Another great company for 0800 numbers

Following on from our recent post about great 0800 number providers that we’ve been testing out, this week we’ve been looking at The 0800 Number Company. This is one of the best providers of 0800 numbers out there, offering 0800 numbers to landlines, mobile and fax to email.

They’re one of the few companies that you only have to give 30 days’ written notice to as well, which is a huge plus these days. Lots of telecoms companies try to tie you in to 6 month contracts, 12 month contracts or even 24 month contracts, which is incredibly unhelpful for businesses in times of financial uncertainty.

So, hats off to The 0800 Number Company for bucking this trend, for being open until 5.30 so you’ve got plenty of time to call them, to having a great range of extra features, for having a thorough, detailed site which explains lots of things, for having helpful and friendly customer service staff, for making it easy to purchase their numbers online and have them connected in minutes, for having fair charges, pay per second rather than pay per minute billing, and for also offering 0845, 0844 and  virtual local numbers as well if you don’t want an 0800 number. Great company!

Gold 0800 Numbers lives up to its name!

It may not be one of the more well known telecoms companies, but we have been trying out a variety of 0800 number companies recently to test their customer service levels, and Gold 0800 Numbers was certainly one company that lived up to their name!

They offer 0800 numbers to landlines, mobiles and fax to email. Incredibly friendly staff made a pleasant and refreshing change from many companies. It is normal for staff on the other end of the phone to sound bored and that they can’t be bothered to help you. Gold was different – their staff sounded happy to help and nothing was too much trouble.

Their prices were reasonable, there was no long term contract chaining you to their product for 12 months or 24 months – just 30 days written notice needed to cancel. Pay per second billing rather than having to pay per minute is an added bonus, as was the fast connection times and the range of extra features. Even the “talking” goldfish on their website brought a smile to my face and brightened my day!

They're called Gold Numbers because they offer memorable, but they''re also gold because they're first class!

USA celebrates 45 years of toll free numbers

America has been marking the 45th anniversary of the toll free number, according to an article in Virtual-Strategy Magazine. They note that tollfreenumber.org and other telecoms companies in the states have been celebrating this milestone in the history of the area code, which was started by AT&T in 1967. The article notes that originally all toll free numbers in the USA had an 800 code and were handled exclusively by AT&T. In 1984 AT&T was broken up, giving customers more choice in purchasing toll free numbers, and in 1993 American consumers could transfer their numbers between telecoms providers for the first time. As well as 800 numbers now, the USA also offers 888, 855, 877 and 866 numbers.

Of course, here in the UK, we have 0800 numbers, and have had freephone numbers since 1960. One of the main providers of 0800 numbers in the UK include The 0800 Number Company, although there are a huge range of 0800 number providers out there. Despite complaints about 0800 numbers only being free from landlines, they are still regarded as a valuable asset in marketing a company and creating good relations between businesses and customers.

Daily Mail choses "Say No To 0870" as it's Website of the Week

The Daily Mail has chosen the website "Say No To 0870" as its so-called "Website of the Week". It starts by giving examples of non-geographic numbers as 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871, which it says are more expensive than normal geographic numbers. 

It declines to include in this bracket 0800 numbers, which are FREE for customers to call from a landline, and which companies with an 0800 number foot the bill for as a way of encouraging more customers to call them.

When it does go on to mention 0800 numbers, it says  "It's also worth noting that some holiday companies have so-called freephone numbers (0800 etc) for bookings - but these actually cost a small fortune to call from your mobile". What it fails to mention is that it is the mobile phone companies that charge the small fortune, not the providers of 0800 numbers, and it has clearly failed to note OFCOMs plans to make 0800 numbers free to call from mobile phones.

By failing to do its homework, the article makes companies who spend money so that their customers can call them for free look like they are ripping off their customers, which couldn't be further from the truth. 

Ofcom imposes large fine for silent calls

Whilst this post is slightly off topic in that it is not regarding 0800 numbers or freephone numbers, it is a telecoms issue and one which we found rather interesting. We also know that many of our readers suffer from the problem of silent calls, and thought they might like this drawn to their attention as well.

Around 3 weeks ago the international home insurance company HomeServe was fined £750,000 by Ofcom for making an excessive number of silent calls or abandoned calls to UK consumers.

For those who aren’t aware of silent calls – you’re lucky! They happen because call centres use automated dialling systems which dial numbers and then connect the calls to call centre agents as soon as they are answered. The aim is to make call centres more efficient, but often the automated systems dial more numbers than can be answered by the agents, meaning you’re just left with silence when you answer the phone. This is very frustrating for companies when they receive lots of these calls, but very upsetting for elderly people living alone who don’t realise what is happening.

The fine will go to HM Treasury, and is intended to act as a deterrent. More info can be found here.

Ofcom announces plans to make 0800 numbers free from mobiles

Ok, so maybe I was wrong in previous blog post - I have no choice but to eat a bit of humble pie!

This morning, Ofcom have a large banner splashed across their front page saying “Simplified call charges: Calls to 0800 telephone numbers could be free from all phones, including mobiles, under new Ofcom proposals”. Of course it would be churlish of me to point out the use of the word “could” rather than “will”, but needless to say I have not yet been proved wrong!

Their press release says “Currently, the vast majority of 0800 phone numbers incur a charge for mobile callers of up to 21p a minute. Under today’s proposals, calls to 0800 numbers from a mobile would be free for consumers, in line with landlines”.

It goes on to say that virtually everyone uses non-geographic numbers at some point, whether it’s for HM Revenue and Customs, NHS Direct or to vote in TV shows. However, it says people don’t know what they are or how much they cost, so get confused and don’t trust them. I have certainly heard people say not to phone 0800 numbers because they’re expensive! Anyway, this is a big step forward, and we will watch what happens closely.

Article says OFCOM aims to make 0800 calls from mobiles free ... yet again!

Some of you might have seen the report in The Independent a couple of weeks ago entitled “Number may be up for costly 0800 and 084 calls” on Saturday 25th February.

Under the title was the summary saying: “Ofcom, the communications regulator, is taking forward proposals to make calls to them free from mobiles and landlines.” This was an interesting statement as it seemed to imply that currently calls to 0800 and 084 numbers from both mobiles and landlines are not free. This of course isn’t true, as calls to 0800 numbers from a landline are free, that is the point of them, they are freephone numbers. Therefore, in essence the article is saying that OFCOM is striving for 0800 numbers to be free from mobiles as well as landlines, so that they are freephone numbers from both.

Of course, it is the mobile phone companies that charge for you to call an 0800 number, and is nothing to do with the 0800 number providers. The article also mentions that the Department of Health is writing to GP surgeries to remind them not to use 084 numbers, but that does not mean that the number is up for them! At the end of the day, we have heard this about 0800 numbers being free from mobiles many times before, and although we would very much welcome it, we will believe it when we see it!