BT 'opts in' millions of customers to new £1.75-a-month charges for services that used to be free as call prices are hiked Line rental, calls and broadband prices raised above inflation Customers must act to avoid being charged for previously free 1571 and caller ID services BT has announced it will hit 10m home phone customers with higher line rental and raise call and broadband prices by twice the rate of inflation from January next year. And in a move that could potentially trap millions, BT will 'opt in' users to paid-for services that were previously free so that customers will pay a new £1.75 monthly charge unless they contact the company to cancel. The price hikes represent a significant squeeze on existing customers as BT competes with rivals Sky for the paid-for TV market. In most cases prices are rising by more than twice the current 2.7 per cent rate of inflation and even prices on services such as Timeline - previously known as the Speaking Clock - are being raised. Bills Trouble: BT is making sweeping increases to its prices and risks angering customers with new charges. BT call customers will receive letters in the coming days to notify them of the price changes that kick in from January 4 2014. The changes mean that: Line rental will increase by 3.5 per cent from £15.45 to £15.99 a month. Existing customers with call plans will see the price rise by around 6 per cent. The set-up fee for landline calls made outside of packages will go up 6.4 per cent from 13.87p to 14.76 pence a call. The price per minute for calls to landlines and 0870 numbers made outside packages will go up from 1.11p to 1.18p (6.3 per cent) in the evenings, and from 8.41p to 8.95p (6.8 per cent) during the day. Most existing broadband package customers will see prices increase by 6.5 per cent. Previously free BT Answer 1571 and BT Privacy with Caller Display will now each cost £1.75 a month. Customers will be 'opted in' if they have ever used the services in the past. Charges where customers exit their contract early are being raised by between 20 per cent and 30 per cent. Timeline - previously known as the Speaking Clock - to rise 6.4 per cent from 34.4p to 36.6p Perhaps the most controversial change is to 'opt in' customers to previously free BT Answer 1571 and BT Privacy with Caller Display services. BT said that each service had customer numbers 'in the low millions'. BT Answer 1571 is an answer phone service that callers can access by dialing '1571'. The company said that it will consider any customer who has ever dialed 1571, even if it was several years ago, as having opted into the service and will add £1.75 to their monthly bill. They can avoid this by responding to the letter they will receive next week to opt out, and BT said they can cancel at any time. BT Privacy with Caller Display has been offered for free since 2005 and was taken up by those who wished to avoid nuisance calls. Customers needed to request the service, at which point BT would have also signed them up to the Telephone Preference Service to avoid cold-calls. Anyone that requested it will now have £1.75 added to their bill unless they act. BT said that there were ways for callers to reduce the increased charges. Customers have the option of saving £50 a year, or 25 per cent, on line rental if they pay a year in advance. Customers opted into BT Answer 1571 can continue to get the service for free if they agree to sign up to line rental with the company for another year. A BT spokesman said: 'We review and revise our prices every year given the market is extremely competitive. Whilst some prices may go up during the year, many go down or remain the same. Our customers have seen their calls bills fall by 14 per cent on average in the last five years as a result of us slashing the price of inclusive calls plans. We want customers to move onto those plans as they can save money. Hopefully these changes will encourage that. The price increases follow the group cutting the price of broadband to £10 for copper and £15 for fibre for new customers, and giving away BT Sport for 'free' with broadband. Its rival, Sky, increased some tariffs on September 1. BT's profits were up 5 per cent to £595 million in the quarter to June 13, while it added 95,000 broadband customers in that period. It is offsetting mammoth investment by cutting costs and recently said it was looking to make savings of around £200million a year. It is expecting £400million in 'specific restructuring costs' in the current financial year. Staff are expected to be affected after BT said this would involve some 'people costs' as some employees would be given 'the option to pursue other activities'. But no compulsory redundancies are expected.