A very SIMPLE query. . . UK Landline to UK Mobile

codger

Friends of ours have returned to the UK from overseas and are staying in a rented property for the next three months. The property does not have a landline phone so, for the next three months, we can only contact them on their UK mobile phone.

We used an MSE recommended call relaying service (which worked brilliantly) to keep in touch with them when they were abroad. But now they're here, we can't find a way of making a similarly cheap call from our UK BT landline to their UK mobile.

A friend mentioned something called 0844calls as a "typical" provider of this kind of service. But checking their tariff produced the following:

Calls to UK mobile: 5p per minute. Calls to UK landline: 1p per minute. Calls to UK personal landline / personal mobile: 15p per minute. Calls to UK national rates landline / mobile: 7p per minute.

Well yes. That's clear as crystal.

Please. . . all we want to do is punch in an access number and then dial the UK mobile, just as we did with the overseas call. We don't want to register or have an account, because we never had either when ringing abroad -- the call costs simply appeared on our BT quarterly bill.

This business of mobiles, personal mobiles, national rate mobiles is baffling: isn't there a simpler service???????

hurrah

Have a look at http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/ukcallchecker/ their are a three cheap suppliers that meet your criteria.One is 0844 calls.

You dial the appropriate access number mentioned in the callchecker from your BT line and will be charged at 5p a minute to call the 0844 access number by BT not the provider of the service.Bear in mind that you start paying for the call as soon as you hit recorded announcement.Which means you pay if your not connected.

Heinz

As hurrah points out, the MSE UKCallchecker lists the sort of gateway numbers you're after.

In fact, there are 3 at the moment giving 5p/minute calls to UK mobiles so, after BT's 3p call set-up fee, 5p/minute is all you'll pay:

0844 566 3 566

0844 566 7 566

0844 566 69 69

However, it's worth pointing out (despite your aversion to 'accounts') that, although www.18185.co.uk has a higher call set-up charge (4p) and their weekday rate to UK mobiles (6p/minute) is higher, their weekend rate per minute is far cheaper - 2p. The account is an online thing (so doesn't involve a lot of effort) and has the advantage of also offering unlimited duration calls to UK 01/02 numbers for 4p (i.e. 0p/minute after their 4p connection fee).

hurrah

Also 18185 dont charge you if your not connected.

codger

Thanks Heinz & Hurrah: mucho appreciated!

Will tootle over to the 18185 site now -- I think I must be easily confused (!) but my eyes do glaze over when confronted by pricing options for personal, national, and 'ordinary' mobiles: I always thought a mobile was a mobile. . . was a mobile!