cheaper calls abroad

percyflatcap

my son has recently moved to belgium and I like to call him often but my bills are getting too high.
I've read with interest about 18866 and similair but will it be worth it for me??

can someone explain how to do it simply please

Edinburghlass_2

percyflatcap wrote:

my son has recently moved to belgium and I like to call him often but my bills are getting too high.
I've read with interest about 18866 and similair but will it be worth it for me??

can someone explain how to do it simply please

Good move Percy! I'm not sure if 18866 or 1899 is the cheaper for Belgium but you can sign up for both as there is no monthly charge and you would only pay for the calls you make. I know that 18866 is cheapest for NZ where I phone a lot but 1899 has just reduced their calls to US, Canada and Germany to 0p per minute so you only pay the 3p connection charge no matter how long you are talking for!

You need to have a credit or debit card to hand and go to the website and sign up. They are sister companies and you can only deal with them online as this keeps the costs for them down and makes your telephone calls very cheap. They bill you monthly but if your bill doesn't amount to much they usually carry it forward till it reaches £5 or so.

Hope all this helps.

18866

sergeant121

Neither 1899 (3p per minute) nor 18866 (2p per minute) is the cheapest at the moment for calls to Belgium.

However, there are three ‘dial-through’ companies offering 1p per minute rates. There’s no need to open an account or anything with any of those. You just dial their 0844 number, wait for the voice prompt and then dial the full Belgian number (including the 00 32 part). The 1p per minute charge then goes on your normal telephone bill.

The three are:

Cheapest calls - 0844 861 13 13

Telesavers - 0844 861 52 52

Ratebuster – 0844 7 20 20 20

Compared with BT’s 17p per minute (0600-1800 weekdays) and 9p per minute at all other times rates, there’s money to be saved!

Edinburghlass_2

Thanks for that sergeant121, I should have taken the time to check the others. As 18866 suits me I tend to forget

Click here for Martin's International Call Checker.

percyflatcap

thanks to you both
would it be worth me using the 18866 for other calls

Edinburghlass_2

Where 18866 comes into its own cost wise is for UK daytime calls at 0p per minute with 1p connection fee if you are with BT for your line rental. No time limit on the call either. Both 18866 and 1899 can be very much cheaper if you have to call a mobile number at the weekends too and competative through the week.

I am assuming that your line rental is through BT but do your calls go through BT or someone else? As there are other options to reduce your telephone bill quite a bit.

sergeant121

percyflatcap wrote:

thanks to you both
would it be worth me using the 18866 for other calls

Standard advice to those with BT lines:

1. Ensure you are on BT Together Option 1 - so you'll only pay BT £10.50 per month for your line rental (by Direct Debit or £11.50 payment by any other means).

2. Before the end of January, sign up for TalkTalk's Talk1+ Carrier PreSelect package and get free evening and weekend 01/02 UK calls for a year.

3. Sign up for a call18866.co.uk account and make all your daytime 01/02 UK calls using that (1p per call, no 'per minute' charge).

4. If you have to make 0845 or 0870 calls and can't find an alternative geographical number on SayNoTo0870.com, use BT (not always the cheapest but a fair rule of thumb).

5. Use the MSE callchecker to find the cheapest way to call abroad each time you have to (these rates change week-by-week so it's always worth a minute or two checking).