How to save on home phone calls

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Cutting the cost of your calls

Over 90% of households in the UK now own a mobile phone, according to telecommunications regulator Ofcom. Research shows money-conscious consumers are beginning to ditch their home phone lines in favour of making calls using their mobiles - and with free minutes and unlimited calls on some tariffs, who can blame them?

But to make the most of both your landline and your mobile, you need to put some thought into how you use your phones. For most of us, using a home phone for calls and a mobile for texts and emergencies works out pretty well, but you might find you’re using your mobile inefficiently, and that you can save on your phone bills by being a bit more savvy. Follow our top tips below:

• Calls - If your mobile phone contract includes free anytime calls to any network or landline, be sure to make the most of these. Similarly, if your home phone contract includes free evening and weekend calls, reduce the number of mobile minutes you have and make more calls from your landline - it’s all a balancing act.
• Texting - If you pay £20 or more per month on a contract phone and only use it for texting, consider switching to a deal with unlimited texts and less calling minutes.
• Line rental - If you don’t use your landline much but need to keep it for your broadband access, reduce your costs by switching to a provider with cheap line rental, such as Primus Saver (www.primus.co.uk).

You may be better off with a pay-as-you-go mobile for texts and a cheap broadband and home phone bundle for making calls. Many of these bundles only charge a couple of pounds extra per month for unlimited off-peak calls on top of your broadband charge, so you can use your home phone more without wasting money or racking up a massive bill on your mobile.

Because many of the UK’s bigger telecommunications companies are now expanding the number of services they offer, you should look out for bundle deals where you can save money by getting your mobile contract, home phone and broadband through the same company. Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com) is the leader in the field, offering the first quad-play bundle available in the UK, which also includes digital TV.

Switching home phone providers to save money

In order to save all this cash, you might need to switch home phone provider. Just find the right tariff or bundle package on our comparison service and you can switch easily online. Your new supplier will take care of the rest for you.