”Yeah, I’m not with BT anymore…”

Sunday 14th September, 2008 - £7,926.83 in debt…

I think I must have some kind of money-saving psychic ability. No sooner have I switched to 1899 for my UK calls, Martin Lewis’s newsletter tells me that BT is raising its prices by 1p a call. I know that might not sound like much, but it’s my money and I’m keeping hold of it.

The rise will come into effect on Tuesday (the 16th) and will apply to the connection charge - from 6p to 7p - so it’s 1p on every call you make through BT. This means that every call costs you at least 11p, as there’s a 4p minimum for the per-minute charge on top.

The call charge with 1899 is 4p or 5p for connection to a UK landline and that’s it. That’s a saving of at least half on every single UK call you make.

BT is always being accused of behaving like it still has a monopoly on UK customers, and this is another example. Even if you can’t be bothered to switch your line rental to a cheaper alternative, switching your calls to 1899 is so simple there’s no excuse for letting BT get away with it. Do it now.