How to avoid paying 55p per minute to call the Universal Credit 0345 helpline...

annandale

Additionally, I fear that the widespread and incorrect belief instilled by recent media coverage that "the UC helpline always costs 55p per minute" may in fact put people off from calling.

Some people have to phone to sort out issues. Im in a live area and not full service and I have no other option.

epitome

Not everyone has inclusive minutes on their landlines...

So how much including connection fee..do these landline services charge to the UC number?

BT
Talk Talk
Virgin Media

Ian011

epitome wrote: »

Not everyone has inclusive minutes on their landlines...

So how much including connection fee do these landline services charge to the UC number?
BT
Sky
Talk Talk
Virgin Media

Calls to 01, 02 and 03 numbers from landlines without an inclusive allowance are charged by those providers at around 11p or 12p per minute (plus a connection fee of around 20p per call). This rate is set by the caller's phone provider and it is they who retain the revenue. Overall this works out at around £7 per hour.

Each of those landline providers also offers Unlimited Anytime calls to 01, 02 and 03 numbers for around £8 or £9 per month. Except for on BT landlines, the allowance also includes calls to numbers starting 071-075 and 077-079. So, for the cost of little over one hour of calls, you can have unlimited calls for a whole month.

annandale

Wont post again except to say that many people on UC are struggling badly, for many reasons. The number should be freefone from both landlines and mobiles. People should not have to pay extra on phone packages or landlines to be able to afford to make a call to the DWP about their benefits.

That;s the bottom line I am afraid. People living well below the poverty line should not have to fork out another 9 quid a month just to be able to make a phone call to a number that should be free in the first place.

Ian011

I am not sure where the idea this needs "another" nine pounds comes from. There's nothing "extra" to pay.

This thread is all about reducing the total amount you pay each month by selecting the right tariff for ALL of your calls to UK landline numbers, 03 numbers (including the UC helpline) and UK mobile numbers. It's all about avoiding high rate tariffs.

annandale

It's 130 pounds to get a landline connected with bt. Which can only be paid over 12 months if you are a bt basic customer.

I've spent around 40 hours on the phone to the service centre in the last 7-8 months. Even at 7 pounds an hour on a landline that would be 280 pounds. Almost a months money.

People should not have to pay to phone the service centre and putting up information on here isn't going to reach the people who need it most I'm afraid.

epitome

People don't want "unlimited" because they are low phone users, so it is a waste of money to pay for it.

I would like to know, what the big landline providers charge for the calls (not an estimate) and connection fee. And what each one charges for 01 & 02 by comparison

You could also post info about what 3rd party providers there are like 1899, how much they charge, and what access numbers they have e.g. 0800, 0808, but to use these services will require credit/debit card which benefot claimers may not be able to get.

epm-84

Ian011 wrote: »

Where to start with that lot?

0300 numbers are not freephone numbers. That's 0800 and 0808 numbers.

Your description of 0345 and 0370 is incorrect. All 03 numbers are charged at the same rate and charged on the same basis as calls to UK 01 and 02 numbers. Distinct "local" and "national" rates ceased to exist in 2004.

I got 0300 mixed up with the recently made defunct 0500 numbers. Regardless of that many people pay a price per minute call to phone numbers starting 03 opposed to having it as part of an allowance.

What BT does is, however, largely irrelevant. Some 60% of all calls made are made from mobiles. Of those calls made from landlines, 60% are made from non-BT landlines.

Your response to any criticism of the charges for the phone number seems to be 'almost everyone is on a subscription with an allowance' and you ignore the people who aren't. It's worth remembering the majority of those who aren't on a subscription with an allowance are those who usually don't make many calls or those who wouldn't pass a credit check for a phone contract, which are two categorises unemployed people are likely to fall in to.

It's entirely plausible for someone to usually make 10-15 minutes of outgoing calls per month. For such people a contract with unlimited minutes is not a financially sensible option unless they use a lot of mobile data or send hundreds of texts. However, if on occasions they have to phone the Universal Credit helpline and have to spend 40 minutes on the phone they then have to spend a lot to phone the helpline and it's hardly worth taking out a long term contract for the purpose of phoning one number they won't need to call once they get a job. For those people the best PAYG mobile plan for calling numbers starting 03 would be the most appropriate option.

epm-84

annandale wrote: »

People should not have to pay to phone the service centre and putting up information on here isn't going to reach the people who need it most I'm afraid.

I've noticed in the past week a government advert on the TV promotes a freephone number for pensions. If it's a freephone number for pensions then why is it an 0345 number for out-of-work benefits?

Ian011

epitome wrote: »

People don't want "unlimited" because they are low phone users, so it is a waste of money to pay for it.

The "unlimited" landline deals are marketed as being for "high users". A study of the break-even point reveals that the unlimited deal is the cheaper deal if you use your phone for more than about 15 to 20 minutes per week. That is a surprisingly low figure and much lower than many people may imagine.

Anyone who is paying more than about (£8 * 12months £96 per year for calls to UK landline numbers, non-geographic 03 numbers (and in most cases, UK mobile numbers) at "per-minute" rates from a landline would be better off with an "unlimited anytime" call plan. Once they have such a plan they do not need to worry about making calls, just to be mindful to not exceed 60 minutes on any call.

This thread is simply to prompt people to check their current deal and change it if it will save them money.

epitome wrote: »

I would like to know, what the big landline providers charge for the calls (not an estimate) and connection fee. And what each one charges for 01 & 02 by comparison

Every provider publishes their rates online. The prices are too close for there to be any meaningful difference and there is no difference between the rate charged for 03 numbers and the rate charged for UK 01 and 02 numbers. The whole point of 03 numbers is that they are non-geographic numbers that are charged to the caller exactly the same as whatever that caller pays for calls to UK 01 and 02 numbers.

Outside of inclusive allowances (from memory) 01, 02 and 03 charges from landlines are:
BT - 12p per minute
Sky - 11.5p per minute
TalkTalk - 11p per minute
Virgin Media - 11.25p per minute.
Connection fees are between 17p and 21p per call.

Deals with inclusive allowances cover UK numbers starting 01 and 02, numbers starting 03 and (except on BT) UK numbers starting 071 to 075 and 077 to 079.
BT and Sky also offer inclusive calls to premium rate 0845 and 0870 numbers. Virgin Media offers inclusive calls to 0870 numbers, need to check status of 0845.

epitome wrote: »

You could also post info about what 3rd party providers there are like 1899, how much they charge, and what access numbers they have e.g. 0800, 0808, but to use these services will require credit/debit card which benefit claimants may not be able to get.

Rates for these services tend to be around 1p or 2p per minute. I believe there is a detailed article on these services somewhere on this site.