Charged for INTERNATIONAL FREEPHONE from UK Mobile

smith007

Why oh why do UK mobile providers (Vodafone, EE, etc) charge us for '00800' calls?

I have used Western Digital for my hardware backups. They are global but in EU the ONLY way to call their Tech Support is via a 00800 number which they pay for. This is FREE to any UK landline caller.

The problem comes when you dial from a UK mobile phone it sees the '0080' and looks for country code '80'. This country is globally accepted as an INTERNATIONAL FREEPHONE number. It does not exist as a 'country'
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Lookup area codes in UK and you get this...
"Recognising international freephone numbers
(search: 'area-codes.org.uk/00800-numbers')
International freephone numbers have their own dedicated country code of +800 and work in the same way as normal international phone numbers. This means that callers to these numbers must prefix the +800 country code with the outbound 'international access code' that is used to start an international call from their country.

In the UK and other EU countries, the international access code is always 00. Accordingly, international freephone numbers in the EU are usually promoted simply as 00800 numbers."
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Vodafone systems naturally can't find '0080' so they simply bill £1.50 max charge per minute for an 'international call'. AgggHHHH!!!

I don't have a landline. I've tried Skype credit (happy to pay). Problem is Skype also don't recognise the '0080' country code and return an 'invalid country code' error! Agghhhhhh!

I call Vodafone and they reluctantly refund me each time I call WD Tech Support. Problem it takes 5 hours and 10 days of calls and escalations back and forth each time I call Voda call centre (Scotland or Egypt call centres don't understand what an Int Freephone number is!).

Can MSE do the UK public a favour and lobby Ofcom or the UK authorities to get '00800' numbers accepted as are '0800'? [I lodged an individual Ofcom complaint 0046 4174 but they don't see the problem...].

Martin :money: HELP PLEASE!!

Ian011

Firstly, what charges does Vodafone's published tariff list show for this particular prefix?

If it isn't listed, Vodafone are in breach of Ofcom regulations requiring call charges to be detailed.

Buzby

They are chargeable. Whilst it may look similar, the extra 0 ensures any Freefone discount will never apply - only 0800 and 0808 will be FoC.

thefirs

According to saynoto0870.com this 00800 number goes through to a Dutch number +31880062100, so why not give it a try? Probably easier than arguing the toss with Vodafone each time and will be cheap enough via skypeout or an alternative international calling service.

mobilejunkie

That would simply replace one charge for another.

Enterprise_1701C

You say you don't have a landline. Who provides your internet?

One other suggestion - do you have a callbox nearby?

thefirs

mobilejunkie wrote: »

That would simply replace one charge for another.

The OP says:

(happy to pay)

I suggest its the charges on an astronomical scale plus the nightmare of reclaiming them that's the issue.

thefirs

Enterprise_1701C wrote: »

One other suggestion - do you have a callbox nearby?

Possibly not, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40934210