I have sent of an FOI request to Devon & Cornwall Constabulary with regards to their non-emergency contact number, 08452 777 444.

I've also specifically made a point that their website here is well outdated and is incorrect and misleading and I've asked them to update their website accordingly.

I've had a reply back from Devon & Cornwall Constabulary over their 0845 number.


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1.  What is the geographical number that your 08452 777 444 points to (terminates at)? 01752 721100 and 01392 420320.  Please note that these numbers could be subject to change at any time. 2.  Does the 08452 777 444 point to (terminate at) more than one geographical number? Yes two numbers as our operations are run as a virtual room over two sites. 3.  What was your reasons for the introduction of your 0845 number when it does not offer any benefit to us public (local geographical rate and national geographical rate no longer exist and calls actually cost the same) and an 0845 can and in most cases does cost more (up to 30/40ppm) and acts as a "cost barrier" as mentioned previously? We previously issued a 0870 number for the public to contact us, this was replaced by an 0845 number in September 2003 as our new Command Team considered this to be more acceptable. The geographical force area spans two counties and BT is the main Telecoms provider to the large majority of the population and therefore local and national geographical rates still exist. Hence the provision of a non-geographical number for NON-URGENT calls means that a local rate is paid from wherever the call is made and this applies to both residents of Devon and Cornwall and the wider UK population.  The provision of an 0845 is about more that just cost, it provides other benefits such as resilience and business continuity. 3.  Do you receive any revenue from the use of this number in anyway shape, or form (whether this is invested back in maintaining the call center/switchboard or not)? No.  We do not receive any revenue from use of this number. 4.  Do you contribute in anyway to the use of this 0845 number?  And if so, how much per minute? Yes.  The financial contribution is 1.86 pence per minute per call.

I have added this to the database.

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The geographical force area spans two counties and BT is the main Telecoms provider to the large majority of the population and therefore local and national geographical rates still exist.

All was going well until I read this. Perhaps you could email them back and point out that this only applies to a minority of callers and that most are on BT Together, of which they have had no say over.

It's strange, cause I always maintained that before Standard was done away with, if you visited BT.com you could be forgiven that it didn't exist. But all these organisations come out proclaim that there are differences between local and national rate.

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All was going well until I read this. Perhaps you could email them back and point out that this only applies to a minority of callers and that most are on BT Together, of which they have had no say over.

I did spot that and I am going to email them back (although this was put in my original FOI request) and I'm also (yet again) going to point out that their contact us info page here still maintains and therefore gives the impression that their 0845 is cheaper.
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It's strange, cause I always maintained that before Standard was done away with, if you visited BT.com you could be forgiven that it didn't exist. But all these organisations come out proclaim that there are differences between local and national rate.

This falls down again to lack of education/information.

Could you post us the link to BT's special pricing info sheet as I appear to have lost the link - thanks!

wrote on Sep 29^th, 2005 at 5:29pm:

This falls down again to lack of education/information.

Lack of education for businesses, as the current consultation document seems to suggest.

It's two extremes where BT wanted to keep Standard quiet but NGN providers are only two happy to peddle national/local rubbish.


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Could you post us the link to BT's special pricing info sheet as I appear to have lost the link - thanks!

Links in this thread.

I suppose that one can only hope that they do not apply the same grasp of the laws of arrest as they appear to have of elementary telecoms - and I really do mean elementary.  :'(

wrote on Sep 29^th, 2005 at 7:10pm:

I suppose that one can only hope that they do not apply the same grasp of the laws of arrest as they appear to have of elementary telecoms - and I really do mean elementary.  :'(

I hope your faith regarding their knowledge of the laws of arrest does not turn out to be misplaced.