The 0800 Number Company don't tie their customers in to long term contracts

Leading freephone number provider The 0800 Number Company has published a quite interesting blog post on its website about why it doesn't tie customers in to long term contracts. The main thrust of the argument is that the circumstances of businesses ordering 0800 numbers can change dramatically in a short period of time, especially in such volatile economic conditions. It is therefore unfair to saddle businesses with rental and charges for 0800 numbers for months if they find they don't need them. They also argue that if the service is good enough then people won't leave, and you shouldn't lock people in - all good arguments and the sort of thing we expect from 0800 number providers!

Childline reaches 25 year milestone

We asked a couple of weeks ago about leading 0800 numbers, and of course one of the most famous and recognisable 0800 numbers of them all is the Childline number - 0800 1111. Last week they celebrated their 25th anniversary. They do outstanding work, and we salute the work they do.

Interesting article on 0800 freephone number calls from mobiles

Here at the 0800 Numbers buyers guide blog, we try to keep our eyes open for interesting articles about freephone numbers for you. We found a quite interesting one this week on moneymarket.com, which you can read for yourself by clicking here. It states that people spend around £1.9million per year calling non-geographical numbers (NGNs) including freephone 0800 numbers from mobile phones. The article goes on to talk about various alternatives to calling freephone 0800 numbers and other NGNs from mobiles, such as the wide range of sites out there that give you the actual number that the 0800 number is routed to. It is not, of course, the 0800 number providers that make money on calls to freephone numbers from mobile phones but the mobile phone providers themselves. Of course, if mobile providers continue to charge excessive prices then they are going to lose out because people will seek these alternatives, so they need to start considering their options.

The most popular 0800 number?

I keep wondering, what are the most popular, the most used, the most advertised 0800 numbers? Surely the Crimestoppers number has to be up there, as every time I put the phrase 0800 numbers into a Google search, it brings up something on the first page to do with Crimestoppers. Maybe that is just the most newsworthy. Anyone else got any other thoughts?

Blog expands to include international freephone numbers

Up until now, this blog has mainly focused on 0800 freephone numbers in the UK, but of course freephone numbers are used worldwide, not just in the UK. In the UK of course, 0800 is the freephone number, but a wide range of different numbers are used across the globe. Therefore, in the future, whilst still considering UK freephone numbers, we will also be looking at international toll free forwarding numbers.

So, this includes 1 800, 1 855, 1 866 and 1 877 numbers in the USA, 0805 numbers in France, and countries which also have 0800 numbers, which include Germany and New Zealand.

More and more telecoms companies are now offering toll free numbers internationally, which is why we are expanding the material covered in this blog to take account of that. Look out for this in future blogposts!

A brief history of UK freephone numbers

If like me you're a bit of a history buff then you might be interested to learn a little bit about the history of UK 0800 numbers.

The Post Office, which had controlled the telephone system in the UK since 1912, introduced freephone services to subscribers in 1959 and to business services in 1960.

Linkline 0800 and 0345 numbers were first introduced in 1985, and became freefone and lo-call afterwards. In 2000, BT's 0345 numbers and Mercury's 0645 numbers were merged to create the present day 0845 numbers.

False hope

For a brief moment, we thought the first move had been made in the price of calling 0800 numbers from mobile phones coming down when Vodafone UK announced that they were dropping the costs of calls to 0800 numbers from their phones. That is until 3rd January 2012 when they're putting them up again. The long wait continues!

0800 number for safety, security and peace of mind?

This week, OFCOM published an article called Keep Connected at College - a student guide - which we highly recommend as a useful and informative document for young people moving away from home for the first time, going to college or university.

On this note, we thought it worth repeating a suggestion we heard a little while back, that maybe parents might want to consider getting an 0800 number for their kids for when they go away to university or college. Yes, they all have mobile phones now, but it is amazing how easily they can loose them or have them stolen on a night out, and end up without money or a card for phoning home.

The freephone numbers can be pointed either to the parents phone, to the student accommodation or to anywhere else, to give the parents and the students peace of mind and to act as an extra security and safety precaution just in case.

UK Newspapers noting costs of prices to 0800 numbers from mobiles

Freephone numbers have been in the news again this week. Last weekend (Saturday 3rd September) there was an article in The Telegraph by Neasa MacErlean with the headline “Taking action over the high cost of essential phone helplines”, and on Monday 5th September The Sun newspaper had an article with the headline “mobile callers paying £1.70 for ‘free’ 0800 number” by Tim Heming.

Both were complaining about the fact that people calling freephone 0800 numbers from a mobile phone are charged a high price by their mobile phone network provider in order to do so. The Sun article named and shamed the mobile companies that charge the highest amount, and noted that UK consumers are paying £1.9billion per year on calls to freephone numbers from mobiles.

The Telegraph article focused on the costs to government departments, other organisations and helplines being over 40p per minute. According to the report, OFCOM is looking at stopping mobile phone companies from charging people for phoning 0800 numbers from their mobiles. Both articles looked at the impact that being charged to phone an 0800 number has on the poorest people in society, many of whom do not have a landline and so have no choice but to pay the high charges. Although the Department of Work & Pensions agreed a deal with mobile providers earlier in the year that most of their 0800 numbers would be free when called from a mobile, there are still a lot of other organisations out there with 0800 numbers which are expensive when called from mobile phones. Apparently a decision is due within four months, so we’ll watch this space.

