actual cost of override calls?

pigeonpie

I consistently have a high BT bill (£50 pm approx incl line rental) despite using my mobile minutes for all my UK landline calls. I only use my BT phone for local 0844, 45 and 70 nos (using callchecker where alternatives exist) and make fairly long calls to friends in the EU using the intl override nos. AFAIK there is no inclusive package which offers the 08 nos, so I took the advice on here and decided to stick with BT but use the override nos.
However I'm now beginning to wonder if they really are 0.5p a minute to an EU country - how much is the BT connection charge? Is it per call, or per minute? ie am I being charged by BT for the duration of the call (often 1 - 2 hours per week). Or even am I perhaps being charged the rate for calling an 0844 number on top of the 0.5p a minute?

BT called today to offer me their intl option at £1 per month on top of my line rental. Does this have a connection charge as well? I'm wondering if it may be the cheaper option to call intl landlines?
I've also thought about getting a P.O. card to call the EU - is that cheaper? Thanks for your advice and help. Thanks to posters on here who have warned about mobile operators charging for Rebtel btw - (can you update the site on that?)

Heinz

If you make a 9 minute 50 second call via one of the ½p per minute 0844 gateway providers from your BT residential landline, BT will charge you their 7p 'call set-up fee' + 10 x ½p (BT round up to the next minute). Hence the total cost of that call will be 12p (including VAT). If you check your itemised call list online, you should be able to check that sort of thing.

Using a standard PSTN line, I doubt you could get cheaper than that even using a card or some option with fancy name.

benjus

The cheapest way I know of to call internationally is to use the Betamax VoIP providers (e.g. www.nonoh.net). There is a fairly comprehensive list of Betamax providers here: http://www.backsla.sh/betamax.

These services charge 0p/min to many destinations - including landlines in most EU countries. What this means in practice is that when you buy some call credit you get a certain number of minutes (e.g. 200 per week for 17 weeks) of inclusive calls to the 0p/min countries. If you exceed this allowance you are charged something like 1p/min.

These services can be used either by using software on your computer or by making a "phone-to-phone" call (i.e. you initiate the call on your computer, they call you back on your phone then connect you to the destination number). If you don't want to use a computer to make the calls, or you want to call from your mobile, you can call a UK geographical access number then dial the destination number.

pigeonpie

Heinz, is that 7p charge a standard one or if you call an international mobile (eg Norway 10p per min) is the BT fee higher? My apologies; I have tried and failed to get this info out of BT!

Heinz

pigeonpie wrote: »

Heinz, is that 7p charge a standard one or if you call an international mobile (eg Norway 10p per min) is the BT fee higher? My apologies; I have tried and failed to get this info out of BT!

Since 16-9-2008, BT's standard 'call set-up fee' for any chargeable call has been 7p.

I assume you're talking about using one of the 10p/minute 0871 gateway providers listed on the MSE International Callchecker to call that mobile in Norway. In which case, it's a standard 7p call set-up fee and then 10p/minute as soon as you've finished dialling the 11 digits of the gateway number (i.e. even before you've finished dialling the international mobile's number).

jhp

The BT 7p call set up fee is only raised when you make a chargeable call ,and its the same whatever type of chargeable call that you make.

pigeonpie

As I only use my landline for those calls and local 0844/5/70/71 calls, just shows how half an hour to the bank (etc) adds up. Even my GP surgery is 0844. And I do check 'say no to' before every call but there are so many omissions or non functioning nos.