Some interesting points to note.

It is odd that little is made of the fact that the charges for the Talk Anytime package and for Line Rental are NOT CHANGING.

The 15% increase to the charge for Talk Evenings and Weekends and the roughly 14% increase to the cost of non-inclusive calls to geographic rate numbers means that many more customers will be attracted to Talk Anytime. As with BT, the high penalty charges for out of package calls mean that even if one only makes a few daytime calls regularly, the Anytime package is still worthwhile. The change in the definition of daytime, extending it to 7pm, means that those who make what they saw as being early evening calls may have to reconsider their position.

This further increase in the penalty charges must help to reinforce the point that the normal (marginal) charge for a call to a 01/02/03 number is zero. This is obviously less than that for a call to a 084 number, as none of these are included in the VM Talk Plans.


The rates for calls to 084 numbers remain unchanged, except that the change to the connection fee is reflected on calls to 0844/3 numbers. The increase to the penalty charge does not alter the position with regard to which 0844/3 numbers are more expensive than an equivalent call to a 01/02/03 number if subject to the penalty charge, although the differences change.

The fact that 0845 calls are subject to a special reduced connection fee does have an impact on the relative cost of these, as against non-inclusive daytime calls to 01/02/03 numbers. The 0845 rate per minute remains higher - even though the difference has reduced, but there is a lower connection fee - now even more so. Currently, a daytime call of over 1 minute to a 0845 number is more expensive than a equivalent call to a 01/02/03 number, if not included in a package - the difference in the connection fee is quickly overtaken. From 1 April a call to 0845 number will be cheaper than that for an equivalent call subject to the penalty charge on durations of up to 14 minutes. (It now takes much longer for the reduced difference in the pence per minute rate to overtake the increased difference in the connection fee.)


I have to address these odd cases, because some still mistakenly believe that they are the norm. BT has declared that its Anytime Call Plan is now the most widely-used. I will try to get some figures out of VM, but we can be confident that once customers come to understand the effect of the 1 April changes then Talk Anytime can only gain a higher proportion.

We can argue over whether the various rates are fair, however I am very happy with the idea that we pay for our normal calls through a fixed monthly fee and only pay for individual calls when something unusual is going on. I am happy with the fact that those who do not make calls during the weekday daytime pay a lesser fee, but we must never confuse the penalty charge they pay for doing so (after having benefited from the lower fee) with any concept of a "standard" charge.


There are still too many people who think that Unlimited Call Plans (BT) and Talk Plans (VM) are some sort of special arrangement for those who make lots of calls. This is untrue - these are the standard offerings.

We should be discussing these standard items quite separately from obsolete items, such as "Talk ... Local", and exceptional items such as Talk Off Peak. The Talk Anywhere packages should also be treated very differently, because these are pre-paid bundles of numbers of minutes, a quite different animal to the "Unlimited" plans. There are also other special packages available from VM under particular circumstances, which should not be allowed to confuse the issue. Some may think that having to go into all of this detail makes it too confusing anyway.

Heinz wrote on Feb 8^th, 2012 at 4:52pm:

The astonishment may be tempered by noting that these further adjustments are all part of the trend to encourage callers to subscribe to Talk Anytime , which, along with the charge for Line Rental , has not increased.


As I stated above, Talk Off Peak and Talk Evenings and Weekends Local are now obsolete, so it makes sense for customers to be encouraged to move over to current tariffs. Some may think that a marked price increase is better than abolition!

The reduction in the discount offered to those who continue to make weekday evening, but not daytime, calls (Talk Evenings and Weekends ) seems a little unfair, especially as the discount offered to those who only make calls at Weekends has been retained. The fact that the "Evening" has been reduced by one hour , means that this option is now likely to be found less attractive by many. Those in the habit of making calls between 6 and 7 will find a most significant increase in their phone bill, unless they change their Talk Plan or their behaviour.

The increase in the Penalty charge for non-inclusive weekday calls (both the rate and the connection fee ) simply highlights the need for customers to choose their package carefully, noting that the normal cost of calls to 01/02/03 numbers is zero - but if you choose the wrong package then you will pay far too much. One must assume that more people will now start to get the message.

The increase in what will come to be known as part of the "Access Charge" for calls to 084 (and other NTS) numbers, i.e. the Connection Fee , further strengthens the argument against those who use these numbers inappropriately.


In the absence of a proper and sensitive scheme of exemption for those who genuinely do not use the internet, the charge for paper billing is wholly improper and made to look even more so by adjusting it. I can understand how some services may be offered on special terms available only to internet users, but this cannot be true in this case.

(There is more detail in my previous posting, but I hope that this may be clearer.)

ihate0845 wrote on Apr 12^th, 2012 at 2:07pm:

They are referred to as "penalty charges" because they are essentially a penalty for making calls outside of the terms of the inclusive package.

This has come about due to the combined effect of steep increase in "per minute" call charges of non-inclusive calls and the reduction in the cost of inclusive calls packages.

Penalty charges exist with mobile services. When you have used up all your bundled minutes, you will pay a penalty charge; that is a relatively high rate and this is so as to incentivise you to move to a package which includes the calls you are likely to make.


ihate0845 wrote on Apr 12^th, 2012 at 2:07pm:

This is of course what a consumer driven market is about; consumer choice.

For those who make many calls to landlines whilst at home, the inclusive package may be worthwhile. This is because there are no limits on the number of calls whereas mobile packages invariably do have a finite limit.

For example, if you make many minutes of calls to landlines from your mobile whilst at home, the additional cost of those minutes on your mobile package may exceed the additional cost of the inclusive option for your landline.


ihate0845 wrote on Apr 12^th, 2012 at 2:07pm:

I do hope that the cost of connecting calls to mobiles will fall so that the cost of individual calls falls more on the mobile users. This may cause some to think whether it is really worth ditching the landline.

derrick wrote on Apr 13^th, 2012 at 9:23am:

I'd have to pay for 11 miles of cable from the nearest town which has a cable installation!