Originally Posted by USA_flyer
I've used budgetcom and alpha telecom.
Budgetcom is great if you're at home. Calls work out at 1 penny a minute + a 5p connection charge. As it's an 0845 number it's not idea to use it from a payphone as you'll pay about 10p a minute, or a British cellphone where you'll pay about the same.
Alpha telecom has an 0800 number which is great for payphones as (as I recall) still allow free 0800 calls and cellphones if you have a plan with lots of free minutes through it 020 number. The lines are always crystal clear and there is a decent customer service line. With their pre-paid US card it works out at about 3 pence a minute and for the line clarity it's an extra couple of pennie well spent.
I looked through the alphatelecom.com website and couldn't find ANYTHING mentioning 0800 (freephone) access. You either dial 020 (London) or 0845 (local rate) AND THEN pay for the call on top of that.
Why do this when you use the 0845 number I've posted and pay nothing on top of this? It works out at half the price, and there's certainly no connection charge!.
I was using a similar system to AlphaTelecom until someone at FT told me about TD - why not try it first and have AT as a back up?
.Here's the FT thread where I got the advice: