Most tariffs are on a pay for what you use basis, most inclusive minutes packages are aimed at the domestic market. You could save up to 40% on calls.
Here are some things to look out for:
- Service – How easy is it to add a service or log a fault?
- Per second billing – These days most calls should be billed by the second.
- Cost per minute – How much are calls to land lines, mobiles and if relevant international destinations.
- Minimum call charges – This is the minimum amount you will pay even if the call is only for 1 second if there is a minimum charge.
- Call setup charges – This is a charge made whether the call is 1 second or 1 hour. These are less common and mostly charged by BT nowadays.
- Call capping – A small charge made up to the first hour, for example 10p for up to 60 minutes. The average business call is 2.4 minutes so call capping is not necessarily a good thing as charges can be high for the first few minutes.
- Bills – If you need it, are bills itemised, do you have to pay for itemisation? Calls are normally billed for in arrears.
- Contract term – This could be anything from rolling monthly to 5 years. Long term contracts often have penalties if you want to get out of them. Fixing call charges for a long period is not necessarily a saving as to date and generally they have been regularly reduced.
- Rate reviews – Will you get tariff rate reviews?
