BT's biggest ever shake-up of landline phone tariffs?
Ian011
Posts: 2,432 Forumite
From 20 October 2019, BT has completely revised their landline offerings.
The "Unlimited Weekend Calls" package is gone, no longer available to new customers. Existing customers already on it can stay on it.
BT Basic is still available to new customers and existing customers. It has been amended to also include calls to mobile numbers within the £10 per month cap. Presumably, this also applies retrospectively to anyone already on this tariff.
Home Phone Saver 2020 continues to be available to new and existing customers. Calls to mobile numbers remain chargeable and expensive.
The "Unlimited Evening & Weekend Calls", "Unlimited Anytime Calls", and "My Anytime Mobile Calls" packages are all closed for new customers. Existing customers already on these tariffs can stay on them. Existing BT customers can still move to these tariffs if they retain the same broadband option they already have. However, if you change your broadband option you have to change to one of the new call packages introduced on 20 October 2019.
From 20 October 2019, BT has three new landine tariff packages:
Pay As You Go
500 Minutes Anytime
Unlimited Minutes
These new tariffs are "Anytime". The weekend, evening and daytime distinctions are gone.
Calls to landlines and mobiles are treated equally in each of the new tariffs. Calls to mobile numbers are included as standard if calls to landlines are included. Until now, BT has been the only major landline provider to not offer inclusive calls to mobile numbers as standard.
Where the deals feature inclusive calls, these are to UK numbers starting 01, 02, 03 and 05 ... UK mobile numbers ... excluding calls to the Channel Islands.
Isle of Man isn't mentioned or clarified.
Call Connection Fees are gone from the new tariffs. There is no CCF on any of the three new tariffs.
CCF remains on BT Basic, Home Phone Saver and all other tariffs sold before 20 October 2019.
The bad news on the three new tariffs is that outside of inclusive allowances the per-minute rate for ordinary calls has gone up from 15p per minute to 20p per minute.
The Access Charge for 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers has also gone up by the same amount. However, if you have the "500 Minutes Anytime" or "Unlimited Minutes" package and never call 084, 087, 09 or 118 numbers, you should never pay more than the price of line rental plus the call package.
Bizarrely, calls to premium rate 0845 and 0870 numbers are still included in call allowances.
The "Pay As You Go" tariff has no inclusive calls, all ordinary calls are 20p per minute, premium rate (084, 087, 09, 118) calls have a 20p per minute Access Charge.
The "500 Minutes Anytime" tariff has 500 minutes of inclusive calls per month at any time. Over the allowance, ordinary calls are charged at 20p per minute, the Access Charge for premium rate (084, 087, 09, 118) numbers is 20p per minute.
The "Unlimited Minutes" tariff is as above, but the calls are unlimited.
It appears the 60 minutes per call limit has been scrapped.
There are, however, numerous discrepancies between BT's website and Tariff Guide. The Price List hasn't been updated to show these new deals.
One thing that does seem clear is that calls to 070 numbers are reduced in price only on the new tariffs. Ofcom now expects these to be treated the same as calls to mobile numbers. On the new tariffs, BT is charging 20p per minute on the PayAsYouGo landline tariff. On the other new tariffs, instead of including them in allowances, BT is charging 5p per minute. This seems churlish when BT appears to be offering inclusive calls to 05 numbers!
However, the BT Tariff Guide suggests the discounted rates for 070 numbers do not apply to any of the pre-existing tariffs, calls to 070 numbers will continue to be charged using the old charge bands of up to 60p per minute. This would be blatent profiteering, the wholesale rate for calls to 070 numbers reduced (from 40p) to 0.49p per minute on 1 October 2019.
The monthly charge for the new "Unlimited Minutes" tariff is unclear. In one place it is stated as £31.99 per month. In another, the figures for line rental (£19.99 or £21.99) and package price (£15.00) add up to £34.99 or £36.99 per month.
There are many other anomalies in the Tariff Guide, and the Price List hasn't been updated at all. This all appears to have been done in a rush and yet many of these changes come, perhaps, a decade or more too late.
The "Unlimited Weekend Calls" package is gone, no longer available to new customers. Existing customers already on it can stay on it.
BT Basic is still available to new customers and existing customers. It has been amended to also include calls to mobile numbers within the £10 per month cap. Presumably, this also applies retrospectively to anyone already on this tariff.
Home Phone Saver 2020 continues to be available to new and existing customers. Calls to mobile numbers remain chargeable and expensive.
The "Unlimited Evening & Weekend Calls", "Unlimited Anytime Calls", and "My Anytime Mobile Calls" packages are all closed for new customers. Existing customers already on these tariffs can stay on them. Existing BT customers can still move to these tariffs if they retain the same broadband option they already have. However, if you change your broadband option you have to change to one of the new call packages introduced on 20 October 2019.
From 20 October 2019, BT has three new landine tariff packages:
Pay As You Go
500 Minutes Anytime
Unlimited Minutes
These new tariffs are "Anytime". The weekend, evening and daytime distinctions are gone.
Calls to landlines and mobiles are treated equally in each of the new tariffs. Calls to mobile numbers are included as standard if calls to landlines are included. Until now, BT has been the only major landline provider to not offer inclusive calls to mobile numbers as standard.
Where the deals feature inclusive calls, these are to UK numbers starting 01, 02, 03 and 05 ... UK mobile numbers ... excluding calls to the Channel Islands.
Isle of Man isn't mentioned or clarified.
Call Connection Fees are gone from the new tariffs. There is no CCF on any of the three new tariffs.
CCF remains on BT Basic, Home Phone Saver and all other tariffs sold before 20 October 2019.
