MSE News: 0800 calls could finally be free from mobiles

gjchester

NFH wrote: »

Are you sure? I may be wrong, but I remember that Orange surcharged 0800 calling card access numbers at a rate much higher than the applicable 01/02/03 rate.

Correct, and what happened was the calling card people would the move to another 0800 number that Orange didn't know (for a while) and it kept on and on.

NFH

gjchester wrote: »

Correct

I'm confused now. First you said that Orange charged for 0800 calling card numbers as an 01/02/03 call. Now you're saying they charged for 0800 calling card numbers at a rate higher than their 01/02/03 rate. I'm advocating the former.

gjchester

NFH wrote: »

I'm confused now. First you said that Orange charged for 0800 calling card numbers as an 01/02/03 call. Now you're saying they charged for 0800 calling card numbers at a rate higher than their 01/02/03 rate. I'm advocating the former.

Sorry, that wasn't my intention

Originally (read back in the mid nineties when they launched) Orange did not charge the caller at all for any 0800 numbers, as a sales pitch to get traction over Vodafone and the then Cellnet (mind you they also sold you the phone unactivated and the first thing you had to do was charge, call and activate it, which stopped as many people got the subsidised phone in store and flogged them on).

The calling card people realised there was no charge for 0800 and used them as access numbers which meant Orange were losing out as people used the 0800 number rather than making calls on the Orange tarrif. They also tended to be international calling cards and hence the loss of income to Orange.

As Orange found out about the access numbers in use they changed them from free to the higher rate, and the calling card companies would then then go get a new 0800 that people could use for free for a while.

thor

gjchester wrote: »

Unfortunalty thats why 08.. type numbers stopped being free in the first place.

The Goodmans right, 0800's are not free someone has to pay, if they are free to call then the business who runs them has to build them into their costs so you pay another way.

From a mobile they should come out of an allowance rather than being free to prevent abuse. Otherwise the mobile companies will put some other charge up to compensate.

Then if you are charged making calls to 0800 numbers they sohuld not be referred to as 'freephone'. It is this name which mobile networks are taking advantage of, knowing that some people do not realise they will be charged calling them from their mobiles. it is good to see that there are plans to make them truly free for the callers but until then ofcom should be making an effort to alert the public to the fact 'freephone' does not necessarily mean free.

redux

NFH wrote: »

A reasonable compromise would be for most 0800 numbers to be totally free to the caller, but for mobile networks to reserve the right to charge for specific 0800 numbers (e.g. calling cards) as an 01/02/03 call. For those on contract tariffs, the result would be that calling card access numbers would come out of inclusive minutes.

I think it's much more likely that some callthrough providers will agree to charge a higher rate for mobile use, and for others the calls will be barred by the mobile network

This is what happens in other countries where freephone calls have been free from mobiles for years.

When I was considering using a calling card arrangement with a German SIM, I asked someone to test half a dozen freephone callthrough access numbers for me, and only two worked, the ones with a higher rate for use from mobiles and callboxes.

simax

NFH wrote: »

I'm confused now. First you said that Orange charged for 0800 calling card numbers as an 01/02/03 call. Now you're saying they charged for 0800 calling card numbers at a rate higher than their 01/02/03 rate. I'm advocating the former.

The actual voice heard when you called a known 0800 calling card number from an Orange phone back in the old days was:

"The number you have dialed is for a calling card service. All calls to calling card services will be charged at standard rates and will not be part of your inclusive minutes. If you still wish to access this service - please hold - while your call is connected"

So charged at your normal out of bundle rate, even if you had minutes available.

ridetherhythm

It's the free market or should i say (cartel) in operation.

The toothless regulator finally steps in to lay down the law to these fat cats always getting the cream one way or the other.

Years later, the consumer finally gets the kind of deal they should have got from the beginning, usually through state imposition and not light touch self-regulation.

0800, 0844/5 and 0870/1 numbers should be either free or within call allowance package. Same for landline call allowance packages.

Nearly always customer service numbers. Why the hell do we need to pay to speak to customer service department...another rip-off

Wake up Ofcom:rotfl:

NFH

ridetherhythm wrote: »

0800, 0844/5 and 0870/1 numbers should be either free or within call allowance package. Same for landline call allowance packages.

Nearly always customer service numbers. Why the hell do we need to pay to speak to customer service department...another rip-off

There's good news on this particular matter, but your help is needed. Please see the following thread:

Forthcoming ban on expensive 084 & 087 numbers - please help

Mattecarter

The problem is how long will it take 0800 numbers to be made free from mobiles? Also if they are then this will make 0330 numbers pretty obsolete.

NFH

Mattecarter wrote: »

The problem is how long will it take 0800 numbers to be made free from mobiles? Also if they are then this will make 0330 numbers pretty obsolete.

Why will 0330 numbers (or any other 03 numbers) become obsolete?