Cut those pesky phone bills

If phone bills are eating away at your monthly budget there are loads of ways to save money on telephony. A few changes can reduce your bills and even get you calls for free. Here are our top tips for making big savings.

• Change your provider
• Use an 'override provider' to save money on BT rates
• Don't use 118 numbers
• Don't use BT chargecard
• Phone for free on the internet (VoIP)
• Noodle
• Say no to 0870
• Send free texts from your computer
• Always check your bill for any charges that are wrong
• Recycle your old mobile

1. Change your provider

There are loads of great deals to be had so don’t be fooled into thinking BT is the only option. Basic line rental for BT is £10.50 a month, and that’s if you pay by direct debt and do online billing. It doesn’t seem excessive, but compare it to the cheapest broadband and calls deal on the market at the moment - Talk Talk’s Talk2 international calls option - and it is really pricey. The cost of the Talk Talk plan  is £16.39 a month, so for a bit more you get free calls to UK landlines as well as selected European, North American and Australasian countries during evening and weekends, oh and broadband internet. There is a £30 connection fee and spread over an 18- month contract it works out at about £18 a month. Basic broadband for a BT line costs around £10 extra so you’re already saving £2 on the BT deal and getting free calls.

See if you could save money by switching with our free comparison service.

2. Use an ‘override provider’ to save money on BT rates

Override providers are specialist phone providers that you access by dialling a code before the number you are calling. The calls made with them are mostly charged straight to your credit or debit card. You must already have a phone line to use them, but they work on all providers. They charge an initial connection charge but then calls are generally a lot cheaper that with BT or other suppliers. The best one for UK landlines is 1899. You’ll pay a 4p connection charge and then the calls are free. For calling mobiles during the day the cheapest service is 18185 which is 6p/min plus a 5p connection charge (BT peak price is 12.5p/min).

These companies also offer ridiculously cheap international calls and are well worth using if you phone abroad a lot. 18185 rates start from just 0.5p per minute to a US mobile. You can sign up to all these services at the same time to get the best price for whatever call you’re making.

Take a look at:

• Alpha Telecom
• OneTel
• 18185
• 1899

3. Don’t use 118 numbers

We’ve all got the internet or just a phonebook, so there’s no excuse to waste money on phoning directory enquiries. It costs 29p just to connect to BT’s 118500 service and then 49p a minute – and that’s one of the cheaper ones. It’s even more if you get the number texted to you or if you call on your mobile. If you do need to find out numbers you can get numbers online for free from Yell.com, 192.com, thephonebook, 118.com or Uphonebook.

There are free numbers you can call if you're out and about, but you'll have to put up with listening to an advert. The Number is a free service on 0800 118 3733. Technically to use it you have to register on 118.com first, but it should work without. Free directory enquiries is another free service accessible on 0800 100 100. Again there are ads and you can only do one enquiry per call - but it's still free.

If you're calling from mobiles these numbers aren't free as all UK networks charge for freephone numbers. The best way to get around this is find a public phone and call from there.

4. Don’t use BT chargecard

It’s convenient if you’ve got a BT line, to use the chargecard service and get billed for calls from payphones and abroad straight onto your BT bills. However, the cheapest UK rate is 18p a minute (not cheap) and the cheapest rate abroad is 46p (from the US – again not cheap). If you don’t have mobile and need to call from a phonebox, get a cheap phonecard online or from the newsagents that can be accessed using a freephone number. You won’t use all the minutes at once but keep it in your bag and you can use it until it runs out. If you need to call from abroad a phonecard bought either on the internet or when you get there will be cheaper even if you use the freephone access number. Take a look at our article on cutting your holiday costs or get a cheap phone card from Planet Phone Cards or 1st4phonecards.

5. Phone for free on the internet (VoIP)

If you've got broadband you can phone on the internet for free. Voice over internet protocol works by splitting your voice into short pieces and then turning the pieces into data. The data is then sent along the line to the person you are speaking to at high velocity. It's cheap because your data is sent along with millions of other people's data at the same time. To call someone over the internet you both have to have the right technology.

Skype can be downloaded for free and once you've registered you can get started. Find the username of the person you want to call and then click the green phone. You'll need earphones and a microphone but these can be bought for less than £10. You can also chat for free using online instant messengers like MSN messenger or AOL.

Skype also allows you to phone landlines from your computer, however it's not the cheapest. There are loads of different providers, Tesco included, but they often charge a sign-up fee or are not competitive. The best on the market are VoIP Stunt and VoIP Cheap. They both offer free international calls and have no sign up fee. But you do have to put £10 credit on your account before you can use it. This credit expires 120 days after your last paying call which means you are forced to use it up to keep your free calls. These sites are great to use if you're abroad and want to make cheap calls home. However lots of override providers can offer equally competitive deals that don't rely on your internet connection.

