the home phone and broadband company, according to the firm.

TalkTalk is introducing free local calls anytime for all its customers from today, 1st May 2009, while 11.8m BT customers are still paying for them.

TalkTalk has analysed the calling patterns of its voice-only customers and discovered they would save, on average, £45 a year compared to BT.

TalkTalk’s Essentials customers – who have a home phone and broadband package – would save an average of £38 a year.

The greater saving for TalkTalk’s voice-only customers is because these customers tend to use their home phone more often than Essentials customers do.

If a saving of £38 was multiplied across BT’s base of 11.8m voice customers who are currently paying for their local calls, this would create a whopping £448m saving for them over a year.

Seven out of ten of UK calls made by TalkTalk customers are currently made to local numbers.

Wendy Becker, managing director of TalkTalk, said: “We are committed to providing our customers with the best value package on the market – whether that be for their home phone or their broadband. Our new free local calls anytime offer means that 70% of our customers’ UK calls will now be free. We think that’s an unbeatable deal, especially at a time when people are looking to cut their costs wherever they can.”

From 2nd June TalkTalk customers will also be able to benefit from free calls to all 0845 and 0870 numbers.

For more information, visit talktalk.co.uk