- New tariff for pensioners criticised by Age Concern Jersey
- JT say that on average, long-term costs should reduce under new proposals
- Existing customers allowed to remain on original ‘PrimeTalk’ service
- ‘Senior Home Service’ introduced to reduce operating costs for JT
JERSEY’S largest telecoms company has defended a new low-cost telephone tariff for pensioners which it plans to introduce this month after it received criticism from a Jersey charity for the elderly.
From 31 July, over-65s will no longer be able to register for JT’s low-cost PrimeTalk service, which the company says is heavily subsidised and costs them £1.2 million a year to provide.
Those turning 65 on or after 31 July will instead be able to join the new Senior Home Service (SHS) plan, which will use the mobile network rather than landlines to reduce operating costs for JT.
But the plans have faced criticism from Age Concern Jersey chairman Daphne Minihane, who fears that revised charges under the new scheme will cost pensioners more.
‘On PrimeTalk it costs you seven pence to use the phone for half an hour and it is going to cost two pence per minute on the Senior Home Service,’ she said.
‘A lot of pensioners use the telephone to stay in connection with their friends and families and so they are often on the phone for a long time. I think the cost will go up for them.’
She added that while she understood that pensioners already registered to PrimeTalk would be able to continue using the service, she believed the denial of further entrants to the scheme would create a two-tier system.
JT’s chief relationship officer, Tim Ringsdore, said: ‘PrimeTalk has previously been open to all, regardless of their financial status, and that does now need to change, as it is so heavily subsidised.
‘We have kept Age Concern fully up to date on changes to the PrimeTalk tariff, and will continue to do that.’
He added that research carried out by JT indicated that the average call time for PrimeTalk users was less than five minutes, and because SHS customers would not pay the monthly line rental of £1.99 – like PrimeTalk customers – their average costs should work out lower, at £3.20 a month rather than £4.44 a month for PrimeTalk customers.
SHS customers will, however, have to buy a new £34 mobile handset to use the service – but JT have agreed that this can be paid off interest-free for £1.50 a month over two years.
