A new survey carried out by BMRB on behalf of uSwitch.com suggests that consumers could save some £5 billion over the UK by switching to an alternative supplier. Each consumer could save an average of £163 on his or her annual phone bill.

Seven in ten Britons (73 per cent) have never used an alternative home phone provider - missing out on substantial savings on their home phone bills revealed independent household bills comparison service, uSwitch.com after the survey.

And of the 73 per cent, nearly four in ten (39 per cent) said they were confused about which supplier offers the best deal and a third weren’t convinced they could save money.

Andrew Salmon, uSwitch.com managing director, commented, “It is astonishing how many people still haven’t switched onto saving money on their home phone bills – it is one of the easiest ways of reducing household expenses. Home phone providers are clearly relying on consumer inertia and ignorance.”

Researchers also discovered that the three most important factors in choosing a home phone provider are:

• Cheaper bills (65 per cent).
• Being reliable and trustworthy (55 per cent).
• Quality of service (47 per cent).

And contrary to BT’s recent marketing campaign, just under a fifth of consumers (19 per cent) are concerned about receiving simpler bills. In addition, four in ten Britons mistakenly think that BT is the cheapest for making international phone calls – when in fact it is among the most expensive.

For example, a family who makes a ten minute call to Australia one evening a week would pay £4.19 per call (41.92 pence/minute) if they were on the BT Standard plan. The same call with One.Tel, Telco or Tiscali would cost 40 pence (4 pence per minute). This is a saving of £3.79 per call, or £197 over the course of a year. Consumers can also save by switching to a cheaper BT plan.

Salmon added, “BT is a household name and a British institution but consumers shouldn’t be swayed by this. Instead they should be looking to switch providers where appropriate and save money.”

It is worth noting, that half of those who were surveyed said it would be worth switching phone suppliers if they could save up to £75 on their annual bill – the good news is they can. Those who switch suppliers generally save at least 25 per cent – the equivalent of one quarterly bill.

Other findings:

• Scrutinising home phone bills ranks second to checking bank statements. While 41 per cent of people scrutinise their bank statements, just 15 per cent of the population keeping a beady eye on their phone bills, while 11 per cent study their gas and electricity bills carefully.
• More women (13 per cent) than men (2 per cent) think the worst time to receive a call is during soaps such as Coronation Street and EastEnders.
• But nearly a third of men (31 per cent) said the worst time was when they were in bed compared to a quarter of women (25 per cent) and 13 per cent of men said the worst time to receive a call is during football or sport.
• Astonishingly, 75 per cent of Britons said they would answer the phone even if it rang at the worst time.

Salmon comments: “Despite the surge of popularity of mobile phones, it is clear that consumers regard the home phone as an essential part of their household and perhaps even as a lifeline. They would do well to shake off their inertia and start asking questions about who is the best home phone supplier to suit their needs."

"Consumers should go to the only Oftel-accredited website, uSwitch.com, to compare packages and prices of home phone suppliers and find the cheapest deal."

To see how much you could save go to www.uswitch.com