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!

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.

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!

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?

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?

Page rank	5

Page rank	5

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

Page rank	5

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

Page rank	5

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!