Calling KCOM customers to be aware

KCOM sent me a letter stating that my packages are changing from November 14.

They quoted my current one at about £34 per month, their new nearest one at £39 per month (with unlimited GB), plus a reduced cost one for 100Gb at £30 per month. (Not Lightstream, but that’s presumably similar).

This letter looked tempting since we typically only use about 30Gb per month, but on closer inspection the landline calls were PAYG.

My grouses are on behalf of the many who use the internet, but are not as adept as needed nowadays. ■■1 - Not everyone knows that PAYG means “Pay As You Go”, in other words, you pay for each individual call. ■■2 - To find the PAYG rate for local (and other) calls on the KCOM web site was not easy.

■■3 - The PAYG rate is a massive

15p per minute. This means that the apparent saving of £9 per month (£38 to £29) can be used by only speaking for two minutes a day! Phone users in Hull have for all their lives been used to “free” local calls. Many people (especially in these Covid days) speak for long periods

on the phone, maybe for an hour. That long call alone would cost £9. ■■4 - So my fourth grouse is that KCOM do not explain PAYG nor state the 15p per minute rate in the letter.

Many of those not too well off, nor very computer savvy (particularly the elderly) will be attracted to the cheapest option, little knowing they are falling into a trap.

There is a 30 day “cooling off” period, but it is unlikely that a higher than expected bill will have been recognised. So you are committed. ■■Grouse 5 - You have little option but to accept the stated annual price rise of 3.9 per cent plus CPI, ie at least 6 per cent a year on current forecasts.

Of course, there will be some mobile phone users with unlimited calls who could benefit. And they should understand PAYG.

David Walker, Anlaby.