You can also use the internet to call landline to landline. JaJah is a service that uses VoIP technology combined with your landline. All you've got to do is register and then enter your number and the number you're calling. Your phone will then ring and when you pick up JaJah will phone the other number. It's free to sign up and calls are free as long as:

• You and the person you are calling are registered on the site
• You are both using a landline in Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Taiwan or a landline or mobile in the US, Canada, China, Singapore of Hong Kong.

You've also got to make a call at least once every two weeks or send a text to keep your right to free calls. Otherwise you will be charged normal rates. You can only make up to one hour of free calls a day for up to five days a week.

Again, if your friends or relatives are not registered, override providers are often very competitive so always remember to check prices. You don't have to choose between these services. You can use them all to make sure you get the cheapest calls possible.

7. Say no to 0870

0870 numbers can be up to 10 times the cost of a normal landline call. They are rarely included in free minutes packages. The lowest you can pay per minute for an 0870 number is 4p/min plus a 3p connection charge with an override provider. The companies who use 0870 numbers take a cut of the profits made by the line so they are squeezing even more out of you. But there is a way to fight back.

The website saynoto0870 has a search engine to find alternative and often free numbers for companies. All you do is click search to find an alternative number and enter either the number or the company name. Then the engine will come back with a load of alternatives. These will either be normal landline numbers that are included in your free minutes package. Or if you're lucky, freephone numbers. Companies like o2 charge you 50p per minute to phone their customer helpline. However, saynoto0870 has a freephone number for o2 saving you loads. Search for an alternative number now.

If you can't find an alternative number always look out for the number the company provides for calling from abroad. This number is a normal landline and will cost you less to use.

7. Get cheap international calls on your mobile or landline using RebTel.

RebTel is a service that lets you make cheap international calls from your mobile. No need for a computer. It works in two ways:

Direct call - To call someone directly, first you send their number to RebTel. They will then generate a local RebTel number which you can dial from your phone and pay a cheaper rate for calling internationally.

Smart call - To set up a smart call, you dial someone on their RebTel number. You then ask them to phone you back on the number that has appeared on their phone. They hang up to phone you back, but you stay on the line. In a few seconds they will click back onto the line and your call will be free. You can only smart call between certain countries - see which ones here (they are highlighted in blue on the list).

The rates start from less than a penny - see them all here. When calling with RebTel you do still have to pay your main provider (o2, Orange etc) for the minutes you use. However they will only be charged at local rate.

RebTel really is good if you have a big free minutes bundle from your mobile provider and you have lots of friends abroad. It is a bit fiddly, but if you can be bothered to do it you can save as much as £1.482 per minute compared to your home provider.

8. Send free texts from your computer

You don't have to rack up huge bills on your mobile to send texts. There are loads of sites online where you can send texts for absolutely nothing. Textmefree has over 200 sites where you can send texts for free. The site explains exactly what you need to do to get free texts on each different website it features. Don't just look at the UK sites if you are trying to send texts to foreign mobiles. It's often easier to use a site from the country the phone is from as lots of sites will only send domestic texts.

You can also often send free texts from the website of your mobile provider. On the o2 website you can register for an account and get free text messages regardless of your mobile provider.

9. Always check your bill for any charges that are wrong

Lots of companies make millions out of the lethargy of their customers. If you don't look at your bills you could be paying for calls that you haven't made. All companies are liable to make billing mistakes that are often just admin mistakes. However if you don't look at your bills, you'll never even notice. Go through your bill carefully, even if it's online, and check that all the numbers called look familiar. If there are any big charges make sure you know what they are and why they were called. If you have any queries, get in touch with your provider before you pay the bill - it's a lot easier to do this than to get your money back once you've paid it. Remember to use saynoto0870 if they only give out an 0870 number.

10. Recycle your old mobile

Your old mobile can save your money on the phone calls you're making now. Instead of chucking your old mobile in the bin, you can sell it online with Envirophone and get up to £90 for it. Type in the model number and condition and they'll tell you how much it's worth. Then they send you an envelope to send your phone to them in (so it's free). Once they've received it and checked the condition, you'll get a nice cheque. Ask your friends for their old mobiles as well to make more money - it's that simple. Check out Envirophone and sell your old mobile now.

Useful links

• Talk Talk
• Textmefree
• JaJah
• VoIP Cheap
• saynoto0870
• Envirophone
• VoIP Stunt
• Our free telephone provider comparison service

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• 50 top tips for day to day saving
• Cheap calls anywhere with VoIP
• Cut your holiday costs