Phone providers have hiked up their prices twice in the past year, but there are still savings to be made.

HOME phone users have been smacked on both sides of the face this year, with price hikes in April and again in October. Yet now it’s time to smile: we’ve just seen the launch of the cheapest ever line rental deal – at nearly half most others’ cost.

BT and TalkTalk’s price rises have left many paying £150 to £160 a year for line rental alone.

Frustratingly, this inflation has come when far fewer people are using their landline to make calls. Many now prefer to use mobiles and keep a landline for emergencies and broadband access.

There is no need to pay such sums. It’s important to remember that whoever you pay for line rental, the actual wires remain the same.

Apart from cable companies, pretty much all the phone providers rely on a line provided by BT, even though deregulation means a different company bills you.

Therefore, the only real change isn’t to the line, but that calls are routed through a different provider’s system – and savings can be serious.

Line rental £7.99 a month

The new cheapest deal is just £7.99 a month with inclusive evening and weekend calls, working out at £96 a month. That’s £70 cheaper than line rental from one of the big boys.

To get it, you need to sign up to a year’s contract on Primus Home Phone Saver tariff; the best way is via the Homephonechoices website.

If you sign up directly with Primus, the deal looks similar, but the contract lasts 18 months and the call costs are slightly higher.

Cheapest BT line rental £9.99 a month

Although the deal from Primus is a good one, I know with phone lines many prefer to stick with a brand they know. If that’s you, it’s possible to cut the cost of being with BT right down if you can afford to pay for a year upfront.

Its Line Rental Saver deal costs £119.88 and includes weekend calls, the equivalent of £9.99 a month. Compared with BT’s standard line rental, even paying by direct debit at £13.29, this is a £40 annual saving.

To put this in context, provided you’re not in debt, you’re far better paying up front for your phone bill than sticking it in the bank.

There’s nowhere you’d earn £40 for £120 over a year at today’s rates.

For more options, including those which give some inclusive calls to mobiles and internationally within their line rental deals, or combined with broadband see moneysavingexpert.com/homephones.

Inclusive calls

One quick warning here: when I talk about inclusive weekend and evening calls, don’t assume everything’s all dandy in the garden.

First of all, they only apply to calls made to landlines – calls to mobiles still cost you.

And, just as importantly, they are only free for a set time, with BT it’s the first 60 minutes, with Primus it’s 90 minutes. After that, you can be charged quite a steep rate. So if making long calls, keep your eye on the clock. When you are nearly up to the limit, ask the person you’re calling if they mind you hanging up and redialling – then it remains free.

Slash the costs of specific calls on top

Just because line rental is cheap, it doesn’t mean the cost of individual calls is cheap, though Primus does tend to be slightly cheaper than BT. However, there is a way to substantially reduce many call costs.

The easy way is to open an account with a specialist override provider such as 18185.co.uk.

You dial a prefix number (unsurprisingly, 18185) before making a call. Your call is then routed through its network and its call costs apply, thus overriding your normal provider.

It’s worth noting, override providers are “no frills”, so the reliability may not always be great. If the worst happens and their service isn’t available, you can still make a call using your landline provider.

The savings can be astonishing. On 18185, to call a landline during the day costs just 5p.

That’s not per minute, it’s per call. With BT it’s 6.4p a minute and Primus 3p a minute. In other words, about £4 cheaper for an hour’s daytime calls. Calls to mobiles during the week are often about half the cost of using one of the big boys.

Yet don’t assume override providers can be used with every landline provider.

Some block them, but BT isn’t allowed to under competition rules and I have a written promise from Primus that it won’t do so until at least 2012.

Cut the cost of calling overseas

This is where phone bills can be big money. Of course, the cheapest way is internet-to-internet via services such as Skype as then it’s free.

However, when it comes to calling someone on an actual phone, don’t believe the Skype hype.

Using specialist override providers for each country undercuts paying for calls on Skype. For countries such as the US, Spain and France this can be as little as ½p a minute. To find the cheapest number, I have a regularly-updated tool giving the cheapest for each country at moneysavingexpert.com/callchecker.

Though its prices are for calls from a BT line. Use a different line and costs can vary, so it’s always best to do a short test call, then check the cost on your bill first.

Good deals

★ Free video message from Santa

There’s a website that sends friends and family free personalised online video messages from Santa – incredibly cute for kids and hilarious for adults. Just go to portablenorthpole.tv, answer the questions and upload a photo (optional).

★ Free and cheap flu jabs

Don’t pay £35 for a flu jab. First ask your GP if it’s appropriate, and if you’re entitled to a free injection – many are. Don’t qualify?

Sainsbury’s (0800-636-262), Asda (0844-481- 5000) and Lloyds Pharmacies (0800-389-2578) all offer £8-ish jabs.

Struggling to find stylish clothes?

TALL men struggling to find a stylish outfit for Christmas should head to the new High and Mighty store in Newcastle. The shop caters especially for men who need large sizes and find it difficult to get fashionable clothes that fit.

The shop stocks everything from formal suits, shirts and trousers to jackets, jeans, underwear and shoes (up to size 16). Brands include Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Ted Baker and Raging Bull, the new collection by exrugby player Phil Vickery.

There is also a made-tomeasure service as well as wedding hire and ecofriendly dry cleaning.

■ High and Mighty, 37-39 Grainger Street, Newcastle, highandmighty.co.uk