Say No to 0870!

andy88_2

Don't write the site off completely; I think it has some other useful info for you

Paul_Varjak

Saynoto0870.com does have geographical alternatives to 0870 numbers but only a relatively small number and many are wrong, or are not the best alternative geographical number anyway!

Why not use the BT.com to find a geographical number for the comapny you want? The service is free! Or sign up for a rent-free Onetel service and get all your calls to directory enquiries for free! Or look on the website of the company you want for an alternative number (often marked as calls from overseas).

I find doing this more reliable than relying on saynoto0870.com.

colin_tomlinson

Until these companies get their act together and give us REAL phone numbers to call, why not play them at their own game?

At www.twplc.co.uk (I'm not connected in any way, other than being a customer) they will set up an 08 number for you - you get to choose which prefix and even the number itself (from a list of options) - absolutely free of charge. The call will be connected to your home number and then, depending on which number you've chosen, you'll be paid:

0870 2p/min during the day, 0p/min evenings/weekends - caller pays so-called "national rate".
0870 3p/min during the day, 4p/min evenings/weekends - caller pays 10p/min all times.

(These rates increase with call volumes, but only over 10,000 min/month: over 5½ hours/day!)

Obviously, you'll only be giving this number to companies, not friends. When they call, advise you'll be with them as soon as you've finished whatever you were in the middle of, need to switch on your computer to check your records, need to check with a member of the family out in the garden/down the street. How is any of this different from the way we are treated?

If enough of us do this, will they get the message?

... and consider this: The company mentioned is covering all of its set-up and rental costs in the slice of the revenue it is keeping. If it can pass on up to 4p/min with no minimum minutes (revenues are often on a sliding scale) AND MAKE A PROFIT, just how much are these giants raking in?

andy88_2

Paul_Varjak wrote:

Saynoto0870.com does have geographical alternatives to 0870 numbers but only a relatively small number and many are wrong, or are not the best alternative geographical number anyway!

Why not use the BT.com to find a geographical number for the comapny you want?

BT's directory listings are nothing like as comprehensive as they were. Anybody that buys their phone service elsewhere is omitted.

I searched for a certain car manufacturer. I got a finance department 40 miles from head office and a main dealer that has been closed for 3 years now.

I remarked on this to someone at BT Dir Enq on the phone; she said you'd be surprised at some of the bodies that haven't got directory entries; they're sometimes quite embarrassed to tell people this.

Why don't you add to 'say no to 0870', if you think it could be improved?

sergeant121

Paul_Varjak wrote:

Saynoto0870.com does have geographical alternatives to 0870 numbers but only a relatively small number and many are wrong, or are not the best alternative geographical number anyway!

Why not use the BT.com to find a geographical number for the comapny you want? The service is free! Or sign up for a rent-free Onetel service and get all your calls to directory enquiries for free! Or look on the website of the company you want for an alternative number (often marked as calls from overseas).

I find doing this more reliable than relying on saynoto0870.com.

I'm afraid it's chocolate fireguard time with the BT.com Directory Enquiry website these days.

I used it only yesterday to find the geographical number of my Inland Revenue office in Middlesbrough. I knew the full postal address so entered 'Inland Revenue' as the company name and 'TS' as the first characters of the Postcode. Instantly, I was presented with the entry for my tax office - giving only the 0845 number.

Happily, the SayNoTo0870.com website had the geographical number in its database.

As a test, I then tried searching for the geographgical number of my wife's Inland Revenue office in Ipswich. I noticed that her January 2005 'Notice of Coding' showed an 0845 number but that the previous (July 2004) version showed an 01473 number. Entering 'Inland Revenue' and 'IP' resulted in the BT.com Directory Enquiry website offering only the geographical number!

theloft

colin_tomlinson said :-
At https://www.thenumbercompany.com. I'm not connected in any way, other than being a customer) they will set up an 08 number for you - you get to choose which prefix and even the number itself (from a list of options) - absolutely free of charge. The call will be connected to your home number and then, depending on which number you've chosen, you'll be paid:

Have you tried this website lately ? I could not get it to load at all, adjusted cookies, but still no go! Have you got the url correct

sergeant121

theloft wrote:

colin_tomlinson said :-
At www.thenumbercompany.com. I'm not connected in any way, other than being a customer) they will set up an 08 number for you - you get to choose which prefix and even the number itself (from a list of options) - absolutely free of charge. The call will be connected to your home number and then, depending on which number you've chosen, you'll be paid:

Have you tried this website lately ? I could not get it to load at all, adjusted cookies, but still no go! Have you got the url correct

That url should be thenumbercompany.co.uk (which auto-diverrts to http://www.twplc.co.uk/)

andy88_2

sergeant121
about Inland Revenue - you're lucky, I have half a dozen letters from a Tax Office that doesn't exist. I would have had more, but for the fact that they attempted to correspond with me at an old address of mine up to 16 months after I told them I was moving!

Natelle_2

Apologies if this has been raised before.

I decided to query with the BBC Watchdog programme producers why the number they give out is a premium 0870 number rather than a free 0800 number, especially considering the type of programme it is aiming to be.

Today I received a reply in which it was stated that 0870 numbers are not premium rate numbers. I would give the actual quotes but I'm not sure if this is OK as the email has a note that the contents are confidential. It was also said that a 0870 is used to give callers a better service than if geographical numbers were used.

I will of course be replying to the sender of the reply and directing them to Martin's article on this site on 0870 numbers.

I wonder if they will take any notice.

I haven't checked yet to see if there is an alternative number given on the Say No to 0870 site.

sergeant121

Natelle wrote:

Apologies if this has been raised before.

I decided to query with the BBC Watchdog programme producers why the number they give out is a premium 0870 number rather than a free 0800 number, especially considering the type of programme it is aiming to be.

Today I received a reply in which it was stated that 0870 numbers are not premium rate numbers. I would give the actual quotes but I'm not sure if this is OK as the email has a note that the contents are confidential. It was also said that a 0870 is used to give callers a better service than if geographical numbers were used.

I will of course be replying to the sender of the reply and directing them to Martin's article on this site on 0870 numbers.

I wonder if they will take any notice.

I haven't checked yet to see if there is an alternative number given on the Say No to 0870 site.

Taking bets now on whether the reply you received was identical to the one Lavillegour posted at 1:16pm 22/2/05 in THIS THREAD on the SayNoTo0870 forums.