BT to raise phone call charges by 10%

Cost of calling to increase for thousands of families

By Stephen Hunt, 20th July 2010

BT has announced that it will increase both its phone call charges and fees for line rental from the beginning of October.

The charge for connection will go up a penny to 10.9p, while the daytime rate for phone calls will increase from 5.9p per minute to 6.4p. This means that the minimum cost of making a phone call will now be 17.3 pence.

The telecommunications company has already begun informing its customers of the changes.

While BT concedes that the changes will make things more difficult for families struggling in already stringent financial conditions, they were quick to point to the recession as justification for the price increases. They said: "Like many businesses, we have to review our prices as we seek to cover costs and emerge from recession in good shape."

The company also pointed out that there were ways of avoiding the charges, such as by signing up for a year-long contract or by signing up for all-inclusive packages. However, this is on the condition that customers sign up for email-only billing.

The news led to a seething response from consumer groups, who forecast that the price hike will leave elderly people and low income families reeling. These particular demographics are unlikely to be able to pay a year in advance and may not be able to sign up for emailed billing due to the lack of an internet connection.

A Consumer Focus spokesman offered the following comment: "Many BT customers will be hard-pressed to stump up a year's landline charges up front to avoid these increases. Also, people without internet access will question the fairness of being excluded from this email-only offer."

Other phone companies such as Sky and TalkTalk are expected to follow suit and raise their charges to within the vicinity of BT's, so the expected result is steeper bills for the majority of, if not all, British households.

Claims Financial