CALLING THE PIPER NOT PAYING FOR THE TUNE
We’ve all done it. Rung a customer ‘service’ line and spent five minutes
ploughing through menus of options, entering versions details, and then when we
finally get put through to a person just get hold music and the occasional
chirpy message about how important our call is to them.
In fact such calls are not only important to the firm they can be very
profitable. Calling a number beginning with 0871/2/3 will cost you up to 12.5p a
minute from a landline and up to 41p a minute from a mobile. Even 0845 numbers –
which used to be ‘local calls’ – can cost that much, as can 0843 and 0844
numbers. Similar charges apply to 0870 – which used to be seen as more expensive
than 0845. Although most of the charge goes to the phone company, businesses get
their share of it too, one way or another.
Even 0800 numbers – which used to be free – now cost you up to 40p a minute from
a mobile phone, though they are always free from a BT landline and some others.
The same goes for 0500 or 0808. In these three cases the phone company has to
warn you before you are connected so you can end the call and avoid the charge.
Finding an alternative number that is cheaper – or included in your monthly
calling package bundle – can save you a lot of money. Some firms have now
replaced 0845 numbers by numbers beginning 0345. Those should be charged just
like any other geographic number – those beginning 01 or 02 – and will normally
be included in your monthly price.
There are other ways of avoiding costly calls. If you have to call your bank or
credit card provider look on the back of your credit or debit card. You will
usually find a 0800 number on the back for lost or stolen cards but if you call
it you can usually get put through to any department. It will also show a
geographic number for overseas callers beginning +44. Dial 141 to hide your
location then dial the number, replacing the +44 with 0. If they ask where you
are and say it is only for callers who are overseas, just apologise and ask them
to put you through. It usually works. The same goes for Government departments.
Under the 0845 number there will nearly always be a geographic number for
overseas customers.
The website
www.saynoto0870.com
has a huge database of premium rate numbers and their geographic alternatives.
It is always worth trying before you make an expensive call where you may be
kept waiting for ages.
The regulator Ofcom produces this relatively simple three-page guide to the cost
of calls to various prefixes.
http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/files/2010/01/numbering.pdf
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