Switching Home Phone Providers

Category: Home phone
Date: 1/14/2008

Too many people stay with their same home phone provider purely for convenience. But we're all different and the way we use our home phones all differ too. Did you know that you could save yourself over £220 a year by switching your home phone supplier?

There are over 170 different home phone companies in the UK, and finding the right home phone deal one for you can be a difficult task. However, Moneyfacts has teamed up with the Home Advisory Service to help you slash pounds off your home phone bills. It only takes a few minutes to use and it's completely free, so why not switch your home phone today.

• You will still keep your existing number, unless you decide to switch to cable when your number may be changed.
• You will not be cut off, the only change you will notice will be your bank balance
• If you need an autodialler, the small device that plugs into your phone socket, your new provider will provide this for you free.

Switching to cable (e.g. BT to Virgin Media)

If you want to switch to cable for your home phone calls, you will not be able to use your standard BT line to do so. Your new cable supplier will have to install a cable line into your home, which is usually free of charge. You can then either divert your calls through Carrier Pre-Selection, a prefix number or through an autodialler.

• Pros – you wont have to pay line rental, and you may get free digital channels or a broadband package included
• Cons – you may have to change your number, you will have to enter a contract of at least 12 months, and pay a penalty should you want to get out of it.

Switching back to a standard line (e.g. Virgin Media to BT).

The good news is that most houses across the UK are already hooked up to the BT network. Assuming all of your wires are intact, you will be able to switch back to a standard BT phone line with ease. It usually doesn't need an engineer either.

• Pros – You may be able to keep your number
• Cons - If there is no BT line installed in your house, it costs around £100 to get one installed.

Where to begin…

Within a matter of minutes you could be saving literally hundreds of pounds a year on your home phone bills, all you need to do is answer a few simple questions.

Start by entering your postcode – this lets us check what suppliers operate in your area. You will then be asked a few detailed questions on your current supplier, to compare your existing plan with other deals available:

• We need to know who your call provider is
• What call plan you are on
• How you pay your call provider
• Who your line rental provider is
• How you pay your line rental provider
• How you would like to pay in the future

Then we will need to know your usage. A copy of a recent phone bill will help to determine this. You will then be given a full list of all the home phone companies for you, ranked strictly in the order of the savings you can make. With the Home Advisory Service, you can be sure that all of the prices quoted are the same as those going to the supplier, so are entirely impartial, accurate and up-to-date.

• Once you have confirmed your switch your details will be passed on to your new supplier who will set up your account and contact you to finalise your switch.
• Your new supplier will let your old one that they are switching, and will charge you from the date you do
• Once you have paid off any outstanding debt to your old provider, you'll be free to start enjoying lower cost home phone calls.

Related Links:

• Compare Home Phone Deals