It used to be double glazing.

Then it was electric and gas supplies.

Now it’s call traffic.

How many calls do you get a day trying to sell you cheaper calls? It drives me mad. They always open with the same line as well - “We can save you x% on your calls".

Well no, you can’t. Because we’ve already switched, and we’re not interested in switching again just yet.

However annoying these calls are, it’s worth remembering a few things:
1) You do want to switch. It’s unlikely you want to stay with BT. Even if you’re on “commitment” it’s unlikely to be the cheapest option.
2) You want a 1st tier carrier, unless you want to sound like you’re calling from Mars.
3) You need to read the small print. A lot of cheap carriers sting you on “minimum call” or “call setup” charges (which are similar, but not the same thing).
4) You need to review regularly. 3 months max. Things change a lot around here.
5) Prices are usually volume related - the more calls you make the less you pay.

If you don’t know about this then there’s two ways to go: Least cost routing and carrier pre-select (which is technically a type of least cost routing). See my glossary for details.

So, it’s cheaper in bulk and you need to shop around regularly. I’m thinking that there’s lots of operations/call centre/telecoms managers who put time into this regularly. That’s when it occured to me we should get together and start a call traffic co-operative.

That way only one person needs to keep an eye on the market and move everyones’ lines when there is a better deal. Between all the CCV members we should have good spending power - and that’s got to mean a good deal. Especially for the smaller centres.

Comments, as usual, would be gratefully accepted!

DB