Cut £516 off your phone bill this year!

Find out how to pay less for your home phone and cut your call costs in six super easy steps.

If you think that any calls you make after 6pm will automatically be counted as off-peak, think again.

From Tuesday, TalkTalk & Sky are changing their off-peak hours to 7pm to 7am, effectively increasing the cost of phoning between 6pm and 7pm (and decreasing the cost of phoning between 6am and 7am). BT has already made this change. At the same time, they have hiked the cost of 'peak' daytime calls by up to 26%, with BT and TalkTalk now charging 5.9p and Sky charging 5.8p.

That might not sound much, but if you make 2 hours of calls each week between 6pm and 7pm, at a cost of 5.9p a minute, you will now have to pay an extra £7.08 a week, or a whopping £368 over a year.

The good news is, you do have other options when it comes to your landline. And with more than 170 landline suppliers fighting each other hard to win your business with the cheapest deal, now is the time to cash in on an increasingly competitive market. So, with that in mind, follow these six super easy steps to cut your phone bill:

1. Switch your landline

According to Consumer Choices, we’re wasting over £350 million every year by forgetting to shop around for a better deal on line rental and call charges. In fact, 53% of you haven’t switched in the last five years, so you’ll probably find you’re paying well over the odds now.

There are lots of comparison websites - such as HomePhoneChoices and FirstHelpline to name just two - which can help you find the cheapest landline deal. But, don’t forget, you may be able to save even more money with a bundle that offers line rental, broadband and perhaps TV together as a single package, so check these out too.

FirstHelpline reckon you can save around 35% off a typical annual bill of £330. That’s a saving of £115 a year just for taking the time to switch to a better call plan.

Saving: £115 a year if you switch every 12 months.

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2. Choose a deal which suits you best

Think about how you normally use your landline before you commit to a new contract. Do you tend to make most of your calls at certain times of the day? Do you make a lot of international calls to friends and family overseas? (Although, you may be able to make significant savings by making international calls over the internet) Or, do you regularly call mobiles from your landline?

Make sure you choose a package which offers the most competitive call charges based on your own usage. A good home phone comparison website should help you to identify the best deal depending on how you use your phone and how many calls you usually make.  

3. Pay by direct debit and choose paperless billing

Paying your bill by direct debit and choosing online paperless billing can actually be a fair bit cheaper. Moving to direct debit payments alone could save you as much as £5 a month.

For example, a BT landline currently costs £11.54 a month, but you’ll be charged with an extra £1.50 if you don’t pay by direct debit. You’ll also be hit with another charge of £1.25 if you don’t sign up to paperless billing. That increases the total monthly cost to £14.29, but taking these simple measures can save you £33 a year.

Saving: £33 a year

4. Check the small print

If you’re still tied into a 12 or 18 month contract with your current landline, you could be hit with exit fees if you switch early. You’ll need to check out whether the savings you’ll make by switching will be more than enough to compensate for any charges you might incur as a result of moving to a new supplier.

5. Check when you can call off-peak

You can make huge savings on your phone bill by making the most of cheap or free calls at off-peak times. Just make sure you check out exactly when these hours apply, and try to avoid making calls outside these times if at all possible.

Remember, your supplier can alter peak and off-peak times whenever they choose. If you make lots of calls between 6pm and 7pm, don't put up with BT, Sky and TalkTalk charging you more. Switch to Primus' Home Saver package, which includes weekend calls and evening calls from 6pm if you sign up via comparison site Homephonechoices. Alternatively, just threaten to switch and see if you get offered a better deal from your current provider.

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You may also want to consider using Skype for free web-to-web calls during peak hours or dialling a no-frills package provider 18185 before each call.

Saving: £368 a year if you don't make calls via BT and TalkTalk before 7pm.

6. Do you really need a landline?

Finally, ask yourself whether you really need a landline nowadays. I know I use my home phone significantly less than I used to now that I’ve got so many free minutes to use as part of my mobile phone contract.

Of course, many of you still need a landline for your broadband connection, but why not consider mobile broadband as an alternative? That way, there may be no need for a phone line at your home at all. Take a look at Save £132 with a dongle to find out whether this could be a good choice for you. You can even pay for mobile broadband on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) or pay-per-day basis if you don’t want sign up to a lengthy contract.

Saving: £138 a year based on BT line rental at £11.54 a month.

Total savings: £516 a year or £138 if you ditch your landline.

More: 3 ways to save on your mobile bill | The best-value iPhone tariffs