Home Phones Line rental from £6.79/month

It's possible to slash line rental down to £8/month with free evening and weekend calls, daytime calls to 5p/CALL and get half price calls to mobiles, saving £100s a year.

If you're with BT, Virgin Media or TalkTalk, chances are you're paying too much. No one phone provider is cheapest, so this straightforward guide shows you how to quickly ensure EVERY call you make's at the lowest possible rate.

This guide focuses on easily combining tariffs to massively undercut any one standalone provider. Yet if you're willing to pay more for a one-stop shop then use a comparison site like Homephonechoices*, Simplify Digital*, uSwitch* or Firsthelpline*.

Quick tips to slash costs without switching

For the really big savings you'll need to switch providers; but there are plenty of ways to trim down bills without moving:

• Pay by direct debit. Most providers will charge extra if you pay by cash, cheque or any method other than direct debit. Virgin Media, for example, charges £5/month for non-direct debit payments.
• Check social tariffs. If you're struggling financially or have a disability that makes using a landline difficult or necessary, speak to your provider as it may have a social tariff that will minimise the cost of using your landline.
  
  For example, the BT Basic* tariff is available to those on certain benefits (though who gets it is at their discretion), and costs £14.40 every three months. Plus you get £4.50 worth of calls included (not mobile calls). Outside the allowance, calls cost 10.7p/min and 3.1p for connection.
• Free web-to-web calls. You can talk to anyone, anywhere worldwide for free via the Net. Programs like Skype and MSN Messenger let you use headsets and webcams to speak to your friends (see the Internet Telephony guide). Don't assume this means web-to-phone is cheaper though, as sometimes there are costs involved.
  
  The rest of this guide assumes you're calling from a normal phone rather than the web.
• Know your peak. Always check when peak and off-peak is. BT and TalkTalk have changed their peak times from 6am - 6pm to 7am - 7pm, meaning you lose an hour of cheap early evening calls. Primus is 8am - 6pm.

  Provider	Peak times (Daytime)
  BT	7am - 7pm
  TalkTalk	7am - 7pm
  Virgin Media	6am - 6pm
  Primus	8am - 6pm
  Post Office	6am - 6pm

• Ditch voicemail and caller ID. If you pay BT line rental and sign up to its voicemail services or caller ID, unless you make two chargeable or inclusive calls per month through it (i.e. all but freephones) you'll pay.
  
  Historically if you've used another service for calls (while still paying BT for line rental) you've been able to make chargeable calls by dialling the pre-fix 1280 keeping the service free. It's no longer possible to do this with all providers, so ditch the services to keep costs down.
• Put down/redial. Unfortunately almost all "unlimited" call packages are in fact limited. While they may say free calls in the evenings, actually that's usually only up to the first hour or so, and after that they're billed. The easy way round this is to put the phone down before the deadline's up, then redial.

  Provider	Free call deadline
  BT	60 mins
  TalkTalk	60 mins
  Virgin Media	60 mins
  Primus	90 mins
  Post Office	60 mins

• Mobile "call-back" pact. Free minutes on mobiles include calling landlines - inclusive calls with landline packages DON'T usually include calling mobiles. So if you have free minutes agree a call-back with friends if one of them calls a mobile from a landline.
• Use override providers. It's possible to scythe down most call costs without changing phone line. Simply use a no-frills override provider where you dial a prefix number to connect to its service then pay its cost. This can cut daytime call costs from 5p/min to 5p/call, and halve the cost of calling mobiles. Full details below.
• Say no to 0870. While BT and TalkTalk include 0870 numbers as part of free minutes others don't, and charge up to 10p/minute. Yet you can use alternative numbers to cut the cost; see the Saynoto0870 guide for full info.
• Check your package. Don't automatically pay for the most expensive "unlimited anytime" packages if you're not going to use them. BT's standard package comes with unlimited "weekend" calls to landlines for example. Pay a little bit more and you'll get "evening and weekend" calls.
  