The bad news on the three new tariffs is that outside of inclusive allowances the per-minute rate for ordinary calls has gone up from 15p per minute to 20p per minute.
The Access Charge for 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers has also gone up by the same amount. However, if you have the "500 Minutes Anytime" or "Unlimited Minutes" package and never call 084, 087, 09 or 118 numbers, you should never pay more than the price of line rental plus the call package.
Bizarrely, calls to premium rate 0845 and 0870 numbers are still included in call allowances.
The "Pay As You Go" tariff has no inclusive calls, all ordinary calls are 20p per minute, premium rate (084, 087, 09, 118) calls have a 20p per minute Access Charge.
The "500 Minutes Anytime" tariff has 500 minutes of inclusive calls per month at any time. Over the allowance, ordinary calls are charged at 20p per minute, the Access Charge for premium rate (084, 087, 09, 118) numbers is 20p per minute.
The "Unlimited Minutes" tariff is as above, but the calls are unlimited.
It appears the 60 minutes per call limit has been scrapped.
There are, however, numerous discrepancies between BT's website and Tariff Guide. The Price List hasn't been updated to show these new deals.
One thing that does seem clear is that calls to 070 numbers are reduced in price only on the new tariffs. Ofcom now expects these to be treated the same as calls to mobile numbers. On the new tariffs, BT is charging 20p per minute on the PayAsYouGo landline tariff. On the other new tariffs, instead of including them in allowances, BT is charging 5p per minute. This seems churlish when BT appears to be offering inclusive calls to 05 numbers!
However, the BT Tariff Guide suggests the discounted rates for 070 numbers do not apply to any of the pre-existing tariffs, calls to 070 numbers will continue to be charged using the old charge bands of up to 60p per minute. This would be blatent profiteering, the wholesale rate for calls to 070 numbers reduced (from 40p) to 0.49p per minute on 1 October 2019.
The monthly charge for the new "Unlimited Minutes" tariff is unclear. In one place it is stated as £31.99 per month. In another, the figures for line rental (£19.99 or £21.99) and package price (£15.00) add up to £34.99 or £36.99 per month.
There are many other anomalies in the Tariff Guide, and the Price List hasn't been updated at all. This all appears to have been done in a rush and yet many of these changes come, perhaps, a decade or more too late.
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Comments
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I wonder how long it will be before the landline phone becomes extinct?
I know my handset has only been out of the cradle to dust it over the past year. And to answer the scam phone calls telling me my internet is about to be cut off.
In all other spheres, something as technologically obsolete as the landline phone would have been consigned to the museum years ago."There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe a 'Princess Coronation' locomotive in full cry. We shall never see their like again". O S Nock0 -
If mobile phones had been invented first and the landline and basic corded phones had come later, this would have been seen as a brilliant breakthrough - no batteries or power required in the customer's premises and always works even in a power cut, no "not spots" and very reliable.
There will always be people who want a landline and do not want or need a mobile phone. However, this thread is all about BT's massive re-organisation of their landline phone tariffs.0 -
poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »I wonder how long it will be before the landline phone becomes extinct?
I know my handset has only been out of the cradle to dust it over the past year. And to answer the scam phone calls telling me my internet is about to be cut off.
In all other spheres, something as technologically obsolete as the landline phone would have been consigned to the museum years ago.
My wife says Hi and can she please keep her landline?
It's cordless if that helps.0 -
SOunds like a sensible way forward to me.
The only deals were silly.0 -
poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »I wonder how long it will be before the landline phone becomes extinct?
I know my handset has only been out of the cradle to dust it over the past year. And to answer the scam phone calls telling me my internet is about to be cut off.
In all other spheres, something as technologically obsolete as the landline phone would have been consigned to the museum years ago.
There are still a lot of areas of the UK with no or very poor mobile coverage. I think that the land line (albeit eventually delivered via fibre) will be with us for a very long time.
I live in rural Hampshire and I could certainly not rely on my mobile in an emergency.0 -
I am an existing BT customer and have just had been told that I will lose the unlimited weekend calls as do all existing customers. I also asked whether this constituted a change that allows me to exit the contract to be told it does not.
I thought Virgin Media was a sneaky nasty company but it seems BT are as well. I'm now stuck on a contract that I have had for 2 months and an important part is no longer available to me. I'm moving to a rural area so using a mobile as an only phone is not an option.0 -
I suspect you are in an area with decent mobile coverage, not all areas are.poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »I wonder how long it will be before the landline phone becomes extinct?
I know my handset has only been out of the cradle to dust it over the past year. And to answer the scam phone calls telling me my internet is about to be cut off.
In all other spheres, something as technologically obsolete as the landline phone would have been consigned to the museum years ago.0 -
maisie_cat wrote: »I suspect you are in an area with decent mobile coverage, not all areas are.
Not quite. When I was with 02, I had to have their booster to enable me to make calls over wifi. I'm now with EE, which is better but only 3 bars out of five, and still patchy 4G.
It's just that a smart phone is so much more convenient than a landline, and much, much cheaper."There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe a 'Princess Coronation' locomotive in full cry. We shall never see their like again". O S Nock0 -
maisie_cat wrote: »I am an existing BT customer and have just had been told that I will lose the unlimited weekend calls as do all existing customers. I also asked whether this constituted a change that allows me to exit the contract to be told it does not.
)
You should check that against the OFCOM rules .0 -
I'm moving to a rural area so using a mobile as an only phone is not an option.
If the problem is little or no reception in the house then you should check whether your phone has wifi calling. This has solved my problem of living in a rural area and not being able to use the phone in the house.0
This discussion has been closed.
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