0800 - 20p a minute - no such thing as a free lunch

jamesn77qs

Is it just me or are there others out there who are surprised about the cost of calling a free landline number?
I am on 02 CPW (leaving soon I was mugged on a 'cashback' nightmare offer)
when dialling the 0800 number I assumed the automated message saying that calls were not free, merely meant the call would be using some of my inclusive minutes, as it is cheaper for O2 to connect the call than to a geographic number.
How stupid of me!
Luckily only £3 down the drain in this case but more depressing is the sickening feeling of being ripped off once again by these unscrupulous mobile companies.
It really is time the regulator got some teeth and started reigning in these companies a bit.
I can’t wait to leave 02 CPW and just hope my new operator is a bit more transparent.
What do others think?

banger9365

you would be lucky i think they all charge for free calls 0800 ect,
read some where that the goverment is looking in to the call charges for there emergency hotline numbers that they have for benifits ect because most poeple that us them do not have a landline and the mobiile companys charge for these call that should be free

Cavey

There are some free 0800 numbers (charities such as Childline), but I think it is there to dissuade the use of calling cards which would dent the profits of the phone company (and each time a new system starts they change the rules to make it more expensive). While this sucks, I can see why they do it,

IMHO they should have all legitimate service 0800 numbers as free (I mean O2 Insure's 0800 number isn't free !!!!!!) rather than blocking most of them.

irrelevant

It's a total rip off, not only are you paying over the odds to make the call, the recipient is still paying their supplier to receive it! Only people winning are the telcos.

https://www.saynoto0870.com also lists alternates to 0800 numbers, so you can find a geographic number for most places.

But also store these in your phone:
020 0222 0900
020 0222 0700

and when you need to phone an 0800, dial one of them instead. Then you dial your 0800 afterwards. (You can store it in a memory with a pause between, too.) that way it only counts as a London number, and comes out of your inclusive minutes.

roddydogs

Arnt all 0800 calls only free from landlines?

thor

roddydogs wrote: »

Arnt all 0800 calls only free from landlines?

and for that reason they should not be called 'freephone numbers' since they are not universally free.

weegie.geek

thor wrote: »

and for that reason they should not be called 'freephone numbers' since they are not universally free.

It's not the provider that charges for them though, it's the network you're calling from. The numbers are free to call, you just choose to call them via a service that charges for them.

What is universally free anyway? Should they be free from abroad as well?

I agree that there should be a whitelist of freephone numbers that are free from mobiles.

Virgin Mobile has a whitelist of charities that are free to call.

0800 numbers are free on some voip solutions as well, so that could be a workaround if you have a capable phone.

jamesn77qs

thanks for the replies especially irrelevants
020 0222 0900
020 0222 0700
numbers
now i realise my stupidity in thinking 0800 free numbers would at worst be included in inclusive minutes i will try to use these 020 numbers instead
there of course will be many who wont and the telcos will continue to coin it.

Old_Gold

irrelevant wrote: »

www.saynoto0870.com also lists alternates to 0800 numbers, so you can find a geographic number for most places.

.

Unfortunately so many companies have cottoned on this and have redirected the alternative numbers to 08...

p1an0player

if you're out and about use a payphone for 0800 numbers

alnsv1000s

irrelevant wrote: »

It's a total rip off, not only are you paying over the odds to make the call, the recipient is still paying their supplier to receive it! Only people winning are the telcos.

www.saynoto0870.com also lists alternates to 0800 numbers, so you can find a geographic number for most places.

But also store these in your phone:
020 0222 0900
020 0222 0700

and when you need to phone an 0800, dial one of them instead. Then you dial your 0800 afterwards. (You can store it in a memory with a pause between, too.) that way it only counts as a London number, and comes out of your inclusive minutes.

Just be careful when calling these numbers as they may be classed as Gateway numbers and can get charged at higher rates out of your allowance than the freephone number you were trying to Bypass. Dial at your own risk.....:rolleyes:

Remember: No such thing as a Free Lunch. Even freefone numbers..