MSE News: 118 118 call charges rise to minimum of £8.98

The rise and rise of 118118 call costs:
1 July 2015 - £5.74 per call, plus £2.99 per minute after the first 60 seconds, plus your phone provider's Access Charge,
1 March 2016 - £6.98 per call, plus £3.49 per minute after the first 60 seconds, plus your phone provider's Access Charge,
1 May 2017 - £8.98 per call, plus £4.49 per minute after the first 60 seconds, plus your phone provider's Access Charge.

The 118118 service offers a number of additional features and facilities that most people may not need but which are nevertheless built into the price. In those cases callers should be calling a cheaper, more basic, enquiries service.

BT's directory enquiries service is one of the other most well-known providers. While cheaper than the rival 118118, the BT 118500 service has nevertheless seen large price rises over the last decade or more as have several others.

There are now more than two hundred directory enquiries providers. The cheapest chargeable services charge 40p per minute plus your phone provider's Access Charge but they remain largely unknown as they have no budget to advertise. The most well-known services spend a lot of money on advertising and are among those that charge the most for using their service.

Ofcom's splitting of call costs into Access Charge and Service Charge has revealed just how much of the call cost flows to the various directory enquiries services. Prior to 1 July 2015 these call charges were opaque with an unknown split between the caller's provider and the directory enquiries service (except when calling from a BT landline where Ofcom's NTS Retail Condition ensured that all of the revenue, less VAT, flowed to the directory enquiries service).

A full list of directory enquiries providers and their call charges can be found at:
https://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/dialdirq.htm

Call charges for individual numbers can be looked up at:
http://checkit.uboss.com/

Competition is supposed to bring down prices as companies compete for business. In this market, prices for the most popular services continue to rise as they spend more and more on advertising chasing a diminishing customer base. It's a broken market.


Looking on official websites for phone numbers can be very useful, but searching on Google or elsewhere is fraught with danger due to the huge number of premium rate "call connection service" scam websites.
See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5639282

SO oftel and and the division of BT and bits being sold off here and there has benefitted us how....or perhaps the question should be has benefitted who?

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Memory brings you back once more
To the time when you were with us,
To the happy days of yore.


R,I.P. 192

Can't remember ever using them (usually go online) but if I'd had to have a guess at the charges I'd have said about £1. Must be stuck in the 1980's. Blimey, minimum of £9 - gobsmacked.