Home phone Guides

Switching phone provider

Updated: Tuesday 17 January, 2012

By Anthony Hill - anthony.hill@consumerchoices.co.uk

If you’ve experienced poor customer service or feel your phone bills are too high, it’s worth considering whether you should switch you phone company.

The switching process is straightforward and our calculator will help you pick the deal that’s right for you. So even if you’ve had your phone with the same provider, such as BT, for many years, you shouldn’t fear making that switch.

Switching is easy

Switching costs nothing through this site - and you could save yourself a lot of money on line rental and calls.

In most instances you’ll be able to keep your existing phone number and all the call features of your current line. You will also be able to keep other add-ons such as premium rate barring, but the costs may be different so you should check with your new supplier.

You won’t need to have a new telephone line installed to switch supplier unless you are changing between the copper wire (ADSL) phone line system on which the BT (www.bt.com) service is based, and a cable phone line from Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com).

Watch the video below for more information:

Why should I switch home phone supplier?

The main two reasons people switch are for lower bills and better service.

An important benefit of switching is that you can get your line rental as well as your calls from a new supplier if you wish and this may reduce your overall costs. For instance, the YourCalls.net (www.yourcalls.net) Anytime Saver package gives you unlimited anytime calls to national numbers and costs £14.21 a month (£11.22 line rental and £2.99 for the monthly calls package). BT’s similar unlimited anytime plan works out at £18.60 (£15.45 for line rental and £5 for the monthly call package)., so you'll save yourself nearly £5 a month by switching away from BT.

You may also find that it pays to switch home phone supplier in order to take advantage of a home phone, TV and broadband bundled deal.

These bundles can represent better value than getting your services from different suppliers as the companies often discount the price if you take more than one service from them. They often use low introductory rates too, to entice customers to take a bundle.

Which phone company should I switch to?

This depends on what sort of calls you make the most and what features you would like. When you fill in the switching form we ask you about your current service and usage and that helps us to make the right recommendation for you.

Some phone line providers focus on low cost international calls, others on good deals for calls to mobiles.

How do I switch?

Simply decide if you want a deal that gives you cheap anytime calls or evening and weekend calls. We can also provide results for anyone who wants a deal that bundles both telephone and broadband.

Enter you postcode and current home telephone number and we’ll provide a table of the best deals suitable for you.

From there you simply fill out the application form online and the process will be handled by the new supplier.

How long does it take?

The process should take between 14 to 21 working days, and there shouldn’t be a break in your service.

Are you ready to switch? Compare home phone packages and deals in your area, and switch online.