Cheap Home Phones

We've archived this guide so won't be updating it. For the top home phone deals - try Broadband Unbundled

It finds the best line-rental-only deals, or you can add broadband and TV too

If you're with BT, Virgin Media or TalkTalk, chances are you're paying too much. It's possible to slash line rental down to an equivalent £14.50/month and daytime calls to 5p each, plus get half-price calls to mobiles - saving £100s a year.

No one phone provider is cheapest, so this straightforward guide shows you how to make sure EVERY call you make is at the lowest possible rate.

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 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. 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 BT's discretion) and costs £15.30/per quarter. It includes £4.50 worth of calls to other landlines. Outside the allowance, calls cost 11.3p/min plus a connection fee of 3.3p/per call.

• Free web-to-web calls. You can talk to anyone, anywhere worldwide for free via the net. Programs such as Skype let you use headsets and webcams to speak to your friends (see the Free Web Calls 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, not via the web.

• Know your peak. Always check when peak and off-peak is. In 2010, BT and TalkTalk moved their peak times from 6am-6pm to 7am-7pm, meaning their users lost an hour of cheap early evening calls.

  Provider	Peak times (daytime)
  BT	7am - 7pm
  TalkTalk	7am - 7pm
  EE	7am - 7pm
  Sky	7am - 7pm
  SSE	7am - 7pm
  Virgin Media	7am - 7pm
  Post Office	6am - 6pm

• Ditch caller ID. Historically, if you used another service for calls (while still paying BT for line rental) you were able to make chargeable calls by dialling the prefix 1280 which routed calls through BT, keeping the caller ID service free. It's no longer possible to do this with all providers, so ditch caller ID 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. 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
  EE	60 mins
  Sky	60 mins
  SSE	70 mins
  Virgin Media	60 mins
  Post Office	60 mins

• Mobile "call-back" pact. Free minutes on mobiles include calling landlines, but 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 an override provider. It's possible to cut call costs without switching provider. Use a no-frills override provider, where you dial a prefix number to connect to its service, then pay its cost. This can cut costs from 5p/min to 35p/call, and slash mobile rates. Full details below.

• 

  Say no to 0870. Most major providers include 0870 numbers as part of their inclusive call plans, though not all (with 0845 numbers it's more mixed). See the full table here.

  There are ways to cut costs if your provider doesn't include them, or you're calling outside of your call plan. See the Say No To 0870 guide for full info.

• Check your package. Don't automatically pay for an "unlimited anytime" call plan if you're not going to use it. BT's standard package, BT Unlimited Weekend, includes free calls at the weekend, 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 £8.50/month. As a rough rule of thumb, it's only worth taking it if you make over an hour of peak-time calls each month. Of course, you can undercut this deal by switching.

Home phones: Choosing a package

There are some good 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, always contact your existing provider first, as it may offer to beat/match any deal you've found.

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

So even if you pay line rental to the Post Office or others, behind the scenes the actual line is provided by BT Openreach. 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.

Landline installation options and top deals

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

Best buysCheapest line rental paid monthly

If you haven't switched your landline provider, and you're out of contract, you could save over £5/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.

Post Office: £14.99/month*

Inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines & 0845/0870 numbers

• Price: £14.99/mth
• Inclusive calls: Weekend landlines
• Length of free calls: First 60 mins

• Connection fee: None
• Allows override providers? Yes (home phone only, not broadband customers)

The basic Post Office* Home Phone package is £14.99/mth on a 12-month contract, and gives inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines. It'll then rise to £16.99/mth after a year.

The Post Office's home phone service did well in our Oct 2016 customer service poll, with 53% of customers rating it "great".

Post Office home phone
- customer services poll results

53% Great

31% okay

16% poor

Date: Oct 2016 Voters: 140

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Best buysCheapest line rental paid by year

If your provider offers the option - and many including BT, TalkTalk, and Plusnet do - paying upfront is usually the cheapest way to get line rental. For example, you can save £23/yr on BT compared to paying monthly. However, it doesn't mean an upfront deal is necessarily the cheapest overall package for you.

Warning - beware paying upfront. There's a risk of losing your cash if the provider goes bust. This risk is bigger with smaller companies.

Direct Save Telecom: £174/yr (equiv £14.50/mth)*

No calls included

• Price: Equiv £14.50/month
• Inclusive calls: None

• Connection fee: None
• Allows override providers? No

If you're happy to pay for a year upfront, Direct Save Telecom* offers one of the cheapest deals on the market. A year's upfront line rental costs £174, equivalent to £14.50/mth. Evening and weekend calls cost and additional £2.95/mth (max 60 minutes - if you need longer, hang up then redial). Anytime calls cost £6.75/mth and 0845/0870 calls are included.

Direct Save Telecom isn't as big as other providers so we don't have much feedback on its customer service. However, it has been established since 1999 and has provided line rental since 2004.

Post Office: £180 (equiv £15/mth)*

Line rental, free weekend calls to UK landlines & 0845/0870 numbers

• Price: Equiv £15/month
• Inclusive calls: Weekend landlines
• Length of free calls: First 60 mins

• Connection fee: None
• Allows override providers? Yes (home phone only not broadband customers)

If you pay £179.88 for a year's line rental upfront with the Post Office*, you'll get it for the equivalent of £14.99/mth, including weekend calls to UK landlines. This works out cheaper than it's standard option paying monthly, which is £16.99/mth - £203.88 over a year.

The Post Office's home phone service did well in our Oct 2016 customer service poll, with 53% of customers rating it "great".

