I obtained a 0870 number back in August with my first SIP to PSTN account, and started using this for all non personal use. When I called the tax office recently about an error they had made, they said that they would ring back, so I gave them my 0870 number, and they asked if I had another number, so I said no.

It’s great, they have probably been told not to call 0870s, but many parts of the government happily expects us the call them.

Yes, and they have now gone over to 0845 where we pay more and they pay more!

Might not be a good idea to give your 0870 number to the Inland revenue, they would probably know that they're revenue generating numbers, and expect you to pay tax on any income from them!!!

I noticed the comment under Fred's image, and I make no further comment ! :-X

The only way you pay more for an 0845 is IF you have an inclusive plan with a Telco, and I would hazard a guess that well over 60% of people in UK still DO NOT. Therefore, you cannot make a sweeping statement saying that WE PAY MORE if the majority DO NOT !!   ;D

I do like the idea of the IR chasing tax on the revenue from the 0870. More likely they would ignore the person calling making them have to call back !

Dave,

That is quite untrue

wrote on Feb 21^st, 2005 at 6:20pm:

The only way you pay more for an 0845 is IF you have an inclusive plan with a Telco, and I would hazard a guess that well over 60% of people in UK still DO NOT.

Well seeing as EVERYONE on BT DOES have a form of discount on normal local-rate calls, at the very least on off-peak ones, then your comment would seem to be incorrect.

Off-peak you can call a local number for 5p/hour.  
0845 I believe is about 2p/min.  Id say thats a BIG difference.  

Also I think a lot of people DO choose specific inclusive plans as you can get 5p/hour peak-rate calls for about £5/month - which is cheap if you make a lot or long daytime calls.

It has always seemed to me that I use the phone less than most people, though even I am managing about £5/month since BT pulled the plug on including a couple of quid a month as free.

WRONG ! You're incorrect on 3 counts !

1st  -  it's 5.5p for and hour on BT evenings

Not forgetting that's whether your call is 1min or 60min. So for each 1min to 5min call to a local number costs MORE than the 0845 call of the same duration.

2nd -  it's 1p/min for an evening 0845 call

3rd  -  A lot of people DON'T change because they are confused

You seem to be in the minority that did change (which I did as well, many years ago). If I as a well informed, fairly intelligent person said that the market confuses the hell out of me at times, I hate to think what it does for the average, uninformed user. I've put the Telco information in front of many friends & changed their minds quite quickly without confusing them. A lot still didn't change. Whether it was apathy, lethargy, stupidity or laziness, I have no idea.
You can't win 'em all !  :-/

One of the reasons people don't change is because they are unaware of the cost of calls.Do BT now automatically provide bills showing the cost of each call?
Many companies give inclusive packages of one sort or another not to mention the exclusion of NGNs on mobile packages, not to mention 18866 and 1899.People using all of the above are paying more on all NGNs even 0845.
I think that all the companies dhould be obliged to follow the example of 18866 and 1899 and give the cost per minute at the time of making the call.
As far as awareness raising is concerned surely we should try and get the interest of the local press and any residents associations magazines  .

wrote on Feb 21^st, 2005 at 6:20pm:

The only way you pay more for an 0845 is IF you have an inclusive plan with a Telco, and I would hazard a guess that well over 60% of people in UK still DO NOT.

Dear Dave,

You are incorrect on this matter.

I think you will find 100% of the British public has to pay £1.84 for a 15 minute call to an 0845 number from a BT Payphone compared to just 30p to a geographic number from the same BT Payphone.  Or something like £6.80 for 1 hour to an 0845 number on a Payphone at the weekend compared to just 60p (without discounts) to the same 0845 number from a BT Residential line.

Also have you not recently checked out the cost of calling 0845 and 0870 numbers on many Pay as You Go mobile packages, versus the cost of calling a geographic national phone number.

The 0845 call over charge scandal affects most ordinary people and of course the NEG 0844 doctor call overcharge scandal even more so.

I'm still inclined to think that you are perhaps an undercover BT mole?

As with everything (utility bills, phone calls, etc.) which option is cheapest depends on an individual's usage. If most of your calls are made in the evening and last for more than 5 minutes, geographical numbers are cheaper than 0845. If you mostly use the phone during the day, you'd probably be better off on a (more) inclusive tariff.

Competition is all very well if the public understand it and/or are willing to change. But in reality they don't, which is how the privatised utilities make their money. That at least benefits people such as those who use this site, so maybe we should just keep quiet about it...

Personally, I'd choose the package that included free 0870 calls, as I mainly call companies and they usually quote such numbers - which is exactly what I tell the BT salesperson whenever they call to try and make me change to a more expensive package!