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BT warns it will increase phone bills by 6.5% |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: London
Posts: 1,825
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BT warns it will increase phone bills by 6.5%
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28902300 Quote:
BT has warned millions of customers it is increasing its prices by up to 6.5% from December this year.
It will increase the line rental for direct debit customers by 6.25% to £16.99, and the rate for calling UK landlines by 6.44%. The set-up fee for landline calls, residential calls, to the speaking clock and call return charges will also increase for some or all customers. But BT said it had added "extra money-saving options" for poorer customers. 'Taken care' The majority of its customers were on inclusive call packages and would not pay set-up fees or pence per minute charges on calls, said BT. BT's option for low-income customers, BT Basic, will stay the same at £5.10 a month with a call allowance. John Petter, chief executive at BT Consumer, said: "We have taken care to make sure that low-income customers avoid price increases." He added: "We have added extra money-saving options for low-income customers and for customers who only want a phone line for calls." Broadband prices are going up by as much as 6.49%, although BT said its current "high profile" press and TV broadband offers would stay at the same price. It added that call bills had fallen 14% in the past five years. Sky, BT's rival, is set to increase some of its tariffs from September. |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,288
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I see that Line Rental is being increased by ANOTHER £1/month to £16.99
![]() This is immensely attractive to Phone Companies as it is a regular income that compensates them for the fact that calls and broadband income are going down. It's also hard for customers to escape! HOWEVER it may, at some stage, backfire on them as I know people who have moved totally to mobile phones for BOTH calls and broadband - and thus pay NO line rental! |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lancs
Posts: 14,452
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Getting a bloody rip off this country
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#4 |
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 322
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'Free' BT Sport?!?
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: England
Posts: 1,216
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Quote:
'Free' BT Sport?!?
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#6 |
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Guest
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 813
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Quote:
The move has already been dubbed a "football tax".
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,229
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Knew this would happen when they overpaid so much for the sh*ty football!
I'm not with BT, but this will effect everyone wont it due to us all having to pay a line rental tariff on whatever firm you are with, which goes to good old BT as they own the phone lines. BT should have their monopoly taken off them. |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Southwick Brighton West Sussex
Posts: 1,246
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 2,918
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Yep, it's outragous and the other companies will happily follow.
The only time I use my landline now is to answer the shitty sales calls that you cannot avoid despite being with TPS etc. |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Leeds
Posts: 2,475
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£16.99 a month line rental is a bit much I have to agree, We pay the line rental saver but of course thats gone up we pay that next year, If we didn't have the internet we wounldn't have a phone line simple as that we don't have the anytime plan we just have after 7pm & all weekend for £3 a month. I know people who would never have the internet in their case it would be cheaper for them to have a cheap mobile contract & ditch the phone line.
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#11 |
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Retford
Posts: 20,449
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Quote:
HOWEVER it may, at some stage, backfire on them as I know people who have moved totally to mobile phones for BOTH calls and broadband - and thus pay NO line rental!
Line rental is becoming a licence to print money at the moment as the alternatives are unavailable outside of London and are being closed by competitors. As with energy firms, once one puts prices up, everyone else follows and competition seems to be lacking. I know of one company which uses 4G purely for Internet without line rental but only within London. Maybe that will provide competition against landline broadband as long as the capacity doesn't become a hurdle. |
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 10,875
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Virgin used to market the fact that you don't need an unwanted landline for their broadband, but now it hardly makes any difference:
eg. for 100Mb: With Landline: £36.49/month (Broadband £20.50 + line rental £15.99) Without Landline: £33/month (from 1st October 2014) |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 2,918
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It makes you wonder if the regulator is actually there for the public. We are being fleeced year on year (twice a year sometimes) and they sit back and accept it.
I am with Talk Talk but it is safe to assume the will announce another rise soon on top of the recent one. It's getting beyond a joke now. |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Between Venus and Mars
Posts: 9,023
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Quote:
Yep, it's outragous and the other companies will happily follow.
The only time I use my landline now is to answer the shitty sales calls that you cannot avoid despite being with TPS etc. I was close to switching to BT yesterday glad i held off. |
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,436
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It's just one HUGE cartel !
The telcos all know that Ofcom is a completely toothless regulator, so they don't even bother to pretend they compete with each other.
BT does something and all the others follow suit almost at once.
One thing that's seldom mentioned is that Ofcom should insist that it should be possible to rent a 'naked' phone line, i.e. just a pair of wires for broadband access, no dial tone and no telephone service connected. But Ofcom are just in cosy relationships with the telcos, so it'll never happen.
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: The Nth East
Posts: 21,589
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Yup, definitely made my mind up now, im switching mine to Sky, and upgrading to their Fibre, £17 for line rental, they aving a larf!.
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Sussex
Posts: 25,512
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I might think about coming off the phone, but I need a line for broadband which is why they put the prices up. I might return to sky anyway.
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,187
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Quote:
Getting a bloody rip off this country
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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 2,918
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Quote:
Yup, definitely made my mind up now, im switching mine to Sky, and upgrading to their Fibre, £17 for line rental, they aving a larf!.
Quote:
I might think about coming off the phone, but I need a line for broadband which is why they put the prices up. I might return to sky anyway.
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,187
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Quote:
Knew this would happen when they overpaid so much for the sh*ty football!
I'm not with BT, but this will effect everyone wont it due to us all having to pay a line rental tariff on whatever firm you are with, which goes to good old BT as they own the phone lines. BT should have their monopoly taken off them. |
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: The Nth East
Posts: 21,589
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Quote:
Do you both not think Sky will follow suit? Of course they will.
Just checked, my line rental through SSE for my downstairs line, its only £14.49, my BT line rental is £16. |
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Gtr Manchester UK
Posts: 7,914
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£22.40.
That's Tesco's unlimited broadband* + phone line rental which includes free anytime calls. (Nothing to pay BT the line rental) Even cheaper if you decide to pay for your calls rather than have them inclusive. They've provided excellent service so far - and, no. I don't work for them and hate shopping in their gigantic megahangers. I get around 12mb/s, plenty for streaming HQ vids etc. |
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Scotland, Dunfermline Area
Posts: 10,698
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If it was not for the fact that we need the phone line for Internet services we would do away with the phone line as its lucky if we make 10 calls using the landline in the 3 months.
When mum was alive she used the landline more to phone family and friends in the Falkirk area. BT Sport as someone said is not really free as they putting prices up else where to cover it. I have BT TV though Youview and although its a ok service. BT are starting to get as dear as Sky and Virgin for there services. Darren |
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,288
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Quote:
Of course, it says some of Skys tariffs are going up in September.
Mind you, if they had looked further, they would have found that - for the last few years - Sky's TV prices have gone up on 1st September while the Broadband and Phone have gone up on 1st December!
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#25 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,162
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Quote:
The telcos all know that Ofcom is a completely toothless regulator, so they don't even bother to pretend they compete with each other.
BT does something and all the others follow suit almost at once.
One thing that's seldom mentioned is that Ofcom should insist that it should be possible to rent a 'naked' phone line, i.e. just a pair of wires for broadband access, no dial tone and no telephone service connected. But Ofcom are just in cosy relationships with the telcos, so it'll never happen. ![]() |
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