Like BT, TalkTalk has cut line rental to £10.50 per month. It’s ‘Talk2’ calling package, which allows unlimited evening and weekend calls, has been reduced to £3.39 (just 6p below BT’s equivalent package). Talk3, which allows unlimited calls to landlines, has been cut to £7.49 (just 1p below BT).
Utility bill comparison web sites have been having a field day making their comparisons but by and large come out in favour of TalkTalk on cost but most add caveats regarding their poor reputation for service, albeit they cite the broadband debacle of last year when the company underestimated the response to their free broadband offer.
Interestingly, TalkTalk is offering users who switch to their service a £1000 payout if the user can prove their bills would have been cheaper had they stayed with BT.
Meanwhile, Kerry Ritz, Managing Director at Vonage UK has waded in to the pricing debate by telling Comms Business Magazine,
“We always are happy to see old style telephone companies cut their prices as consumers have been paying far too much for their calls for too long. However, this headline grabbing “price war” looks to be another phoney conflict. The vast majority of BTs customers are on the flexible Option 1 rather than it’s more expensive contract based tariffs, a situation it wants to change. They are masking the fact many customers will face major price increases behind a load of noise about headline price cuts. Now TalkTalk has entered the misleading fray and the others can’t be far behind. We can expect a few special offers and pennies off here and there in exchange for a lot more charged elsewhere.
In the end, this is all about moving customers onto the most expensive contract based tariffs they can through punitive pricing changes and a forest of small print. People should be free to choose landline providers without mobile style contracts. Simple, transparent low call costs with no lockdowns and innovative features are what consumers deserve. Another marginal price war will not deliver it”.