BT Payphones raise minimum call charge

[m419]

BT Payphones has increased the minimum call charge of its public street and some indoor public payphones.

It has risen from 40p to 60p.

It is a lot if you just want to make a short call to a landline but it is good news for those wanting to make a 30 minute/half an hour call to a landline anywhere in the UK. 60p for a half an hour phone call is equivalent to paying 2p per minute. That is cheaper than BT and Virgin's weekend plan for calling landlines during the week.

Spectrum Interactive will probably follow as they too also focus mostly on the actual payphone service.

10p minimum call charge and 5p coin acceptance!
Infocus Public Networks (Infolines) on the other hand focuses mostly on advertising and street media, the minimum call charge is currently 10p,there payphones also take 5p coins unlike any other payphone service in the UK.

---------- Post added at 20:42 ---------- Previous post was at 20:38 ----------

No changes have been made to BT Chargecard or BT Ring-Me-Free service

[Turkey Machine]

Blimey, 5 years ago it used to be 20 pence a minute. Cash cow BT.

[v0id]

BT payphones still exist? They took the last ones down around here around 5 years ago

[Matthew]

Last I knew it was 20p!!

I cannot remember the last time I used a pay phone but my mate did call me on one last year when she had ran out of credit!

[Kymmy]

No wonder all the payphone round here have got the cash boxes either ripped open or missing!!!!

Strange for a small village but I suppose they're easier targets in rural areas

[m419]

Originally Posted by Kymmy

No wonder all the payphone round here have got the cash boxes either ripped open or missing!!!!

Strange for a small village but I suppose they're easier targets in rural areas

BT have done it, they are going for removal.

There is no reason to suggest that payphones do not make money, in some places i've seen queues for phone boxes.

BT just don't want to operate them simple as. Apart from that about 20% of payphone revenue comes from the 'payphone access charge' the revenue obtained from customers calling freephone numbers, when people ring 0500,0800 and 0808 numbers, the owner of that number has to pay the payphone company 8.5p per minute.

Many people using calling cards or simply using payphones to avoid being charged for calling freephone numbers from there mobile is a good revenue source for payphone operators.

BT requested non-uniform relaxation of its rules set by Ofcom a while ago regarding its payphones. So in some areas you could see the minimum call ranging from 20p to £1.

Here is how it has changed:

2001: Minimum Call charge 10p changed to 20p
2004: Minimum call charge reset to 30p and new tariff brought out
2007: Minimum Call charge increased to 40p
2008: Request for non-uniform pricing
2010: Minimum Call charge 60p for most payphones.

Infolines/Infocus kept the 20p minimum call charge until around 2009 and then reduced it to 10p on a different tariff as it rolled out its brand new disabled access solar powered kiosks.

[Stuart]

Payphones may well make money, but clearly not enough if BT want rid..

[m419]

The problem is BT's existing kiosks are only commercially viable in cities and towns, todays payphone revenue comes from high paid advertising and 0800 access as well as short-60p phone calls.

The kiosks themselves are coming to a point where they need replacing as most were installed between 1980 and 1995. The traditional red kiosks were installed between 1940 and 1975. This means by reducing the number of on-street kiosks, the less amount of money will be needed to refurbish or replace the kiosks. In 2005 there was 76,000 now there is around 65,000.

BT also is not allowed to remove kiosks just like that, they have to do a consultation and involve the local council and if refused, BT will have to keep the kiosk in place.

BT sometimes removes kiosks purely because of heavy vandalism too this is another problem that everyone has to suffer because of certain individuals who go around trashing the place at other peoples expense.

[AndyCambs]

I can remember when it was 6d to call.
Mind you - I suppose with the proliferation of cell phones now, there's much much fewer people using call boxes.
I do tend to agree that the OFCOM rules need updating. Whilst BT was the only provider then it had an obligation to provide call boxes - but with all the other telecom providers, the burden should be shared according to market share.

[Hom3r]

I haven't used a payphone for nearly 15 years

[Halcyon]

Although you can now spend 30 minutes on the phone how many people actually want to sit in a phone box for half an hour? Not me.

I have had to use a pay phone when I forget my mobile to quickly call home or a friend but found that even 40p is expensive for a quick 2 minute call.

The days when 10p was all you needed is sadly gone.

[Paul M]

Payphones ?

Do people still actually use these things ... wow.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by triggerfish

when your mobile battery is dead, you do what for a taxi?

Or perhaps more importantly, what do you do when your mobile is dead (or has little/no signal) and you encounter someone who is injured, perhaps seriously?

[Gary L]

I remember when it was a 2p slot and a 5p or a 10p slot on the phone boxes.

if I lost or forgot my mobile I wouldn't know what number to call as they're all in the phone.

[Hom3r]

Originally Posted by Gary L

I remember when it was a 2p slot and a 5p or a 10p slot on the phone boxes.

if I lost or forgot my mobile I wouldn't know what number to call as they're all in the phone.

Now you are showing your age

I remember the 2p slot aswell

As I said in a previous post it was 15 years since I last used a payphone, and it was in Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth, phoning my sister to let her know how we where getting on.