  The next level up is "Anytime" calls, which means daytime calls to landlines are included too - with BT it's free for three months for new calling plan customers, then £4.90/month. As a rough rule of thumb, it's only worthwhile it if you make 1hr+ of peak-time calls each month. Though of course you can undercut these deals by switching.

Home phones: Choosing a package

There are some cracking home phone deals on the market at the moment, including cheap line rental, upfront line rental and line rental with broadband.

If you're planning to switch though, always contact your existing provider first, as it may offer to beat/match any deal you've found.

What is a BT line? The term "BT line" doesn't necessarily mean your home phone service is provided by BT. All providers - with the exception of Virgin Media, which has its own fibre optic cable network underground - use BT's copper wire network (overhead phone lines from telegraph poles to your home).

This means even if you pay line rental to Primus, the Post Office or others, behind the scenes the actual line is provided by BT. When it comes to getting a "BT line" installed, there are a number of options available - take a look at the dropdown below for more information.

Not every package is available at the cheapest price everywhere - it can vary with location.

Cheapest monthly line rental deals Get line rental from £6.79, or line rental and calls from £8

If you haven't switched your landline provider, and you're out of contract, you could save over £8/month on line rental when switching from BT to the cheapest deal on the market - but remember to factor in call costs if there aren't any calls included with the line rental.

Is it cheaper to pay for line rental upfront? Make the biggest savings by paying for 12 months' line rental in advance

If it offers the option, choosing to pay upfront is usually the cheapest way to get line rental from your provider. However it doesn't mean that an upfront deal is the cheapest overall package on the market.

By agreeing to pay for 12 months' line rental in advance, several providers will offer you a reduced rate, which could save you over £40 a year on standard BT prices.

A number of providers offer it including BT, TalkTalk, Plusnet and Primus. However, beware when paying upfront if the company's small there's a minor risk of losing your cash, if it goes bust.

Cheapest with broadbandBundle broadband and line rental for BIG savings

Many phone providers offer competitive bundled deals - for comparison, remember BT's basic line rental alone costs £14.60/month. Yet the price of standalone broadband has dropped to around £6.50/month with some providers (see Cheap Broadband) which means getting them separately can sometimes save more money.

Existing customer specials
Ultra-cheap deals for Sky and O2 customers

If you've a Sky TV package or an O2 mobile contract (or topped-up PAYG Sim), some current special offers can cut the cost of your home phone service even further.

Cutting cable landline costs
Virgin Media

For most people, cable means Virgin Media, which took over the merged NTL and Telewest a few years ago. Unlike providers that use a BT phone line, Virgin Media uses cable technology, so switching can be difficult. There are ways you can keep your costs down though.

• Haggle down the cost
  
  Virgin Media is hunting for market share, and is voraciously fighting to keep customers. You can use this to smash down your costs. Note down the best deals, call it up quoting these, and say you're considering leaving, as it's too expensive.
  
  Often the result's a reduced price or a number of months for free. If it isn't, do consider leaving. Many MoneySavers have repeatedly succeeded with this, so do try it. Add your feedback and read others' in the Virgin Media Discounts discussion; the Cheap Digital TV guide has more tips.
• Cut individual call costs
  
  Virgin Media's calls are often expensive, especially calling mobiles at up to 29p/min. Yet you can legally bypass this to nearly halve the cost - see the next section.

Get super cheap costs for every call...

When a home phone includes free calls, these are usually only to landlines beginning 01, 02 and 03. Any other calls you make, such as calls to 0870 premium rate numbers and 07 mobile numbers, can be costly.

The way to save is with a no-frills override provider that you can access without changing phone company (if this is new to you, read a quick override provider briefing). Some phone companies block override providers or can charge more, so check yours first with a test call.

Halve the cost of calling mobiles

Most providers exclude calls to mobiles from their inclusive calls, as they're far more expensive and make up the biggest proportion of the bill, meaning big bucks for phone companies. Yet it's easy to halve the price.

