TALKTALK is set to start charging customers an extra £24 a year for its service that automatically blocks cold callers. From November 1, the phone provider will add £2 a month to bills for customers who opt in for the Anonymous Caller Reject feature. The service stops nuisance and scam calls by screening incoming callers who try to hide their numbers and blocks them. There have been nearly three billion unsolicited calls, texts and emails in the last year — equivalent to 50 for every UK adult. But as it blocks calls from all hidden numbers, many customers choose not to use the service in case a wanted call is accidentally filtered out. Last year, TalkTalk boasted that the service blocked around 147,000 calls a week in 2017. HERE are some tips from consumer group Which? on how to stop annoying nuissance callers: Up until now, it was one of only two remaining home phone providers, alongside SSE, who offered the service for free after scrapping charges in 2014. From November, it is also going to start charging customers another £2 a month for its Call Divert Service which lets you forward calls to another number. So a customer who opts in for both services could see their bills go up by another £48 a year. Affected customers should have already received an email or letter about the new charges giving them a 30 day notice. But there is still time to opt out of the service by logging in to your online account. If you go to the My Services section and click on Manage home phone Boots then you can untick the box next to where it says Anonymous Caller Reject. Hit save to update the changes and you shouldn't see the charges on your bill. HEALTH FOODWhat are Tesco's coronavirus opening hours for NHS workers? ALL SYSTEMS COTesco opening times today as nation is told to shop 'infrequently' TIMES TABLESupermarket opening times: what time do Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Aldi open? SUN SAVERSReaders give their tips for how to spruce up your garden for less SLOT LOTTERYVulnerable shoppers still can’t book delivery slots with supermarkets MOR TO COMEMorrisons extends opening hours so customers can shop during quieter times Of all the providers who charge for the service, TalkTalk is the cheapest, after Virgin Media who charge £2.70 a month. The most expensive is BT who charge £6.50 a month. Customers will see the extra charged added to their first bill in November which will fall on the 1 or 8 depending on when they pay it. A spokesperson for TalkTalk told The Sun: "We are constantly making major investments in improving our broadband network, products and services to ensure we deliver the best customer experience. "While making such improvements has meant that the pricing of some calling features has changed, we still offer a suite of other features for free while other major providers charge for them. "TalkTalk customers can continue to benefit from free calling and privacy features including CallSafe, voicemail, last caller barring and caller display while making a saving of £306 over 18 months in comparison to BT." In September, new rules came into place for cold callers who pester Brits without consent who now risk being slapped with a £500,000 fine. Last year just 22 penalties were issued to firms who repeatedly targeted people with cold calling and texts in 2016. We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at money@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 78 24516. Don't forget to join the Sun Money's Facebook group for the latest bargains and money-saving advice.
TalkTalk is introducing a charge for its cold call blocking feature, adding £2 ($2.6) per month to the bill of customers who opt to use the service from 1 November. The charge is the lowest of all providers that charge for nuisance call screening, although SSE still offer the service free of charge. TalkTalk is also bringing in a £2 monthly charge for its Call Divert Service, adding a total of £48 to the annual cost of phone bills. Customers impacted by the change have been given a 30 day notice, allowing them to cancel the services.