Order now in time for Christmas!

If you were thinking about giving your business a boost by getting one or more freephone numbers, then now is the time to do it. The summer is just about over, companies are more or less going to be at full staff again now, everyone has taken their summer holiday, and it is work work work until Christmas. And yes, Christmas is less than four months away, so things are going to start getting busy again soon with people preparing for Christmas and buying Christmas presents. So, if you want to stand out from the crowd when people start looking for businesses, start ordering your 0800 numbers today!

Dutch look at freephone 0800 numbers

It was reported in the Dutch media this week that the Dutch communications watchdog, Opta, is looking into the charges made my mobile phone companies to call an 0800 number from a mobile.

Apparently they have come to the conclusion that there is no cheaper alternative, but whether this study will start a snowball effect in other countries on what mobile companies charge businesses on what should be “freephone numbers” remains to be seen. 0800 numbers are great for the consumer if you’re calling from a landline, but as more and more calls are made from mobiles, it is becoming increasingly hard to refer to 0800 numbers as freephone numbers without some sort of clarification in there for mobiles. We will wait and watch with interest.

Added features for 0845 and 0800 numbers

Following last week's post about lo-call UK 0845 numbers, I've been sent emails asking what added features you can get for these non-geographic numbers. The answer is exactly the same as the ones available for freephone 0800 numbers.

So, generally these include:

• Fax to Email
• Call Whisper
• Greeting Message
• Voicemail
• Call Recording
  
• Press 1 for Customer Service
• Call queuing

Many of these are features which you probably thought were only available to large companies, but the truth is most telecoms companies offer them with their non-geographic numbers and anyone can have them for a small monthly charge.

If you can't afford a freephone 0800 number, choose 0845 instead

Here at 0800 Numbers - A Buyers Guide - we believe passionately in the power of the 0800 number. It is hard to over state how much business just having a freephone number can give you, as individuals and companies will almost always choose to phone a freephone 0800 number over a call they have to pay for any day.

However, we understand that in the current economic circumstances, with businesses suffering, paying to receive calls isn't necessarily the top priority, and that small businesses - especially new start up businesses - find it hard to have to pay for the calls they receive, even if that does mean a huge growth in business - when there isn't much liquidity in the system.

So, we recommend initially getting an 0845 telephone number instead. It is still a non-geographic or "national" phone number, and is a "lo-call" number, so the people calling from a landline pay a local rate to make the call, which is low (hence the name!) You, the recipient, don't pay anything to receive the call.

This is the best option until you feel you are in a position to afford an 0800 number, but we still highly recommend getting a freephone number as soon as you can.

Plusnet come round to the benefits of freephone numbers

We were delighted to see this week that Plusnet - who provide "good honest broadband from Yorkshire" have decided to use freephone numbers for their customer service. Welcome to the 0800 number club!

Which type of number to use for companies wanting to gain from the London olympics?

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There has been much discussion in blogs and forums and in the telecoms circle of people that I move in as to which type of phone number is best for companies wanting to capitalise on business from the 2012 London Olympics.

Well, my answer, as always, is 0800 numbers - freephone numbers. All other factors aside, 0800 numbers always do better because they are free to call. Simple as that.

Extra Features for 0800 numbers

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We've noticed that The 0800 Number Company has got some new videos on their site. Of particular interest were the videos on the page about extra features for 0800 numbers, explaining the benefits of the extra features.

Those mentioned are Call Whisper, Voicemail, Greeting Message, Time of Day Routing, DOBNA, IVR, Call Recording, Call Queuing and Online Call Statistics.

Which is the best, and are there any other good extra features for freephone numbers out there?

0800 Number Company clever tip

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The freephone number provider, The 0800 Number Company, has a nice article on its website giving a handy tip. It suggests getting a freephone for your kids to use, so that if they are out and their mobile runs out of battery and they don't have any money or cards to use a payphone, then they can call the 0800 number for free and speak to home. Great idea - we'd love to hear any more clever tips like this to share!

0800 number call charges from mobile phones

If there is one thing that gets mobile phone users hopping made in the Uk then it's the fact that they have to pay high call charges when dialling a freephone 0800 number.

It gets their backs up because they know that the same call to an 0800 number from a BT standard landline is free, gratis, zippo, zilch, nowt, niente.

There are some murmurs in the telecoms market place that all this is about to change.

This post gives a link out to two recent press releases.

Please have a read and let me know what you think.

Free Calls to 0800 Numbers From Mobiles
by The 0800 Number Company

Calls to Freephone 0800 Numbers To Be Made Free

by DBS Telecoms

Free 0800 Calls From a Mobile
by DVDoctor

Cheers

Kelvin

0800 Numbers and Added Value features

Many people don't realise when they purchase an 0800 or 0845 number that they are opening up a fantastic set of added value features.

This post provides some great links to articles and press releases made by the leading 0800 number providers. The articles and press releases give an indepth look at the added value features on offer:

0800 Numbers Can Make Sure Your Business Never Misses Another Call
from DBS Telecoms

0800 Numbers And Auto Attendant (Press 1 For Sales)
from The 0800 Number Company

0845 Numbers Can Tell Between Personal & Business Calls

from The 0845 Number Company

0800 Numbers
from Turk Telekom

...would appreciate your comments