0845 numbers

phoneman44

The only fail safe way of identifying the true call cost is by identifying the relevant band via the dial code at
http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/current/docs/Call_Charges.boo/16321.htm and

then matching the band with the call price from the Option 1 price list http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/current/docs/Cust_Opts_Res.boo/31853.htm

if the band you are looking for is not listed, you need to take the rate from the BT 'Standard' price list http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/current/docs/Call_Charges.boo/0016.htm

redux

As Heinz and phoneman44 point out, it is rather tedious checking these rates.

0871 vary from 6p to 10p - from landlines of course

My assumption is a bit similar to Heinz though - apart from cheap calls providers' published rates, as found in the Callchecker and on their websites, I'll assume other 0871s are 10p per minute.

Victors_Bruvver

I am both amazed & angry that this debate still lingers on!

The number of people who still regard these numbers as being either local or national rate is disgusting and leads me to believe that we are continuly being suckered into handing over more & more of our hard earned cash because of the ineptitude of Ofcom and the companys that use them.

Am I angry? Yes I am! Look at the Tesco Clubcard Statement I received yesterday morning;
Contact telephone numbers are listed as F = Calls are Free, L = calls charged at local rate and N = Calls are charged at national rate.

As said here many times, what is a Local or National rate call? The truth is that the majority of the Great British public don't know the truth because it is all FLIM FLAM!

phoneman44

To be fair to Ofcom, the Number Translation Services legislation is currently under review and you did have an opporunity to raise your opinions as part of their consultation process, which closed on the 12th December.

It is quite likely that the rules surrounding NTS numbers are going to change for the better.

You can view the proposals and consultation responses at
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/nts_forward/

Victors_Bruvver

Yes I know and I don't want to sound argumentative, but how many millions of pounds have been made off the backs of the "poor old consumer” since this subject was first raised?

It is this flim flam, kidology that I despise; they know they whilst they can get away with it and confuse the consumer by avoiding publishing the true costs they can make a little more money in the interim.

The same goes for mobile phone providers. Who really knows the cost of calls, sending & receiving texts, voice mail, international roaming etc? The latter subject was taken up by the EU and will, I believe, clamping down on those exorbitant costs in half the time that Ofcom is taking with these non geographic numbers

And (forgive me for being a boring old fart) what will happen when all these “premium" charges are outlawed? Those companies will suddenly find a loss in revenue and will just have to go on a find something else to scam us with.

As someone said before it is "the unacceptable face of capitalism" or was that consumerism?

redux

Victors_Bruvver wrote:

... international roaming etc? The latter subject was taken up by the EU and will, I believe, clamping down on those exorbitant costs in half the time that Ofcom is taking with these non geographic numbers

I think you're flattering them to say they are moving fast, but it does sound decisive at last. However, the charges have been easier to avoid than the subject of this thread.

DonnyDave

Victors_Bruvver wrote:

Yes I know and I don't want to sound argumentative, but how many millions of pounds have been made off the backs of the "poor old consumer” since this subject was first raised?

The DVLA makes over a million pounds per annum with its 0870 numbers. So we can only speculate how much extra it actually costs the public to call its premium numbers.

From Ofcom consultation document, NTS: A way forward:

5.38 [...] After adjusting for the likely impact of migration (as some SPs would choose to migrate to continue to revenue share), we estimate that the value of the price reductions to consumers would be £59-72m p.a. on the 0870 range and approximately £0.5-0.7m p.a. on 0845[26].

[26] This calculation assumes call volumes remain the same.

Victors_Bruvver wrote:

And (forgive me for being a boring old fart) what will happen when all these “premium" charges are outlawed? Those companies will suddenly find a loss in revenue and will just have to go on a find something else to scam us with.

As someone said before it is "the unacceptable face of capitalism" or was that consumerism?

And who said that running a telecommunications network was all about telecommunications?