I've just booked our family holiday in the USA for next year. Six of us are off to California for 3 weeks. I've booked with American Aurlines as their telephone number was a normal London 020 line. British Airways was an 0870 number so I called the American Airlines 020 number at local rates instead of paying Premium Rate 0870 number charges. That little bit of profiteering by BA has just cost it a smidgen over £6000 in lost revenue. I now refuse on principal to call 0870 numbers. I hope these firms think their 0870 scams are worth it.

Aren't 0870 numbers charged the same as local ones?

0870 numbers cost about 8p per minute

It depends when you call and what network you are using.

Calling peak time (06:00h - 18:00h) Mon- Fri using a BT residential landline costs 7.509p per min

Off peak (18:00h - 06:00h) Mon-Fri using a BT residential landline costs 3.749p per min

Sat & Sun using a BT residential landline costs 1.5p per min

Or try http://www.saynoto0870.com to obtain a geographical equivilent if you can call those numbers cheaper.

(Prices relate to BT residential customers on a BT Together tariff)

Certainly not.

As posted above, costs from 1.5p/min to around 8p/min depending on time of day and day itself.

0870 also do not come out of inclusive minutes.

Compare that to BT charges for local and national calls (01 & 02):-

3p/min daytime.

5.5p for up to 1 hour evening and weekends.

Also if you use 1899, you can call real local and national numbers (01 & 02) for 3 pence per call - A big difference to 8p per minute.

Our Drs surgery has just changed to an 0845 number and try and state it is local rate, yet costs a lot more to call (for me) than the 0121 number it lands on.

Several Doctor's surgeries have gone over to 0845 and 0870 numbers, and have been bollocked by the NHS. You should certainly complain to both your local Health Service and the local press very loudly. This thing should certainly not be allowed to continue. Have you tried using their old number and seen if it still works?

Yeah, I have sent a complaint to the PCT.

Thankfully the 0845 number is just a simple timed number translation, daytime you get through to the surgery, out of hours through to the out of hours team. At least it isn't an 0870 number or a 5p/min 0844 number that puts you in a queuing system.

Therefore I can still use the actual numbers. But that is not the point.

Companies use 0845,0844,0870,0871 and 09001 to fund for customer services. In other words, the money being made by the owners of the 0870 number pays its staffs wages with this revenue.

Mobile network operators now have another of doing this, when calling your mobile operators customer service line and you choose to speak to a customer service advisor, you will be charged something like 25p per call.

0870 was and still is known as 'BT National Rate'. In fact national rate call charges no longer exist.

0845 was and still is known as 'BT Lo-call/Local rate'. In fact local call charges are now the same as standard daytime calls between landlines.

Companies should no longer use the term 'BT national rate' and 'BT local rate' anymore.

0871 numbers are 10p per minute. Ofcom now classifies this as premium rate. This number should be changed to 09071 or 0971 since this will cause confusion.

0870 numbers are 8p per minute during weekdays and about 6.5p at weekevenings and 1.5p per minute at weekends.

0845 numbers are similar to geographical charging structures.

3.749p per min to be more precise (and that includes the VAT)
(This applies to BT Together residential landline customers - other tariffs, networks and mobile charges will vary)

See my earlier post for more details.


Oh yes they do

It depends on which BT tariff you are on. e.g. BT Light User Scheme customers still have different rates when dialling local and national geographical numbers.
http://www.bt.com/customerservices/d...ser_scheme.pdf

It is true however that the majority of BT residential customers, who are on a BT Together tariff, now benefit from all geographical calls being charged at the same price as local calls

Just to clarify (or rather correct ) the above references to BT Together customers means those BT Residential customers who are on a BT Together Option 1, 2 or 3 tariff.

I've just discovered there is also a BT Together Local Calls Option tariff, where local and national calls are charged at different rates.
http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/c....boo/32123.htm

But some of these options include "free calls", in which case 08xx numbers won't be included... right?

Yes, and there is the problem. Whether BT or not or mobile, most people have already paid for a bundle of calls in their monthly bill and resent paying again.

0870 numbers are included in O2's minute bundle methinks.

Yes i am on O2 and I dont pay for 0870 or 0845 numbers I only have to pay for 0871 which i never call as i look up an alternative number

Anyway, calling 0870 numbers only costs 3p/minute peak from a BT residential landline.

I don't think so:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi...78422,#thecost

I do think so:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...16&postcount=3
Last edited by Heinz : 01-04-2007 at 18:39

OK, I'm lost. From your own post on MoneySavingExpert's forum:
Perhaps I'm being thick. Once you add VAT, a one minute 0870 call is just shy of 12p
Last edited by Captain Cod : 01-04-2007 at 18:54

And, in the same post:

08081703703 4p connection + 3p/minute

As they all appear to charge these pesky connection fees these days, the per minute rate is the vital part.

Using 18185's freephone gateway number from a BT landline, the peak per minute rate from a BT landline to an 0870 number is 3p.

I NEVER quote rates excluding VAT because doing so (as some devious firms still do) is insulting to us ordinary folk who cannot avoid paying it.
Last edited by Heinz : 01-04-2007 at 19:26

Well, I don't think that this post:

made the fact that you have to dial via another service provider very clear. In fact you didn't mention that. I guess the post was just trolling to start an argument and you sadly succeeded. An ordinary BT 0870 call costs over 7p per minute.

www.saynoto0870.com will often provide 0800 or geographic alternatives to 0870 numbers.

0870 numbers are included in O2 contract call bundles.
Last edited by Captain Cod : 01-04-2007 at 20:08

My apologies, it certainly wasn't meant to be a trigger (I assume that's what you mean by 'trolling') for an argument.

I should, of course, have pointed out the need to 'think outside the box' to get that rate but, as the link shows, I was in MSE mode when I posted and thought that'd be apparent to anyone viewing the post under the link.
Last edited by Heinz : 01-04-2007 at 23:54

0870/0845 are just a money making thing. I do absolutely everything possible when making a call OTHER than using these robbing numbers.