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.

Choosing an 0800 Number

Latest market research gives a good degree of assurance for those UK companies who are considering purchasing an 0800 number:

Research by the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM) shows that the provision of an 0800 number to a firm can increase response rates by some 185%

Henley Centre Telebusiness Survey claims that customers who see an 0800 freephone number feel that a company "wants their business".

Teleculture 2000 say that 63% of consumers prefer doing business with UK businesses that offer an 0800 freephone number.

Recommended providers include dbs telecoms and BC

0800 Numbers – 10 things to look out for before buying!

0800 numbers allow your customers to call you without being charged. This not only increases the amount of calls your business receives, it also gives you the chance to measure which of your services are most popular.

0800 number owners are charged for each call they receive. When a person dials in 0800 number owners can “point” their numbers to any landline (or mobile) that they designate.

The phone line that you use to receive the call does not necessarily have to be dedicated to 0800; it can be a standard phone that you use to make and receive normal calls.

Follow this advice before buying an 0800 number:

1. Make sure 0800 is right for you – 0800 numbers are good at linking businesses to their customers. If the majority of your work is business to business, a 0800 may not be necessary. The majority of companies contacting you will not mind paying for the cost of a phone call.

2. Work with a reputable 0800 number company - Look for an organization that has been working with 0800 numbers for a long time and can provide you with support. There may be glitches that can arise the first time you use an 0800 number so make sure you sign up to a company that can look after your best interests.

3. Get the company contact address if buying an 0800 number online - Some telecoms resellers do their best to cover up their identity on their websites. Make sure you can see a physical address and that you have a contact phone number. Better still choose a company who actually provide a real person’s contact name. Most 0800 number resellers should be able to connect your number within 24 hours.

4. Beware of 'free' numbers – If you're not being charged a set-up and rental fee for a 0800 number then the cost of the phone calls you receive will be more expensive. Nobody gives anything away so read the small print. The majority of reputable companies will charge a modest set up fee, a monthly rental of around £2 + VAT per number and call charges of around 4p per minute.

5. Get itemised bills with phone calls charged by the second – Make sure your 0800 provider doesn't round your calls up to the nearest minute. This can be an unnecessary and expensive cost. Similarly, make sure you receive frequent itemised billing for all the calls you have received. Some companies will let you access this online.

6. Be prepared to pay more for 0800 to a mobile – pointing an 0800 number at your mobile is a larger risk for telecom providers and consequently costs you more money. This is something to take into account if you expect a lot of calls.

7. Cater for your international calls – a UK 0800 number may not be free for international enquiries in some cases. If you rely on foreign customer sales set up a country specific number or international toll free 0800 number to extend your business.

8. Don't pay a fortune for a so-called memorable number - Many companies offer "Golden" numbers for extortionate rates that aren't memorable at all. Truly memorable numbers are very hard to come by. Unless your number is for a radio or TV campaign then it's not very important for it to be memorable.

9. Don't buy into 'free minutes' - No company can afford to give away free minutes. Some companies offer to sell bundles of minutes to you for a fixed price in much the same way as you would buy a text bundle for a mobile phone. The odds are you won't use exactly the amount of minutes you paid for. If there is a shortfall the 0800 company makes a profit. If you go over your minutes you pay for it anyway. Bottom line: Free minutes aren’t free – it has to be made up elsewhere in set up fees and monthly rentals. Does your business give products way for free?

10. Make sure your 0800 number is moveable - A lot of people use a landline for business and divert it to their mobile when they are out of the office. You can set up an 0800 number and point it at your landline. The 0800 will then follow any divert you set up on that landline. Should you decide to do this, check what the transfer costs will be from your landline to mobile - the charges can be hefty.

0845 Numbers In - 0800 Numbers Out?

The popularity of 0845 numbers is outstripping Free Phone 0800 numbers. Recent search engine statistics for February 2008 show that online purchases of 0845 numbers outweighed 0800 numbers by a factor of 3 to 1.

In recent years 0800 has been seen to be the way to go. Business people have known that they can attract potential customers with the lure of a free phone call so why this change in trend from 0800 to 0845?

A major advantage of 0845 numbers is that they offer one fixed annual cost to business owners. This is because business owners do not pay to receive calls on their 0845 numbers. Typically you will pay a modest set up fee to purchase an 0800 number plus an annual fee and that’s it – no nasty surprises.

This isn’t the case with 0800 numbers as businesses pay typically anywhere between 3p and 6p per minute to receive calls made on their 0800 numbers as well as a set up fee and monthly rental. If call traffic is high on an 0800 number then the monthly bills for call charges can rapidly rise to an unacceptable level. This can make the cost per enquiry much too high.

0800 numbers can be open to fraudulent use by employees and their families as well as salespeople. If your employee’s wife finds out that she can ring her husband at work for free by using the company’s 0800 number there is not a great deal anyone can do about it. There is no great incentive for your employees and their families to use an 0845 number to ring up work as they realise that they have to pay for the call just as if they had dialled the landline number.

A common tactic for telesales people is to go through a Yellow Pages, BT Phone Book or Thomson directory and just dial business that display 0800 numbers in their adverts. Obviously this practice greatly reduces telesales costs but can be incredibly frustrating for businesses who continually receive telephone solicitations on their 0800 number. 0845 numbers come into their own again as telesales people would simply not make the effort to just ring 0845 numbers as they understand there is a cost element to the call.

In many ways the increased popularity of 0845 numbers is a self fulfilling prophecy. The more 0845 numbers that are purchased the more they appear in adverts – the more they appear in adverts the more the public accepts and understands them. Try conducting a straw poll at your office by asking your colleagues what it costs to call 0800 numbers and 0845 numbers. Most people understand that 0845 calls cost the same as a local call so they do not represent a barrier.

Both 0800 and 0845 numbers give businesses the opportunity of a great monitoring and tracking service. The concept is simple – just put a unique number in each advert that you have and make sure that it doesn’t appear anywhere else. Look at the itemised bill you receive from your telecoms provider every month and it should list the numbers of calls your advert receives. At a glance you will be able to see how well your adverts are performing.

So, if you are considering purchasing an 0800 or 0845 number you have some decisions to make as to which one you go for. 0845 is making massive strides on 0800 number yet 0800 is a double edged sword offering free calls to your customers but being open to potential abuse.

Will 0800 free phone numbers increase the number of enquiries I receive?

The simple answer to this question is yes.


The Henley Business School found that 80% of customers are more likely to call an 0800 freephone number.

It's not hard to fathom out why this is the case. If you had the choice of spending something or nothing what would it be?

This makes 0800 numbers an invaluable marketing tool. In a competitive market place an 0800 number could give your business that extra and vital "edge" over your competition.

At the time of publication the leading 0800 number company online (number one on Google) is:
http://www.dbs-uk.co.uk/telecoms/0800-free-phone-number-provider.html