P567ORACLE 567 Mon10 Feb C4 1712:31
1/6
It's for you-hoo
─ the phone bill!
Estimates put the cost of the British
Telecom privatisation at £65 per person
and our 'phone bills are still going up
says Sue Gorska.
In 1983 the Government said that price
rises should be kept below the rate of
inflation for a five-year period after
the BT sell-off. Last November domestic
rental charges went up by 8.3% and BT
admitted that the next 3 years will see
sharp price increases in the cost of
telephone rental and local calls.
With above-inflation rises on the way,
what can you do to cut the cost of your
telephone?
more follows >
Your Money ...560 Holidays ...580
P567ORACLE 567 Mon10 Feb C4 1715:14
2/6
It's for you-hoo
─ the phone bill!
What does a telephone cost? The rental
charge is £16.45, £15.30 for a shared
line. Anyone who's bought their own
'phone and pays BT only for the line
pays £13.45 a quarter. Then there's VAT
to pay on top. Reversed charge calls
cost 35p over and above the cost of the
call itself.
Calls are charged in units costing 5p.
Anyone whose total net charge for calls
is less than the equivalent of 120 dia-
lled units (£6) gets a rebate on their
'phone rental charge. The reduction is
3.4p for each 5p under the £6 limit ─
which amounts to £4.08 for anyone using
their 'phone only for incoming calls.
more follows >
Your Money ...560 Holidays ...580
P567ORACLE 567 Mon10 Feb C4 1711:14
3/6
It's for you-hoo
─ the phone bill!
What can you do to cut 'phone bills?
The most drastic solution would be to
move to Hull, which has its own tele-
phone network run by the local council!
You can speak for as long as you like
on a local call in Hull for the cost of
just one unit ─ 5p.
People in remote areas tend to pay more
for their phone calls. Just last year
the people of the Shetland Isles won a
4-year battle to cut their call charges
Since January 24th, they've been paying
local rates whereas previously, to call
the capital Lerwick, most islanders
were charged at national rates.
more follows >
Your Money ...560 Holidays ...580
P567ORACLE 567 Mon10 Feb C4 1714:17
4/6
It's for you-hoo
─ the phone bill!
If you have a number of 'phone exten-
sions in your home, you can cut your
bills by changing to a plug and socket
system. You then buy your own 'phone
and plug it in wherever you like. It'll
cost £38 to convert an old-style 'phone
point to a new-style socket, but you'll
save rental on each 'phone you replace.
Make a point of telephoning when the
cheap rate applies. If you have to call
during the day, do so after 1pm when
the standard, rather than the peak rate
applies. Don't assume international
calls are cheap after 6pm. In fact, the
cheap rate for these doesn't start
until 8pm.
more follows >
Your Money ...560 Holidays ...580
P567ORACLE 567 Mon10 Feb C4 1702:12
5/6
It's for you-hoo
─ the phone bill!
After making a 'phone call, always
replace the receiver properly or you
could end up paying until it cuts out
automatically up to 6 minutes later.
If you're not sure who's making what
calls you could consider hiring a pay-
phone from BT. These cost from £28.40 a
quarter, plus £10 to install. You could
buy a telephone monitoring device (£40
to £200) which will tell you how much
a call is costing. BT rents out simple
clock-type meters, which register the
units used, for £1.50 a quarter. When
the new System X is installed, it will
be possible to get itemised bills with
details of all but local calls.
more follows >
Your Money ...560 Holidays ...580
P567ORACLE 567 Mon10 Feb C4 1704:21
6/6
It's for you-hoo
─ the phone bill!
The good news for telephone bill payers
is that this year, for the first time,
British Telecom may have some competit-
ion from its rival Mercury. This could
mean tariff reductions (perhaps 15-20%)
to attract custom away from BT. This
year too, we may see the end of BT's
monopoly on home wiring. Soon consumers
may be allowed to buy DIY kits to wire
up their own extension telephones.
To monitor the telephone service we get
get for our money, the 'watchdog'
Office of Telecommunications (OFTEL) is
next month launching a new quality
control panel of 3,000 telephone users.
more follows >
Your Money ...560 Holidays ...580