Phone customers ‘not benefiting’ from switching
Consumers could save as much as two-thirds on their phone bills by switching their supplier, according to research published by the National Audit Office (NAO) today.
The Government’s public spending watchdog claimed that customers are unaware of the savings they could make by switching the supplier of their phone lines.
The NAO points out that consumers could save as much as a two thirds of the cost of national peak time calls and called on the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) to raise consumer awareness about the benefits of switching.
The report highlights that whilst BT is cheaper for off-peak national calls and phoning a mobile telephone at off-peak times during the weekend, its competitors charge less than a quarter of what BT does for international calls.
The report found that even though 96% of customers were satisfied with their fixed line services most were ‘not prepared’ to switch to a supplier they were not familiar with.
BT still controls a majority of the UK’s fixed line market (70%) but it has to compete with two cable phone operators and over 200 indirect access providers who use BT’s network.
The NAO also highlighted that the large range of discount schemes and tariffs made it difficult for consumers to calculate the best service that would suit them.
The NAO called on the regulator, Oftel, to take a more proactive role in the promotion of the benefits of switching similar to the encouragement given by the gas and electricity watchdog, Ofgem.
The NAO’s report highlights that 68% of customers have not changed their supplier over a two-year period and 77% of consumers could not name a telecoms supplier other than BT.
