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January 13th, 2006

“BAH-HUMBUG TO CHRISTMAS”, FROM BT
BT increase line rental charge for second time in 18 months, from £10.50 to £11 per month
UK customers set to pay an additional £83 million* per year from 1st January 2006

BT today hit customers with an unwanted Christmas present in the form of their second line rental hike in 18 months. This follows Ofcom’s announcement today that BT’s Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) product has finally met the “fit-for-purpose” criteria agreed between Ofcom and BT back in 2003. WLR allows BT’s competitors to offer customers a single bill for line rental as well as calls. One of the incentives for meeting these criteria was the relaxation by Ofcom on BT’s restrictions to modify the line rental price. BT has responded the same day by increasing their line rental cost by 50p per month.

This price increase applies to all of BT’s 13.8 million ‘Together Option 1’ customers, resulting in them paying a collective £83 million per year extra. This includes the 3.7 million customers that use alternative suppliers for their calls, but are still paying line rental to BT. BT previously increased line rental in June 2004 from £9.50 to £10.50, when they migrated all of their Standard tariff customers to ‘Together
Option 1’.

Jon Miller, Director at independent comparison and switching service uSwitch.com comments: “This is a real blow for BT’s customers. With most of their competitors reducing their line rental costs, BT customers can feel justifiably aggrieved at having to pay extra while seemingly receiving nothing in return. This could prove to be the final straw for many BT customers who have already been thinking about switching, as lower line rental charges will clearly appeal to those who object to paying hefty upfront charges before even making a call. There are now an increasing number of providers in this market, offering alternative line rental to BT, such as household-names like Homecall, Onetel, the Post Office and TalkTalk. Customers can now shop around for savings on line rental as well as calls”

For more information visit uSwitch.com - ends -

Notes to editors:
*http://www.btplc.com/News/Presentations/Financialpresentations/q205KPIs.pdf. BT Together Option 1. Cumulatively, over the course of a year, they will be paying £83 million more.

Price difference between line rental operators:
Proivider Line rental cost Difference % cheaper
BT (from 1st January 2006) £11
Onetel £9.75 £1.25 11.36%
Post Office £9.95 £1.05 9.55%
TalkTalk £9.99 £1.01 9.18%
Homecall £9.99 £1.01 9.18%

uSwitch.com is a free, impartial online and phone based comparison and switching service that helps consumers compare prices on gas, electricity, home telephone, DTV, broadband providers and personal finance products. Our aim is to help customers take advantage of the best tariffs and services on offer from every supplier. The company has developed a series of calculators that evaluate a number of key factors including price, location, service and payment method, and advises consumers on the best deal to suit their needs. Customers can run a comparison and switch online .

The uSwitch broadband calculator currently has 44 ISPs, the home phone calculator currently has 28 providers and the Digital TV calculator has 7 suppliers.

uSwitch.com is not a supplier but acts as an independent advisor, giving consumers an impartial view of what’s on offer.

Entry Filed under: Home Services, Finance Info