How do I pay my phone bill?

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Our expert says...

Dear Jill, you’re right - most home phone providers do offer their cheapest prices to those customers that sign-up to receive paperless e-bills and pay by monthly or quarterly direct debit.

Receiving an online bill and paying by direct debit can give you significant discounts, but if you can’t pay this way or would rather receive a bill in the post, the information below will help you work out how much your monthly line rental is going to cost:

Online billing

Many landline providers offer discounts for customers that choose to receive their bills via the internet. Paperless bills save the suppliers money in paper and admin costs - savings that they can pass on to the customer in the form of a discount on their line rental.

For example, Primus Saver (www.primus.com) offers a discount of £1.80 a month to customers who sign-up for online paperless bills. Online billing customers, therefore pay £7.99 rather than £9.79 a month for their line rental.

If you’re thinking of switching home phone suppliers, it’s important you read the new supplier’s terms and conditions first, as the advertised price for line rental will be, in most cases, the price of the line rental if you sign-up for paperless e-bills.

The table below shows the price of receiving a paper bill from some of the larger suppliers:

Paying by direct debit

Paying by direct debit is generally the cheapest way to pay all your bills, not just your home phone bills. Some landline providers will charge an extra premium for choosing to pay by a payment method that isn’t direct debit, i.e. paying by credit card or debit card over the phone.

Cable home phone giant Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com), for example, charges customers £5 if they don’t pay by direct debit. The table below shows the costs of not paying by direct debit for some of the larger suppliers:

Can I pay my phone bill by cash?

The Post Office (www.postoffice.co.uk) is the only supplier that lets customers pay by cash, without charging them extra. Unlike other home phone providers, customers who sign-up to the Post Office home phone service can pay their monthly bills in a way which suits them - either by direct debit, over the phone by credit or debit card, or by cash in a Post Office branch.

The price the Post Office charges for its line rental is the same whichever payment method you choose, making it an ideal option for those that don’t have a bank account, those that can’t pay by direct debit or those that would prefer to receive their bills in the post.

I hope this helps you choose a package for your mother Jill. It’s important to remember that the cheapest prices are available to those customers that do pay by direct debit and receive paperless e-bills, so if possible, try and pay this way. It will significantly reduce your home phone bills.

Ask us a question

If you have a general switching or provider query please email us at ourexpert@homephonechoices.co.uk

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