BT dials up new bargains for callers

British Telecom this week responded to customer complaints and stiffer competition by announcing what it described as "simpler and improved versions" of its BT Together packages. Instead of the present confusing seven different sets of prices, from 1 June there will be just three, a set-up BT claims compares well with mobile text messages and the telephone landlines of cable TV operators.

The new packages will remove per-minute charging at evenings and weekends, and replace local and national calling rates with a single national rate. BT Together customers will be able to chat for up to an hour in the evenings and at weekends for 6p, about half the price of a text message and up to 20 times cheaper than rival voice telephony offers.

Under the first option, the 6p hour plan, for £11.50 a month customers will pay a flat rate of 6p for up to an hour on all evening and weekend UK calls and 3p a minute daytime midweek. BT says this is a 25 per cent saving on its previous price for national calls and "is ideal for those of us who like a proper catch-up on the phone with friends and family at the evenings and weekends".

The second option, at £17.50 a month, has free calls for the first hour at evenings and weekend in the UK. Daytime midweek calls are still 3p a minute. BT said this was aimed at families with teenagers who are always on the phone.

For £28.50 a month, the third option makes all UK calls for the first hour at any time of the day. But these apply only to voice conversations. Internet traffic is charged at prearranged separate rates.

Angus Porter, managing director of BT Retail's consumer division, said: "Customers switching from Telewest will save money with BT every time they pick up the phone, and ntl and One.Tel customers will save on all national calls over a minute, based on present rates. Thirty-minute and one-hour national evening calls with One.Tel cost 78p and £1.53, compared with just 6p under BT Option 1. With the new packages, customers can clearly see the benefits to them and how they compare. People are often misled by our competitors claiming to be cheaper because savings are based on comparisons with our standard rate, rather than with BT Together. We believe our options will not only attract more people back to BT but will appeal to large numbers of new customers."

BT admits a survey of more than a million BT customers turned up many complaints about people not being able to understand their bills. "They told us they wanted simplicity, clarity and better value," a spokeswoman said. "That kicked off our thinking."