Charity Phone Line / Helpline

mtb_2

Hi,

I wanted to ask some questions about setting up a helpline for a charity.

We are a small charity and wish to open a helpline for victims to contact us.

At the moment we are considering getting one of the following numbers

0203/0207/0208
0800
0300

Is there any preference to which number to get?
Also are there any telephone line providers anyone would recommend.

We did want a number that is free from landline and mobile but think this might be too expensive?

paddyrg

Free from a landline usually means expensive from a mobile, and these days calls to geographic numbers are either cheap or free for most phone services. Go 0207 or 0208 to my mind

Owain_Moneysaver

020 if you are London based
0300 if you want to appear nationwide

If you get a VoIP number rather than a landline, it is much more flexible about diverting unanswered calls to voicemail (which you can get emailed to you), having multiple phones in different locations or being answered by homeworkers etc.

MrOverheads

I would go with using all 3 types. The gernal public is generally uneducated or even worse misinformed by frieds about the cost of things (hence why mse exists!).

I've known people think 03 numbers a re premium rate i.e. like 09's
Some people still think it costs more to dial a London number if your not based in London i.e. National vs Local (it used to many years ago).
Some people refuse to dial 08 numbers from their mobiles because, quite correctly, they are very expensive.

Hence give consumers the choice:
0207/08 if you need a London number (I'm presuming you are London based) and for mobile users that know that it's typically free from bundled minutes.
0800 for those calling from a landline so it's free
03 for those who know what one is! But only really widely used in the public sector.

mtb_2

wouldn't getting more than 1 number for a helpline cause extra unnecessary confusion?

Anybody here join The Helplines Association? helplines.org.uk

Savvy_Sue

MOVING THREADS FOR BETTER RESPONSES


Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

quinechinoise

If you're a small charity, I'd just go with an 02 number.

An 0800 number would be much more expensive to run and it's not free on all cell phone networks (although it is free on Giffgaff). Many cell phone networks maintain a set list of "official" charity numbers that are free to call but change for any other "free" phone numbers.

No need to complicate things.