Phone Costs

[simmitc]

I don't think that this has been very well publicised. so it might be of interest:

The cost of calling some numbers changed on 1st July.

Numbers starting with 0800 or 0808 are FreePhone numbers, and are now free to call from mobiles as well as from landlines. This applies within the UK, there may be other charges if called from abroad.

Numbers starting 084, 087, 09 and 118 are called “UK Calling” and charged in two parts:
• An Access Charge levied by the caller’s service provider. This might be on a per call basis, or charged at “X” pence per minute.
• A Service Charge which is set by the operator of the number, and which should be promoted by the organisation using the number. There are 80 different charge rates that could be used.

These changes have been introduced by OfCom because research showed that consumers were confused by the price of calls to these types of number. The changes are allegedly designed to make the associated costs transparent and easier to understand, and to encourage suspicious consumers to use them.

Well, I can get the free bit, but I still don't trust the other charges; and haven't managed to find out how they relate to inclusive call packages - it sounds like your provider might include the access fee, but you still end up paying the operating company an extra charge. Bring back Buttons A and B!

[beero]

You can find alternatives to 0845 and 0870 and other numbers which, depending on your tariff, could be cheaper.
Search for "say no to 0845" or "say no to 0870"