July 19, 2010 by James Oliver
British Telecom have announced that they intend to raise the tariff for their telephone calls and line rental from the October this year. Customers will be officially told by letter at some point this week. Call charges will be raised by ten percent, and line rental will be increased by fifty pence per month.
Call connections will increase to just under eleven pence. According to the telecoms giant, the overall cost to consumers amounts to a penny a day, as most of their customers are members of subscription packages which enable free calls at certain times. Anyone who agrees to join an annual contract will apparently be exempt from the new charges. Customers will still enjoy a reduction in charges if they opt to have their bills emailed rather than posted.
Despite BT receiving negative criticism for the proposed pricing change, the company maintain that they are making the decision to increase tariffs in order to encourage people to take up new contracts and packages. From October 2010, landline rental charges will increase to £159.48 per household.
BT have stated that they are available to discuss various packages with customers in order to support people to achieve cost benefits, but it remains to be seen just how loyal their customer base will remain, when faced with increased call and rental prices.
With mobile phone tariffs becoming increasingly competitive, BT are in a tricky position if they wish to maintain their hold on the telecoms market. While a few years ago, certain services such as satellite television or broadband were dependent upon a BT landline being installed, it is now getting much easier for customers to shop around to find the best deals from a wide range of telecoms service providers.
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