Free 0845 (local rate) number for life?!

MarkyMarkD

I'm with you Mr Gordon. The reason I got this number is I fill in loads of online forms, which inevitably lead to sales calls from companies which you really don't want. I think this will probably filter them out. And in reply to MarkyMarkD, I didn't pay for this, it was free with a coupon code, so I'm not really losing out.

Right, so your reason for having this 0845 number has changed completely from giving your friends and family a saving (which it won't) to deterring telemarketers (which it might).

As long as you are not suggesting it will benefit anyone financially, other than the telephone operating company, I can agree with your deterrence point.

zenmaster

This is a VERY old thread - from 2004 - but I came across this elsewhere, on another very old thread.

The promo code mentioned in the OP no longer works but I dug around a bit and found this link which works like a charm, courtesy of the Star . You not only get your 0845 number but a link from which you can send up to 10 invites to friends/family.

Don't forget to tick the "no spam" boxes (it's opt-out).

The warnings in the preceding posts regarding the charges for this type of number still apply so it's no use for marathon calls to Aunty Flo, but I intend to use it as a business number so it's no problem for me.

utilitybroker

Surely it would be a problem if it deterred callers.

0845 numbers are disliked by Joe Public as much as 0870 numbers because of the high costs of calling them,particularly from most mobiles.

They are not included in any landline providers packages for free calls.EG=Talk Talk charge 4.5p a minute to call them peak.

Now that their is no such thing as local or national numbers you might as well give out a geographical number,you probaly get more business.

Have a look at the site https://www.saynoto0870.com to see what public think.

If your a business you can no longer say call me at Local Rate on 0845. The ASA now require you to indicate approx cost of call.

DonnyDave

utilitybroker wrote:

0845 numbers are disliked by Joe Public as much as 0870 numbers because of the high costs of calling them,particularly from most mobiles.

Yes, and zenmaster's link has a graphic that is quite clearly designed to mislead which states "Local rate numbers for everyone."

utilitybroker

Yes their main page also contains this very misleading statement.

"Secondly all your friends and family can call you on your personal G0845 number anytime from anywhere in the UK for the cost of a low rate call"

How can they say its a low rate when it can cost nearly 5p a minute from some landline suppliers,and even more from most mobiles.

redux

There are plenty of firms that offer this facility. Why pick an age-old thread to bump up one that nobody's heard of?

And as the others say, they really aren't attractive to people. Maybe if it was diverted to a mobile at the expense of the subscriber there would be some point to it, but not so much for landlines. Even then, many people would call a mobile from inclusive minutes on their own.

utilitybroker wrote:

Yes their main page also contains this very misleading statement.

"Secondly all your friends and family can call you on your personal G0845 number anytime from anywhere in the UK for the cost of a low rate call"

How can they say its a low rate when it can cost nearly 5p a minute from some landline suppliers,and even more from most mobiles.

Amazing. It really is totally deceitful, as people can already call an ordinary number from anywhere in the UK for the cost of a cheap call, and if they use other providers then actually cheaper than this number .

mobilegossip

I also dont think the use of an 0845 number is a good idea.

If you want to hide your real number for some reason an offer an alternative number. These people will give you a 0844 number that you can give out to people. (Just enter your UK number in Intl Format.) Ok its still a No-Geo number but it only costs 2p a minute to ring from a BT Landline, 24/7, which makes it cheaper at peak rate then a normal BT geo call.

See https://www.cheapercallrate.com/LowPricePhoneCalls.

redux

mobilegossip wrote:

If you want to hide your real number for some reason an offer an alternative number. These people will give you a 0844 number ...

... and not only for UK numbers. You could use one for your accommodation when on holiday so even people that don't use cheap calls providers can reach you cheaply.

Or an American/Canadian mobile phone ...