Most also charge a one-off call connection fee plus around 12p/min for daytime mobile calls, but set up an account and direct debit with the overall cheapest override provider, 18185 (it's occasionally beatable for specific calls), then dial that number before you call a mobile and your call cost is reduced to a 5p connection then 6p/min - though the price is less competitive at weekends, so do compare it to your normal provider.

While BT, Primus and the Post Office let you use the 18185 prefix, some providers can block it (e.g. Virgin Media, TalkTalk). If so, its website lists alternative access numbers you can use, though the price varies. Alternatively, use the daily updated UK CallChecker to find the cheapest non-account needed providers which cost as little as 6p/min.

For a detailed explanation, and alternatives in case your provider blocks 18185, read the Full Briefing: Cut The Cost Of Calling Mobiles

Calling landlines during the day

If your package doesn't include daytime calls to landlines, then it can be expensive. BT charges 7.95p/min and TalkTalk's about the same, to call landlines during the day. Yet it's easy to slash this cost:

• 18185 charges 5p per CALL
  
  Specialist override provider 18185 wins again, at just 5p to call a landline, no matter how long you chat (so an hour here is 5p compared to over £3 on normal providers). See the mobiles section above for a more detailed explanation of how it works.

Daytime call costs compared

Provider	Cost per min	Cost of one hour's call
BT	7.6p/min (7.95p/min from 3 Dec)	£4.69 ¹ (£4.90 from 3 Dec)
TalkTalk	7.6p/min	£4.69 ²
Primus	7.4p/min	£4.57 ³
Cheapest override provider	0p/min	5p
Prices correct at 31 January 2011. ¹ Includes one-off 13.1p call connection fee. ² Includes one-off 13.1p call connection fee. ³ Includes one-off 12.9p call connection fee.

• Other override providers cost as little as 0.5p/min
  
  If your phone company blocks account-needed override providers like 18185, it's still possible to slash the cost by using simply dial providers. Just call an 0844 number which will allow you to call at a special cheap rate from as little as 0.5p/min.
  
  To find the cheapest override provider, use the daily updated UK CallChecker.
• Upgrade your package
  
  If neither of those suit, and you make enough calls to justify it, you could upgrade your package and pay a few pounds more a month to get the calls included for free.

Cut the cost of calling abroad

If your package doesn't include calls abroad or excludes a country you're dialling, be careful; it may be hideously expensive. Instead, there are a number of cost-cutting options.

• Override providers cost as little as 0.4p/min
  
  Again, specialist override providers cost a fraction of main providers' prices and you won't need to change your phone line. For a full guide to this, see the Cheap International Calls guide, which includes info on daily updated cheapest providers for every country.
  
  As an example, you can call the US or Spain for 40p for AN HOUR, while BT's standard would be over £10 to the US, or Virgin Media's £35 to Spain.
  
  

• Skype £5.74/month for unlimited calls to Europe
  
  Skype's Unlimited Europe* package provides web to phone calls to 24 EU countries for £5.74/month. If you call non-EU countries the Unlimited World* package, which costs £9.19, includes the EU countries plus Australia, China, Guam, Republic of Korea, Puerto Rico, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and the USA.
  
  Alternatively, Vonage* charges £5.99/month for the first three months, then £8.99/month, for unlimited calls to mobiles and landlines in the USA, Canada, China and more. For a full briefing and options read Cheap International Calls and VoIP: Free Calls Via Your PC guides.

Can you grab cashback on top?

It's often possible to get extra cashback when you sign up for a home phone package. Yet it isn't done direct. To get it, sign up via specialist cashback websites. These use affiliate links to generate revenue, and if they get paid when you sign up, they give some or all of it to you.

Always first check that it's an identical product, and clear any cookies if you've already clicked through. Remember, as the cashback isn't coming from the product provider, but playing the system to an extent, it's never 100% guaranteed and there can be problems.

Therefore it's generally best to first pick the right product and see the cashback as an added extra. For more information, pros and cons, and to find which cashback providers pay most for any product, see the Top Cashback Sites guide.

What's more, sometimes there are special higher rates negotiated for the short term. These tend to have a higher payout reliability; when they happen we'll try to list them here and include it in the weekly email.