Free calls abroad via a 0870 service

Hobbin_Rood

Hi all,

Just returned back from a holiday to Portugal and left something in the hotel so have had to phone them (good news is the item's been found, just organising DPD to get it back here to the UK).

Was looking up my carrier's charges (Lebarra - only 2p per min, pretty good!) but then came across a service saying you can get international calls via them by dialing a 0870 number.

Seems a bit too good to be true.

Anyone know if something like this is legit?

Here's the one i saw:
https://dialtosave.co.uk/free-international-calls-now-available/

I didn't try it by the way, and not here to suggest anyone does before doing their due diligence too...

Thanks
Hobbin R

Hobbin_Rood

Hmm, not looking good from reviews here - https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.dialtosave.co.uk

Veteransaver

0870 numbers aren't usually included in inclusive minutes though, so you likely pay more for the 0870.call than the 2p per minute international rate for Lebara

dc_scotland

Lebara includes international minutes in all its plans, so you shouldn't be charged for calling Portugal unless you had already exceeded your allowance, or you are on PAYG.

Neil49

dc_scotland said:

Lebara includes international minutes in all its plans, so you shouldn't be charged for calling Portugal unless you had already exceeded your allowance, or you are on PAYG.

Yes, that's correct. As long as you are on a plan you get 100 free minutes per month to call 42 countries - including Portugal. 

DullGreyGuy

The problem is that the 0870 number is 58p per minute to call from your mobile and so certainly no saving on the 2p of directly calling Portugal. 

If you were using a BT landline 0870 are included in your minutes and charged at 22p once they're used up or its 24p for Portugal 

Hobbin_Rood

Thanks to those highlighting the free calls to Europe with Lebarra - had no idea! 

The_Groat_Counter

Hobbin_Rood said:

...
Was looking up my carrier's charges (Lebarra - only 2p per min, pretty good!) but then came across a service saying you can get international calls via them by dialing a 0870 number.

Seems a bit too good to be true.

Anyone know if something like this is legit?
...

BT (and I think some other landline providers) did in the recent-ish past start to include 0870 numbers in their inclusive minutes at least with some calling plans, and so the promoters of these 0870 'call through' services took advantage of this.

Looking at the current BT Tariff Guide it appears that 0870 numbers are still treated as 'inclusive' for those with calling plans so this should still work.

However I'm sure I recall seeing warnings in the small print in times past stating something along the lines of how the use such 0870 'indirect' calling providers was not the intended use case of inclusive minutes - this was possibly back when the operators of 0870 numbers received a larger share of money from the calling party (and so led to BT losing money), though I'm vaguely aware things have changed on this front in more recent years.

Regardless, I would be wary of using an 0870 'call through' service, and especially so if one was to use such services heavily. Ultimately it's totally up to the end user to establish if 0870 numbers form part of their inclusive minutes in their calling plan.

There are numerous other ways of making international calls for cheap, as the OP has discovered with their Lebara mobile calling plan!