Having a landline in a shared flat, can be a source of problems and arguments. Dividing the bill between flatmates can become petty and no one wants to own up to expensive phone calls. The solution can be as mundane as keeping a log book or highlighting the bill when it comes in.
The phone company will only allow one name to be put on the bill, leaving the possibility that one person might have to pay the whole bill if problems arise. Phone companies can make arrangements to assist shared households. E.g. only allowing incoming calls or incoming and local outgoing calls, but no mobile numbers. The best thing they can do for you is provide an itemised bill.
If you still want a landline there are many different packages available combining internet, international calls, free weekend and evening calls– so investigate the marketplace before you choose. Be aware that no one provider will be the cheapest for every call type.
If you are willing to use your mobile for all calls, then look at the mobile phone section to choose the cheapest deal but note that not having a landline can affect your credit rating now, and in later life, so you must fully consider this fact.
Finding the Right Service Provider
If you simply want to use your phone to make calls the best method of ensuring the lowest cost supplier is to use a comparison website such as uswitch.com or firsthelpline.com . Some of the leading providers offer discounts for your most frequently called numbers so make sure you benefit from any discounts available.
Phone companies usually follow the notion that after 6p.m Monday to Friday and all weekend is “off-peak time” so calls are cheaper to make. Some packages may include free “off-peak” calls – perfect if you are at university or work all day. For example, the BT Evening & Weekend package has free evening calls after 6pm, and free calls all weekend – meaning that your bill is simply the price of the line rental, which has an additional bonus for paper-free billing.
When selecting a deal check how long you are signing up for – if the phone deal is going to be longer than the academic term you aren’t going to be saving any money.
more
top^
Calling Abroad
If you are going to be phoning abroad it may be advisable to get a package with free international calls.
An alternative is to use international phone cards. EKit.com enables you to make low cost international calls at home and while you are away. The card also features a voicemail facility allowing family and friends to leave you voicemails completely free of charge. They simply dial a local freephone number, enter your account number and then they reach your personal voicemail box.
Override providers are another great way to save on international calls. These are companies that provide extra cheap calls via a normal home phone. You dial a UK number and then dial abroad in the same way as a phone-card. Instead of using your phone-card credit, the amount gets added to your bill. Usually all that is required is a £10 balance which is often the cost of the card itself.
Talking over the internet is completely free and becoming much more common as an alternative to landline phone-calls. The best known package is Skype. If both parties have the download the conversation is completely free. There are a number of competitively priced all inclusive packages, most on a monthly tariff, available from Skype. For example there are packages called Unlimited U.K., Unlimited Europe and Unlimited World available allowing users to make as many calls as they want for a fixed price.
If you prefer phoning from a real handset but want the low-cost calls available on the internet then JaJah may be perfect. All callers have to do is enter their phone number and the number they are dialling on the website. Your phone will ring and when you pick up, the number you are calling will begin to dial. It is completely free if both parties are signed up, and residing in specific countries. The account has to be kept active by being used at least once a fortnight and operates under a fair use policy (no more than 5 hours in a working week).
The market in this area has continued to grow and there are now a wide range of internet only phones available from as little as £10 – allowing you to make free phone calls on a “real” phone if both parties have a handset. Certain models even feature caller ID and ring in the same manner as traditional handsets. A percentage of the available handsets are linked to one communication package, such as Skype, but in most instances these can be used for other packages – check the advice from the manufacturer.
more
top^
Cheap Calls to a Mobile
The secret to making cheap calls is to use an over-rider number provided by specialist companies who offer cheap rates for mobile calls. The rates can be accessed by dialing a special number. Some providers need an account to be set up prior to use and some don’t.
The best provider requiring an account is 18185.co.uk which offers 6pence/min daytime calls and 3pence/min evening calls to mobiles with a flat 5pence connection charge regardless. When setting up the account you simply add a direct debit number and pay the monthly bill accordingly. All that is needed to take advantage of the cheap calls is to dial 18185 at the start of each call.
There are a number of providers which don’t require accounts to be set up – once you dial the access number, you simply dial the mobile number as normal. These are usually 0844/45 fixed rate numbers which are charged from the moment of connection, regardless of whether the call is successful or not. A wide range of different prices exist from the most popular providers. Note that different mobile companies have differently priced calls with users noting that the network 3 is the most expensive to call.
more
top^
