Charges for Telesavers "cheap" calls

Tears_of_Jenny

I recently used Telesavers from a BT landline to make a daytime call.

I was expecting to be charged 1p/min plus a call set-up charge of some amount.

Looking at my latest BT bill, I see that I have been charged around 10p/min?

Tue 15 Mar 16 15:32
08448613000
Destination = Service No.
Duration = 27:09
Cost = £3.063

What am I missing here?

Ian011

A new system of call charges for 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers came into effect on all landline and mobile networks on 1 July 2015. See http://www.ukcalling.info/

This particular call cost consists of
- BT's Access Charge of 10.24p per minute for the UK leg of the call, and
- the service provider's Service Charge of 1p per minute for the international leg of the call.

Before 1 July 2015, BT was prevented from adding an Access Charge by an obscure Ofcom regulation called the 'NTS Retail Condition'. After that date, BT's Access Charge is much the same as other landline providers.

Before 1 July 2015 the call cost was shown as a single figure. After that date it is shown as two separate parts, each declared by the party that benefits from the revenue.

The international dial-through provider must comply with Ofcom and ASA rules.
See http://www.ukcalling.info/industry
and https://www.cap.org.uk/Advice-Training-on-the-rules/Advice-Online-Database/Chargeable-08-numbers-General.aspx



See also
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5219071
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5292529

Tears_of_Jenny

Thanks for the answer. I've just read up on the changes that happened last year, especially with regards to override providers (seems like more money grabbing from BT)

I think I was a bit out of date with regards to that information. I don't make many landline calls!

Ian011

For more than a decade, BT was prevented from making margin on call origination to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers. Almost all of the money that any caller paid to BT for the call was passed on and paid to the benefit of the called party and their telecoms provider. BT as the largest provider of 0845 and 0870 numbers to businesses made their margin on call termination.

International dial-through providers took advantage of this to offer cheap international calls for BT landline customers. Those same calls were more expensive on other landlines and very expensive on mobiles. After the changes, BT's call prices are no longer vastly different to other landline providers.

The main reason for the changes was to properly expose the premium rate nature of these numbers and bring to an end various inappropriate usage such as by customer services, financial services and public services.



See also
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5437763