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BT international calls

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

If you’ve got a BT landline and regularly make calls to friends and family overseas, signing up to a BT international calls add-on could save you money. (Updated 23/10/09)

BT (www.bt.com) is Britain’s largest landline supplier, and chances are if you’re one of the two-thirds of UK households that have never switched your service*, you’ll be a BT customer.

Calling abroad with BT can be quite expensive, especially during peak daytime hours. For example, calls to landlines in Australia will cost 26.7p a minute during the day on BT’s standard tariff, while daytime calls to landlines in France are 20.5p a minute. So, could you cut your phone bills by getting a BT international calls add-on?

BT Friends & Family International

Friends & Family International from BT gives you discounted calls to 231 popular international destinations. Prices start from as little as 2.5p a minute for landlines and 26.4p a minute for mobiles overseas (plus a 9.05p call connection fee on all calls). This means you can save up to 79% on overseas calls compared to normal BT rates.

The Friends & Family International add-on costs just £1 a month, meaning you could get a great deal on your calls to relatives abroad and really reduce your monthly phone bills.

If you previously had the International Saver add-on from BT, this automatically changed to the Friends & Family International add-on on 1 April 2009, so you don’t have to worry about contacting BT to change it.

Can I get Friends & Family International?

The Friends & Family International add-on is only available to residential customers with one of the following calling plans:

• Unlimited Weekend Plan
• Unlimited Evening & Weekend Plan
• Unlimited Anytime Plan
• BT Together Local calls option**
• BT Working Together**
• BT Working Together - Talk**

The Friends & Family International add-on cannot be used in conjunction with the International Freedom add-on.

How do I get Friends & Family International?

You may be eligible for the BT Friends & Family International as part of your current BT calling plan. You can add it to your calling plan by signing into your online account and clicking on “Calling Plan.” If you don’t already have an online account, you can sign up online for one and get the Friends & Family add-on. Alternatively, call 0800 028 4474 to have it added to your calling plan.

BT International Freedom

International Freedom is an inclusive international calls add-on option for BT calling plan customers. For a monthly fee, you can make calls to landlines in 36 international destinations for up to an hour for no additional cost. If you need to talk for longer than an hour, simply hang up after 60 minutes and then redial. You can also make calls to 7 further countries at special low rates.

The countries covered by International Freedom include Australia, Greece, France and the USA.

The International Freedom add-on costs £4.89 a month, so it is only really worth getting this feature added to your calling plan if you make frequent calls to the 36 countries included.

BT operates a fair usage policy with the International Freedom add-on, and in the terms and conditions it stipulates that customers who exceed 600 minutes of calls a month will have the product removed from their calling plan.

Can I get International Freedom?

The International Freedom add-on is only available to residential customers with one of the following calling plans:

• Unlimited Weekend Plan
• Unlimited Evening & Weekend Plan
• Unlimited Anytime Plan
• BT Together Local calls option**
• BT Working Together**
• BT Working Together - Talk**

The International Freedom add-on cannot be used in conjunction with the Friends & Family International add-on.

How do I get International Freedom?

You may be eligible for the BT International Freedom as part of your current BT calling plan. You can add it to your calling plan by signing into your online account and clicking on “Calling Plan.” If you don’t already have an online account, you can sign up online for one and get the International Freedom add-on. Alternatively, call 0800 028 4474 to have it added to your calling plan.

Alternatives to BT for international calls

When it comes to making international calls, there are plenty of alternatives to BT. Other home phone providers, such as the Post Office (www.postoffice.co.uk), TalkTalk (www.talktalk.co.uk) and Hive Telecom, all offer deals, discounting the cost of calling a landline overseas.

You could also consider using an internet phone provider, such as Vonage (www.vonage.co.uk), to make VoIP calls for the fraction of the cost of a standard landline call.

* Ofcom, The Consumer Experience 2008

** These calling plans are not available for new customers