BT Together Option 2 and 3 customers will see prices slashed by almost a third. From  tomorrow, the monthly price for the evening and weekend call package (Option 2) will fall by 28% to £3.95 and anytime calling package customers (Option 3) will see a 31% cut to £9.95.
Meanwhile, BT is also introducing price changes that will be offered to all its customers. From 15th August, BT will be offering a year’s free UK evening and weekend calls if they sign-up to BT for 18 months.



Full details here http://www.btplc.com/News/Articles/Showarticle.cfm?ArticleID=e3cd7070-a172-4c69-...


Still a few cheaper  suppliers then them,without having to sign long contracts.

See this article in todays Sunday Times.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2290873,00.html

Something similar has been mentioned in the Telegraph here, and from it I
Quote:
which seems to contradict things a bit.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.....

Thanks for the post orsonkart.

This will be a useful article to enclose with any complaint sent to an organisations in respect of their use of 087/084 telephone numbers.

Some increases at the same time (to be expected) as the very slight reductions in 0845/0870 call costs and reductions in Together Option 2/3 plans.  They are:-

Call Set-up Fee
From 1st October 2006, the minimum call charge of 5.5p for residential customers will be replaced by a call set-up fee of 3p that will be charged at the start of each phone call.

The call set-up fee will be applied to national and local geographic calls, premium rate calls, NTS calls (e.g. 0845, 0870), international calls and landline-to-mobile calls. However, it will not apply to zero-rated calls included in BT Together Option 2 and 3, BT Together Local Calls Option or Evening and Weekend UK geographic calls of up to an hour for Option 1 customers for which a charge of 5.5p per call will apply.

The new call set-up fee will apply to all customers on the Light User Scheme (LUS). The LUS rental rebate and threshold will be adjusted in the customer's favour to ensure customers continue to benefit from these services and that their bills do not increase by more than the rate of inflation as a result. For customers on In-Contact Plus, the 10p minimum call charge will be replaced by the 3p call set-up fee. More details on this can be found at bt.com/pricing.

Landline-to-mobile Price Changes
From 1st October 2006, BT will simplify its landline-to-mobile rates for residential customers by introducing just three rates which will replace existing landline-to-mobile tariffs. Landline-to-mobile rates during the Daytime will be 13ppm (inc VAT), during the Evenings, they will be 8ppm and during the Weekend, they will be 5ppm (inc VAT). These rates will apply for calls to ALL mobile networks (except Hutchinson 3G) and will make it easier for you to manage your calls. Not only does this change make our pricing easier to understand but also ensures our prices remain among the most competitive in the market.

Reductions in 0870 and 0845 rates
From 1st October 2006, the call rates for residential customers making 0870 calls will be reduced to 7ppm from 7.51ppm in the daytime, reduced to 3.69ppm from 3.75ppm in the evening and remain at 1.50ppm at the weekend. 3p set-up fee applies. Also, the call rates for residential customers making 0845 calls will be reduced to 0.5ppm from 1.5ppm at the weekend and will remain the same at 3ppm in the daytime and remain the same at 1ppm in the evening. This change will mean our 0870 call rates are among the most competitive in the market.

Whole Minute Charging
From 1st October 2006, each call will be rounded up to the next whole minute for national and local geographic calls, international calls and landline-to-mobile calls. Minute rounding will not be applied to NTS calls or premium rate service calls and existing rounding rules will apply to these numbers. Calls made by In-Contact Plus customers will also be subject to this pricing, as will calls made by LUS customers. The LUS rental rebate and threshold will be adjusted in the customer's favour to ensure customers continue to benefit from these services. Other calls like 5.5p Evening and Weekend geographic UK calls on BT Together Option 1, any calls made within the inclusive calls packages on BT Together Option 2 and 3 and BT Together Local Calls Option will not be affected. For full details of which call types will be charged by the whole minute, visit bt.com/pricing.

More info here.

bbb_uk wrote on Jul 31^st, 2006 at 6:41pm:



So a connected call to an answering service will cost 3p + whatever pence per minute. Indeed, the minimum call charge will still apply in so much as it will be 3p + the amount for the first minute. If calls on Option 1 stay at 3p/min in the daytime, that's a 3p minimum charge. As usual, what appears at first to be good, is in fact a disguised increase of 0.5p per call that lasts 1 minute or less.

This is disgusting and only happens because of the completely weak regulation that we have come to expect here in the UK. A 1 minute 1 second call will cost the same as 2 minutes! In the days of mechanical phone systems I could acept this, but in today's high-tech electronic age, there's no excuse. 

The industry is always busy devising ways of lessening pricing transparancy. I believe that the elderly, especially, will not understand the difference between billing to the nearest second and to the nearest minute.

jrawle wrote on Jul 31^st, 2006 at 7:15pm:

Whole minute charging will not apply to 08 NTS.

Whole minute charging is just another tool in BT's arsenal which is pushing low users up the scale. Those on BT Together Option 1 are now even more likely to consider moving up to Option 2 or 3 or move to another provider. The point is that the price differential between the packages is now closing because the cost of basic line rental has been pushed up that much. At the same time, the higher packages are falling.

Dave wrote on Jul 31^st, 2006 at 7:10pm:
I never spotted that as I never read the "Whole Minute Charging" thing.

It does appear that effectively, a very quick call or the call answered by voicemail could, depending on time of day, cost 6p (3p connection fee + 3p for the first minute).

Although this doesn't include NTS numbers, I do believe overtime they will.