T-Mobile has moved to stop customers using its bundled minutes to access cheap international calls through third-party providers.

This week T-Mobile notified customers by text that calls to numbers with the 07744 and 07755 prefixes would no longer come out of their bundled minutes from 1 June. Instead, these calls will be charged at 12p per minute.

The move sees T-Mobile act to protect its revenues by charging for access to low-cost or free calling
companies such as YourCall, which offers free and cheap calls to international destinations.

The service is particularly popular with users who have connections to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and cheap access sometimes features in the sales pitch of mobile retailers. One dealer Mobile spoke to said he had been approached by irate customers who have learned that T-Mobile was changing its terms.

Orange has previously charged for access to selective 0800 numbers offering low-cost calling services, prior to ending free calls to 0800 numbers altogether.