0845 number for jobseekers from Department of Work & Pensions

missusbeat

I called JobCentre Plus today on 0845 606 0234 to get information on job seeking. For a site/ service set up to help get people back to work, I'm surprised that this number is 0845 and not freephone. Surely Jobseekers should be encouraged to seek jobs as much as possible rather than be scared off by an unknown phonecall cost to make the call in the first place?

Ofcom says 0845 numbers average between 1p - 10.5p per minute from a landline and 12p - 41p per minute from mobiles. Owners of 0845 numbers can earn from the inbound phone call and the caller has no way of knowing what the call is costing them. The caller options "press 1 for this and 2 for that" means such costs can mount up without a skint job-seeker knowing what they're spending.

When I asked the phone operator about this he said that this relevant jobseekerplus GOV website invites jobseekers to visit their centres and dial the line for free (probably not necessary if you're already in it.....?)

Department of Work & Pensions; if you're reading this please give free calls for people wanting support on finding a job instead of earning from the phonecall! Things are tough enough as it is.

(NB: Saynoto0870 will find the landline numbers for most 08XX numbers.)

Sharon87

I know, its a bit of a stupid idea. They have a freephone number for new claims, why not have a free phone or geographical number for job seeking.

I guess it's the government's way of making a few extra pennies to pay for the benefits!

AP007

I was on the phone the other day for 25 mins before I got to talk to someone!

getzls

My wife ran up a mobile bill for £100 using a mobile to phone the ESA.:eek: (over a number of calls)

I think the Goverment are bandits using these 0845 numbers.

They just like to stick the boot in whenever they can.

ditzyat50

Cost me four quid last time I rang them so know where you're coming from.

Reue

I thought they had free phones to use in the job centre plus to use for stuff like this?

The_ICT_Engineer

Reue wrote: »

I thought they had free phones to use in the job centre plus to use for stuff like this?

Not everyone like yourself live next door to the Job Centre. My nearest one is 20 miles away.

AP007

Reue wrote: »

I thought they had free phones to use in the job centre plus to use for stuff like this?

where everyone can hear your business and you have to get past security to get in the building

InsideInsurance

missusbeat wrote: »

I called JobCentre Plus today on 0845 606 0234 to get information on job seeking.

No matter what number they use it isnt going to be right for some people.

0800 - free from most landlines, charged at higher rate by most mobiles

0845 - free from many landlines and mobiles which have inclusive minutes, charged at local rate for most landlines without inclusive time and higher rate for mobiles without inclusive minutes

01/02/03 - free for landlines and mobiles with inclusive minutes, charged at local or national rate for landlines depending on location and charged at standard rates for mobiles without inclusive minutes

Now, they could have all three and then people can make a choice but already from here we can see most people dont understand different numbers and what the charges will be to them. Plus it makes the call scripts when leaving voicemails fairly painful with 3 different numbers to mention.

sammyjammy

DWP Telephony approach is that 0800 numbers are used for customer contact to claim benefit, and 0845 numbers are used for other contact. The Department’s strategy is that calls to claim benefit should be free, so it uses 0800 free phone numbers for these calls. The Department has secured agreements from the largest mobile phone companies to provide free mobile calls to the Department’s 0800 claim lines.
The Department uses 0845 numbers because they are readily recognised and understood by our customers. The Department uses 0845 telephone numbers where it’s customers call for other reasons, and these are calls typically that take less time to resolve.
The Department took into account Ofcom recommendations, the cost to customers and the service improvements that those range of numbers provide.


The charges that apply to these calls will be set by the customer’s telephone or mobile operator.
Call costs vary according to the service provider, and the “call plan” the customer has. However, the cost of calling the 0845 number remains lower than many alternatives, and where it is possible, using a BT landline to call 0845 numbers is usually the lowest cost option. BT account for two-thirds of landline provision and recent research shows that 0845 numbers offers the majority of our customers a lower call cost than using other number ranges.
For information only:-Typical land line costs range from 2p per minute to 7p per minute. Mobile charges vary considerably – as a guide the range varies from 10p per minute to 45p per minute.
Please Note BT have confirmed that customer call charges for the Jobcentre 0845 number do not start until the call is answered by the operator (i.e. the customer is not charged for listening to the recorded message, or for waiting in the queue prior to the operator answering the call). This is different from some other DWP 0845 numbers where charging begins immediately.

The Department does not receive any revenue for using 0845 numbers.

AP007

InsideInsurance wrote: »

No matter what number they use it isnt going to be right for some people.

0800 - free from most landlines, charged at higher rate by most mobiles

0845 - free from many landlines and mobiles which have inclusive minutes, charged at local rate for most landlines without inclusive time and higher rate for mobiles without inclusive minutes

01/02/03 - free for landlines and mobiles with inclusive minutes, charged at local or national rate for landlines depending on location and charged at standard rates for mobiles without inclusive minutes

Now, they could have all three and then people can make a choice but already from here we can see most people dont understand different numbers and what the charges will be to them. Plus it makes the call scripts when leaving voicemails fairly painful with 3 different numbers to mention.

but if you have a land line with NO inclusive minutes and a pay as you go mobile with no £ on it, it runs up a bill people can ill afford. Yes, even if its a charge of £1 plus VAT.

I do not use my home line at all as I know what I have to pay each month and can not afford to if I do not have to use it.

Even to call the actual job centre you have to call a 0845 number which I could not even call from my mums mobile and she is on a contract