Post Office home phone
- customer services poll results

53% Great

31% okay

16% poor

Date: Oct 2016 Voters: 140

More providers' upfront line rental costs compared

Provider	Upfront cost	Cost if paying monthly	Inclusive calls?	Annual saving vs paying monthly
EE Yearly Line Rental Saver	£199, equiv £15.75/mth	£18.50/mth	Yes - weekend	£23
Virgin Media Line Rental Saver	£196, equiv £16.33/mth	£19/mth	Yes - weekend	£32
Plusnet Line Rental Saver	£185.88 (£197.88 from 29 June), equiv £15.49/mth	£17.99/mth (£18.99/mth from 29 June)	None	£30
TalkTalk Value Line Rental	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

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Get super-cheap costs for every call...

When a home phone includes free calls, these are often only to landlines beginning 01, 02 and 03. Other calls you make, such as calls to 0870 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. They also tend to charge a one-off call connection fee plus around 16p/min for daytime mobile calls. Yet it's easy to more or less halve the price.

• If you've inclusive calls, use a web calls service

  If you're calling during your inclusive calls period, it's possible to get cut-price calls using a web calling service. These let you call via Wi-fi/data on a smartphone, but if you're on a landline you can also call via a local-rate access number, and only be charged a per-minute rate by the third-party provider.

  You're required to top-up with credit so it's not 'true' pay-as-you-go like 18185, but if you make a lot of calls to mobiles it's worth it for the cheaper rates. For example, provider Localphone charges 1.8p/min to call a mobile with no connection fee.

  For more information on web calling services, including other providers, see the Free Web Calls guide.

• Call via an override provider

  Set up an account and direct debit with our top pick 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 10p/min.

  While BT and the Post Office let you use the 18185 prefix, some providers, including Virgin Media and TalkTalk, can block it. If so, its website lists an 0808 number (freephone) alternative you can dial through.

Calling landlines during the day

If your package doesn't include daytime calls to landlines, then it can be expensive. BT charges 12p/min plus a one-off 21p call connection fee, and TalkTalk charges 12.5p/min plus a one-off 18p connection fee. It's easy to slash this cost though:

• 18185 charges 5p per call plus 1p/min

  Specialist override provider 18185 wins again, at just 5p connection fee and 1.3p/min to call a landline (so an hour here is 83p, compared to over £7 with normal providers). See 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	12p/min	£7.41
  TalkTalk	12.5p/min	£7.68 ²
  Cheapest override provider	1.3p/min	83p
  Prices correct at 15 May 2017. ¹ Includes one-off 21p call connection fee. ² Includes one-off 18p call connection fee.

• Upgrade your package

  If this doesn't 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.

• Go via 18185

  Specialist override provider 18185 can also be used it to make international calls as well as local, and at much cheaper rates than your landline provider is likely to charge. Again, it has a freephone access number listed on its site if your operator won't let you use the prefix.

  If you've inclusive landline calls, consider using a web calling service (see below), which can often beat 18185's rates.

• Use a web calls service

  Providers such a Rebtel and Localphone allow you to make cheap international calls via wi-fi/data on their apps, or by callling through a local-rate access number. They typically charge lower rates than 18185, though bear in mind you'll have to pay your operator's standard number rate on top (unless your plan has inclusive calls).

  Full info on these providers can be found in the Free Web Calls guide.

• Vonage Talk World option for unlimited calls

  If you sign up to Vonage you can get unlimited calls to landlines in 68 countries, including Spain, France, Italy, Australia and more for £15/mth. You also get unlimited calls to mobiles in 34 countries, including Canada and the US.

  It works via a box you plug into your landline, for which there's a £5 delivery charge. If you plan to call just from your smartphone, you can do so via its app – place an order by phone and you can opt-out of the box, thereby also avoiding the delivery charge.

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 check first 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.

How to complain about your home phone provider

If you have a problem with your home phone provider and need to complain, contact it and keep a record of the date, what you said and the person you speak to. Common problems include installation dates not being met, limited service or ongoing connection issues.

Free tool if you’re having a problem

This tool helps you draft your complaint and manage it too. It’s totally free, and offered by a firm called Resolver which we like so much we work with it to help people get complaints justice.

Resolver - free home phones complaints tool*

If the complaint isn't resolved, Resolver will automatically escalate it to the free Ombudsman Services (or CISAS if you're complaining about Virgin Media).

Important: if your issue is about a voucher or incentive that was part of an MSE Blagged deal, then instead just let us know by emailing voucherhelp@moneysavingexpert.com as that’s usually quicker.

Quick question:

What if my line goes down for a few days

If your phone line is down, it not only affects your phone but your broadband too. The first thing you should do is to contact your provider. It will try to fix your line that day but if it can't you may be able to get a refund for the loss of service while it's being repaired.

Providers aren't required to give refunds but according to the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, most companies will offer something though exact terms vary by provider.

Both Virgin and TalkTalk will refund the daily cost of broadband and/or phone line from the day you report the fault. Sky says it pays out on a "case-by-case basis". BT says it will try to fix the problem within three working days of you reporting it. If it doesn't, you'll get a refund for the daily cost of the broken line or broadband, starting from the fourth working day after you've reported the problem

Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes. These schemes are impartial and free and work as middlemen between phone providers and users.

The decision made is binding on the company and enforceable in court. This means if the phone company is found to be in the wrong it could be required to make an apology, explain what went wrong, correct the problem and even pay an extra financial reward of up to £10,000.

For BT, Sky and Talk Talk use the Ombudsman Services, and for Virgin Media, CISAS. The ADR checker on Ofcom's website has a full list of providers.

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