Id mobile number

sunny_hucknall

Just took out a monthly contract with Id mobile (part of carphone warehouse).

Number i was allocated starts 07452 9.....

People phoning me from other networks have found that their calls were not included in the normal minutes & they were being charged for the calls.

Turns out that 07452 numbers followed by 1 to 6 are isle of man numbers, not uk geographical numbers & not covered in anyones plan.

However, 07452 number followed by 7, 8 or 9 are uk numbers on the Three network. Mine is one of these.

What can I do ?

No one can phone me because of cost.

Who is at fault here ?

Exile28

I would say this is a bit of a grey area and I'd say the people who are ringing you have an issue with their network terms and conditions, however I'd also say its a bit naughty of ID mobile to allocate these numbers but if ofcom allows this then there is nothing wrong with it.

If I was you I'd get/order a free pay as you go sim from another network (but not vodaphone or one of there MVNOs) - stick the minimum credit you can on it and request a pac code, and transfer that number to ID and then you shouldn’t have this issue anymore.

sunny_hucknall

Not sure number transfer would make any difference. New number would still point to original as far as i understand.

Exile28

It's your only option. Well that or cancel the contract and open a new one.

I don’t see why it wont work - its just an intentional or possibly unintentional billing system quirk of the callers host network. If they dial a uk number the host network's billing system is none the wiser as it thinks its a uk number - which hopefully means problem solved.

Ian011

When you make a call to a landline or mobile number belonging to another provider, the caller's provider has to pay a termination fee to that other provider.

The termination fee for calls to geographic numbers starting 01 and 02 is capped by Ofcom at a maximum of 0.21p per minute.

The termination fee for calls to mobile numbers starting 071-075 and 077-079 is capped by Ofcom at a maximum of 0.49p per minute. More on that later on.


Back in the 1990s, the Mobile Termination Rate used to be 25p per minute or more. By 2009, for calls to the main mobile networks, the MTR had dropped to around 4p per minute, heralding larger allowances of inclusive calls for a lower monthly fee.

Imagine, however, a mobile provider that offered their customers a deal with 200 minutes of inclusive calls for £10 - they cannot let you use the allowance to call a mobile number where they have to pay out 15p per minute to the other provider as 200 minutes at 15p per minute is £30. They charge the caller £10, pay out £30, and lose £20.

For that reason, providers with high termination rates, such as Lyca, and numbers in Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man were excluded from inclusive allowances.

Having a high termination rate meant those providers could earn more from incoming calls than they pay out on outgoing calls and hence offer cheaper deals for their customers.

Some mobile numbers were also being used by various interactive and automated services, such as international call-forwarding services - often referred to as 'non-mobile' numbers. The high termination fee paid for the provision of the service. These calls were also excluded from inclusive allowances.


In 2009, Ofcom intervened in the mobile termination market and set a limit, or cap, on the MTR. This limit was reduced in annual steps, usually on 1 April, reaching 0.82p per minute by 1 April 2014. Crucially, this cap applied only to the main five (now four) mobile providers. Other mobile providers were told to charge 'fair and reasonable rates' - but some did not do so.

On 1 May 2015, the cap was reduced to 0.68p per minute and crucially, it was extended to cover all mainland UK providers using mobile numbers starting 071-075 and 077-079. The cap does not cover mobile numbers allocated in Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. It also does not apply to personal numbers starting 070 or pager numbers starting 076. It did, however, put the various call-forwarding services out of business or forced them to migrate to a more suitable number range where they could properly declare their call costs.

On 1 April 2016 the MTR cap was reduced to 0.49p per minute. The cap does not cover mobile numbers allocated in Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. It also does not apply to personal numbers starting 070 or pager numbers starting 076.


If iD Mobile were selling phones and call plans posing as a mainland UK mobile provider but using mobile numbers allocated offshore this might be an attempt to avoid the termination rate cap set by Ofcom. It would be absolutely right that mainland mobile providers excluded such numbers from inclusive allowances.

Given that the numbers are actually allocated to the Three network on the UK mainland, calls to these numbers are included within the Ofcom MTR rate cap and these calls should count towards inclusive allowances. At a guess, it would appear that some providers may have programmed the whole of the 07452 range as being 'offshore' and hence non-inclusive - and this would appear to be an error.

It may be worth involving Ofcom in getting to the bottom of this. They have investigatory powers to find out what level of termination rate is being charged and whether these numbers are, rightly or wrongly, being treated as 'offshore'.


Once the dust has completely settled on the reform of 08, 09, 116 and 118 numbers that took effect on 1 July 2015, Ofcom is due to review the 055, 056, 070 and 076 number ranges. One simplification that could be made would be to allocate 0761X, 0762X and 0760X or 0763X to Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey making it easier to remember which numbers are non-inclusive and hence leading to fewer pricing errors by providers and to fewer disputes - both between providers and with customers.

wongawonga

The number range starting 07452 9.. is allocated to Hutchinson ( Three Mobile ) it therefore should be included in inclusive minutes or charged at the appropriate uk calling rate.

See: http://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/codelook.htm

You could drawer ID,s attention to the problem and ask them to put other networks straight,and report the incorrect charging to Ofcom.

sunny_hucknall

Thanks for pointers.

I have contacted Id & told them, but call centre did not seem to understand, but said they would pass to their "technical team" & I would be phoned back in 3 to 5 days time. Will wait & see.

Friend on Tesco Mobile contract has looked at their t&c's and it states that 07452 numbers are isle of man & therefore not inclusive mins. They make no mention that 07452 9 etc are not isle of man.

She has been charged for phoning me & is to get in touch with Tesco Mobile re: apparent overcharge.

Had hope for a smooth transfer to new tariff, end up with all my friends incurring charges...

Exile28

As an ID Mobile customer I can tell you you'll be wasting your time doing anything other than what I have suggested.

I fully agree ofcom should be involved but you will not get anything done quickly or without getting yourself or your callers further out of pocket.

Ian011

O2 has a list of prefixes they consider to be allocated in Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man:
http://www.o2.co.uk/popups/jersey-guernsey-and-isle-of-man
07452 9 is not on that list.


Bizarrely, given that Ofcom has removed the basis for the existence of the 'non-mobile numbers' category (by capping termination rates since 1 May 2015), it is odd that O2 still has just such a list:
http://www.o2.co.uk/popups/specialnumbers-popup-07
There are two plausible explanations. One is that those other providers are still charging termination rates above the level of the cap set by Ofcom. The other is that O2 are simply ripping off their customers by charging extra for these calls even though O2 no longer incurs extra costs in carrying them.

hjenx74

My 11 year old got his first mobile yesterday and has been texting a friend today - his friend has an 074529 number and so we've been charged for those texts! Luckily we've put a £2.50 safety buffer on or I shudder to think what sort of bill we'd have racked up!

Tesco mobile have asked me to call their support team tomorrow but led me to believe that the number (if proved to be a UK number) could be added as an exception. We'll see. Very annoying, and it's really upset my son.

sunny_hucknall

Having briefly spoken to friends again, i think problem only happens when tesco mobile users call id mobile numbers.

I think tesco mobile are at fault for assuming all 07452 numbers are isle of man, which they are not.

My friend will be on tesco mobiles case tomorrow.

I have heard that id mobile have dreadful customer care & not to expect too much from them, but i suspect they are not at fault here. However, if i cannot get this fixed I will cut my loses and cancel contract (still within 14 day cooling off period) and get the £5 per month sim for virgin mobile.