Feb's 0870 changes promise consumer savings but business chaos

[Bob Crabtree]

Looks like there's going to be major upheavals for many UK businesses running up to February as a result of Ofcom's decision to prevent them charging extra for calls coming in on 0870 numbers.

Consumers should benefit, though, because such calls will then be charged only at local rates. However, firms that need the revenue from 0870 calls will be switching to new numbers that are chargeable at above-local rates, while those to whom it's only secondary will have to decide whether to pay the cost of calls themselves or switch.

More in this HEXUS.lifestyle.headline.

[rolph]

Good.

I've used this site
www.saynoto0870.com
to get the direct numbers for companies.

Most of the 0870 numbers i call are usually complaints of some kind. So I resent their making more money from providing me with poor service or products.

[Bob Crabtree]

rolph,

Great link - I'd have been very keen to have known about this earlier, though.

But maybe the people who run the site will come up with similar info for the new chargeable numbers.

[snedger]

usually if sayno.. doesn't have a geographical or freephone alternative then I just don't deal with that company.
Used it just this morning to speak to Vodafone equivalent of 191 for free on a landline.

If all Ofcom are going to accomplish is to get companies to change their phone number to an alternative revenue generating number then Ofcom really haven't got a clue about how to protect/help consumers. Just more confusion around the unfamiliarity of tariff rates for "different" numbers.

One thing that is good though, is that the people who give out an 0870 number as their personal number and actually earn money from family and friends calling them, will no longer profit in such an unpalatable way. There were actually websites out there encouraging people to do this. Yeuch!