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.
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