If you would like to see whether you could be saving money on your telephone bill and have access to the Internet, read on…

On 16 June 2003, after passing a series of thorough checks (including a site visit by independent auditors), uSwitch.com became the first telephone price comparison website to be awarded the Oftel PASS.

What is the Oftel PASS?

Towards the end of 2002, Oftel launched a new scheme – the Oftel Price Assurance Standard – to give consumers confidence in telecoms price comparisons.

The Oftel PASS logo, displayed on a price comparison website, gives consumers the assurance that they will be able to compare prices easily and accurately whilst shopping around for the best deal. Oftel only awards the Oftel PASS to websites meeting strict criteria. Amongst other things, price information must be accurate, up-to-date and impartial, and the design of the website must take into account the needs of users with disabilities.

uSwitch.com’s ‘home phone’ website

Key features of the website include:

• free to use;
• price comparisons from over 20 different telephone companies;
  
• frequent checks and updates of prices and comparisons;
  
• a search for price comparisons based on your postcode; and
• a dedicated customer service phone line, and a freephone number that you can call for more information and advice.

Examples of potential savings

A consumer spending around £70 a month (on mainly local/national calls) could save up to £14 a quarter - ie around 20% of their bill, by choosing the cheapest package available.

For consumers who regularly make international calls, even bigger savings may be available. For example, a consumer spending 2 hours a month calling the US may be able to save over £60 a quarter by choosing the cheapest operator available.

Visit the http://www.uswitch.com and click on ‘home phone’ to see whether you could be saving money by switching to another phone company.

Oftel welcomes applications for the Oftel PASS from other high quality price comparison websites. For more information about the Oftel PASS, see http://www.oftel.gov.uk/consumer/for/price_compare/index.htm