Talk's not cheap as home phone giants hike prices

At the beginning of October, two of the UK's largest home phone companies will raise their prices - and for some customers this will be the second price jump this year. uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, is urging consumers to beat the forthcoming price hikes by ensuring that they are on the most cost effective call plan.

From 1st October, BT customers who don't pay up front for a 12 month contract will see their call charges and connection costs rocket by 10%, while call set-up fees will jump to 10.9p and daytime call rates to 6.4p per minute. Line rental will rise 50p to £13.29 for customers receiving paper bills or £12.04 for those receiving them electronically. TalkTalk customers will also see daytime call rates climb to 6.4p as well as a rise in line rental to £12.04 a month and call set-up fees to 10.9p.

These price hikes mean that consumers searching for a cheap deal may have to look further than household names for their home phone needs. Currently, the best value provider is Primus with its Home Phone Saver, which costs £107.88 a year - a saving of over £170 on the most expensive plan.

Ernest Doku, communications expert at uSwitch.com, says: "In a year of pay freezes and spending cuts customers will find these increases particularly hard to take. Already this year consumers have been slapped with two rounds of price rises from BT and TalkTalk, 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.

"BT customers have the opportunity to reduce their line rental cost if they are able to pay for 12 months up front - unfortunately some won't have this kind of money spare. Worryingly less than half of all phone customers believe that their provider has them on the best deal - the first step for all consumers is to make sure that they are. This may mean looking outside of the major players. Primus for instance offers monthly line rental for only £8.99 a month - a huge cost saving on the £14.98 charged elsewhere.

"The key thing is that consumers don't just sit back and accept these price hikes - there is something you can do about them. Shopping around to find a home phone tariff that suits you will keep costs down, helping you to save money on the essentials."