0844 calls to doctors

yourbestoption

But if it has not been submitted to them like mine, then this may help some people to avoid 0844 call charges.

thefenman

For what good it will do, there is a petition on the No 10 site at . . .

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Healthtelephone/

Sign up now!

Also, as already noted, search https://www.saynoto0870.com for your GP's number, this site is sponsored by MoneySavingExpert

Snag is, my GP's number is not found! I refuse to phone, but my GP is only a few hundred miles away, so I walk.

blueberrypie

thefenman wrote: »

Snag is, my GP's number is not found! I refuse to phone, but my GP is only a few hundred miles away, so I walk.

Now that really is devotion to saving money - walking a few hundred miles rather than making a call to a non-geographical number!

36square

Robothell
Thanks for the link. I hadn't appreciated that additional "services" are only available on 084 numbers although I am sceptical as to whether this is true.
Why is is when you use the international number (ie standard landline number less 44 plus 0) that appear on credit card bills, the systems seem to operate exactly as they do when the 08 number is called?
Hopefully a telecoms expert will drop in and put us right on this.
And why is it nearly always the GPs who are using these numbers? Does anyone know of hospitals using them?

Bigcammy

The main aim of 084xxxxxxx numbers is to earn money for both the Telecoms provider and the company receiving the call. This is through a revenue share and is quite lucrative.

There is an issue for some companies if calls are made to the geographic number, e.g. 0289045xxxx, as these calls don't go through the intelligent call routing network and can end up being mis-directed to someone who doesn't have the right skills or access to answer your query.

There are also some companies who cannot or should not profit from incoming calls, for instance a power company's fault reporting line.

It's a complex area and this only scratches the surface of it all.

Indigo's_Mum

36square wrote: »

Robothell
Thanks for the link. I hadn't appreciated that additional "services" are only available on 084 numbers although I am sceptical as to whether this is true.

Thing is, I always get the landline number where possible from www.saynoto0870 and still get the additional services and menu options.

36square

Big Cammy
"There is an issue for some companies if calls are made to the geographic number, e.g. 0289045xxxx, as these calls don't go through the intelligent call routing network and can end up being mis-directed to someone who doesn't have the right skills or access to answer your query"

Are you sure about this and why only 'some' companies?
I'd agree with Indigo's Mum and say that I can't recall ever failing to acess the automated menu when I've used an alternative geographic number.

Is there a telecoms expert out there who can sort this one out definitively?

Bigcammy

From personal experience, in the Telecomms world, sometimes the geographic number gets you through to the likes of a DDI number, connecting you to an individual user, as opposed to the main inbound call centre numbers. It doesn't happen very often and on the Saynoto0870 site it would probably be a number in the unconfirmed list as opposed to the list which they have tested and proven.

Does that make sense?

dadsma

36square wrote: »

....my GP doesn't allow appointments to be made at the surgery, you have to ring at 8:30 in the morning along with everybody else. So they're making sure you have to ring them and of course you'll never get an engaged tone but a recorded message telling you they're busy to make sure you're charged for the call.

My wife spent 40 minutes the other morning trying to get through to our GP surgery for an urgent appointment. Each time the system answered with a message that they are busy and to call back later. At the 31st call she got the queuing system and was able to make the appointment. Those previous 30 calls lasted no more than 15 seconds each. Every one cost 8p Talk Talk connection charge plus the 4p call charge. 12p x 30 = £3.60

Is there any technical reason why the system cannot be made to be engaged to the incoming call if it cannot direct it to a queue.

I will contact my GP, local nhs trust, local councellor and newspaper about this .

Chrissy_Boy_2

dadsma wrote: »

Is there any technical reason why the system cannot be made to be engaged to the incoming call if it cannot direct it to a queue.

.

Technically no, you could have an engaged tone but the "call back later" message is effectively the same thing.

C