Ive heard recently about prefix numbers you can dial before you dial your proper number. Calls to mobiles and landlines plus calls to overseas to save a lot of money

Has anyone used these numbers and i believe there are some good websites, some you have to register for and others you dont

Can anyone advise on this? thanks

I have been using 1899 for some years now for weekday daytime UK calls.

5p per call no matter how long.
10p per minute for mobiles.

Some quite good rates to various countries.

The answer to your basic question is a resounding YES.

There are 3 main 'prefix providers'. They are:

1899 (http://www.1899.com/index2.php)
18185 (http://18185.co.uk/index2.php) and
18866 (http://www.call18866.co.uk/index2.php).

More recently, 1301 a.k.a. zerop.co.uk (http://www.zerop.co.uk/) has appeared in the market.

All 4 require you to open an account with them online and provide details of either your debit or credit card or bank account for payment purposes. The latter is obviously safest because, unlike continuous payment authorities on cards, you can cancel Direct Debits.

If you have a BT landline, all of those 4 will get you calls of unlimited duration to UK 01, 02, 03 numbers for a fixed 5p connection charge (there is no 'per minute' charge thereafter) but it's worthwhile checking out the MSE UK Callchecker for the cheapest way to call 0845 and 0870 numbers (if you can't find geographic alternatives on SayNoTo0870.com)

Between them, they probably offer the best rates for many international calls too but, there, I'd recommend the MSE International Callchecker.

If you get free 01/02 calls in your telephone package (e.g. I get free calls at weekends on BT's Unlimited Weekend Plan), http://www.callsdiscount.com/uk/ might also be of interest. Their 020 3347 3399 gateway number allows completely free calls to some international destinations (e.g. Spain).


I'd advise you to change to 18185 - their charges for calls to mobiles are 6p/minute weekdays and 5p*/minute weekends.

* or 4p/minute via their 0808 1 703 703 gateway number.

is there any good ones for phoning a new zealand landline and do you have to sign up with credit card details etc, is there not another way???

One gateway provider offering ½p/minute and 8 offering 1p/minute from a BT landline using 0844 numbers - see the green cells at the top of the table HERE.

Call charged to your BT landline bill (8p connection + the per minute charge).

so for example the phone cheap provider that is .5p a minute, i just dial the 0844 number and take it from there ??

we are on bt at the mo, not sure what package but think we get free national calls at weekend and after 6 in the week up to an hour so hopefully that would be compatible with the prefix number ?

Yes, dial the 11 digits of the 0844 number (charging starts then) and, when you hear the start* of prompt message, dial the full international number (including the 00 part).

* Some ask you to hit the # key at the end of your target number so you will have to listen to the full message first time to see if the one you're using does.

Is there any cheap numbers for phoning uk mobiles from my bt landline ???

any prefixes to dial to save on calls, any links or info appreciated, ta

Oops, duplicate post, please see below.

Apologies, I forgot to mention in paragraph 6 of post #3 above that the MSE UK CallChecker also covers calls to UK mobiles.

Anyway, a series of recommendations HERE and specifically how to save money on weekday calls to UK mobiles from a BT landline, HERE (and at weekends, HERE).

whats the charge for phoning the 0871 number to get started ?

Exactly what it says on the link I provided (although I'd recommend 18185 myself).

However, as you've obviously seen, there are plenty of options at varying costs (some far more expensive than BT itself):

18185 6p/minute
1pminute 6p/min (0871 759 7030)
AbroadCall 6p/min (0871 759 8020)
DiscountDial 7p/min (0871 772 7171)
PhoneCheap 7p/min (0871 772 7272)
0844calls 7p/min (0871 772 4040)
05pence 7p/min (0871 779 0505)
AbroadPhone 7p/min (0871 779 9010)
4CheapCalling 7p/min (0871 779 6040)
Topupnow 9p/min TopUpDiscount 9p/min
Telediscount 10p/min (0871 999 6969)
Telestunt 10p/min (0871 999 1414)
1899 10p/min
Budgetcom 10p/min (0871 999 7676)
Telesavers 10p/min (0871 999 9090)
CheapestCalls 10p/min (0871 999 3838)
DialAround 10p/min (0871 999 9292)
Pennyphone 10p/min (0871 280 5280)
Dialwise 10p/min (0871 999 9191)
Bestminutes 10p/min (0871 999 7878)
Phonebird 10p/min (0871 280 2473)
Cleverates 10p/min (0871 280 2525)
call18866 12p/min
Abroadtel 13p/min (0911 927 0013)
Jajah 13.3p/min
Simply-Fone 15p/min (0911 553 4333)
Cheap Chat 15p/min (0900 864 0020)

As you will have gathered from post #7, the problem with gateway/dial-through providers is that you start paying halfway through dialling and charging continues thereafter regardless of whether or not your call is eventually successfully connected or not.

Just a quick note:
Any calls to 18185 (or any other service like that) are barred with BT Broadband Talk (BT FON)

http://www.zerop.co.uk seems to be cheaper then 18185.co.uk for non bt customers (virgin)to call landlines.. i may sign to them

Bear in mind zerop.co.uk do not allow payment by Direct Debit - so you have to agree to a (dangerous) Continuous Payment Authority (CPA) on a debit or credit card.