CABLE company ntl has defended its policy on telephone line rental charges following complaints from customers.

The company, in Stockton-on-Tees, says it is realigning its charges after taking over a number of smaller operators.

Telephone customers have complained of successive rises in rental costs.

Pensioner Brenda Tingate, of Swinburne Road, Darlington, wrote to The Northern Echo after learning that she would be paying £8.50 a month for line rental from April.

The cost has already gone up by £2.50 and will go up another £1 next month.

She said: "As a pensioner I find myself having to cut corners in many areas and find it annoying when ntl have increased their standing charges for telephone line rentals twice within six months.

"I only use my phone occasionally and I am now thinking of getting a mobile and telling ntl what to do with their telephone line."

Debbie Calgie, of ntl, said they were aiming to ensure all customers paid the same for the service they received.

She said: "If people feel they can get a better deal from someone else they can shop around, but more often than not, if they go, for instance, to someone like BT, they will still find it will cost more."

The firm has about 157,000 customers in Darlington, Cleveland, Teesside, and Hartlepool, and offers telephone, television and Internet services.