After looking at a web site (irrespective of content) I saw an ad on it with this number 0870 000 000. It looked interesting, and there was nothing on tv, so for the hell of it, I checked this site with no luck. Then I decided to Google, and found a phenomenal amount of people use this number. It was almost worth paying the rip-off to find the answer. But have a look at this lot.

Lipsy Clothing. 71 Mortimer Street, London, W1W 7SA   (real no 44 (0) 207 263 5879)

Our wonderful government with this site - http://www.together.gov.uk/cagetfile.asp?rid=391

COMPUTER orBIT Ltd (who also trade as CoCC, in another listing) 400-408 Old Durham Road , Gateshead , Tyne & Wear. NE9 5DQ

A tarot line - predicts my future (wonder if they predicted that I wouldn't ring them?)

Connectpoint - on http://www.connectpoint.co.uk/stimulus/mutv.htm (they are drumming up punters to watch a show on MUTV)

A company called "1in4 mortgages"

ebay customer care line

www.5star-website-design.co.uk

http://www.simpledeal.co.uk/new_cars/Finance.asp  - A car sales - however further looking brings up yet another 0870 number, and not the one we're looking at.

http://www.ablemagazine.com/_colony/module/Issues/type/article/ableIssueArticleID/96
An online magazine for the less abled members of society

http://ctechgroup.co.uk/   - No idea, dead site

And last of all, for no reason other than their google listing - a company called M3 Geometrics. A site with men who play with their theodolites in public

The whole list is so varied, but the common theme is their connection with that number, and that they all offer another 0870 for a contact.

Any thoughts? I don't really need to know. It was just one of those things!

Their are a fair number of  NGN numbers that are used by Telemarketing Companies, time and time again, for different companies,in different advertising campaigns.

Ah, but 0870 should then be followed by seven digits: 000 0000.
I suspect that these are dummy marketing plans (not, necessarily, plans for marketing to dummies)

It's an old post, but we've just seen this.

We ARE they. The said 0870 rip off. (Yes, we know.. std rate 03700000000 soon, Ofcom will allow the swap.) Omax www.omax.org and 0870 000 0 000 is a genuine number, ours.
Once or twice a month we get a call from some poor dupe, who seeing a mock-up web-site, press ad or similar, calls us. Somebody, somewhere always has one going. Some get quite a surprise, expecting to get an IBM or some dull corporate...  or widget seller, it was Prudential last month.


You see,  since 1993, we've been selling what is the world's first rechargable vibrator. Yes really, and sometimes we even get a sale from these calls.  We've sold this design in John Lewis as a massager, but that's anotehr story. We're not gangsters using Triad & Yakuza backed  factories like our competitors, we design hairdryers, toothbrushes and foodmixers , we're working on a Tympanic Thermometer at the moment. Yet, this lark is far more entertaining.
Calls for us take on a new meaning, some of the things our customers will tell you down a phone, you'd never credit.

An artworker will put our real 0870000000 number for all to see, in itself not much to shout about, except... sometimes the results can be real fun.  We get some great calls...

Whilst they're on, we always do our best to sell, after all, a call is a call, business is business. This week, it's  calls for Nitnurse?? Google 'Nitnurse' and you'll see the site. Last week we had calls for Natwest. The calls from Saga were good.

But the best by far,  are the mock-up calls and wrong numbers, from the "Angry of Tunbridge-Wells" types. Harmless fun, yet the more irate they are, the funnier it gets, because in the finish, our retort can always be "But, but, but, but... but... let us get a word in here, you rang us?!"

One fella, off in a huff, had inside ten minutes  his wife  ringing us, giggling with the words, "Oh, don't take any notice of him, I'd like to order..." So, a sense of humour, and some sunshine prevailed. That was way-back-when, when we first got this great number, and that lady has since ordered again, she told us, it's become a laughing point for the two of them.

We just love it, it brightens our day no end, we must have tiny minds.

0870000 0000

Oh it's HEAVEN!, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, OHHHH! Geddit?

A phone number with real fun & meaning. We're almost proud of it, are we allowed to get all smug and puff our chests?

And before you carp on, yes, we're migrating to 0370. see our other post. We really wanted a great, very memorable number, not call revenue. And we've not received the revenue anyway. That post tells why.

So, yes, these are, dummy marketing plans (not, necessarily, plans for marketing to dummies.) But they seem to work, for us, anyway.

As the OP did, if you Google our NGN

087 000 0 0000
0870 00 00 00 0
0870 000 0000
0870 0000 000

Depending on where you put the spaces, you'll get the world and his mother, all claiming  to be us. For some reason, Airport taxi services like us most.

The confusion must be more of  problem for Prudential and IBM, than us. We like to think they get calls asking to order an Omax.  ;) You can see how it happens... OK, maybe not.

Will it be the same when we finally, finally, finally, telcos permitting, go over to 0370 000 0 000. Oh,oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ( eight times remember...) we do hope so.

And you know what? All this makes us feel wanted, cuddled even. ;)

Carry on Sgt. Major...

And this week we've AA Travel Insurance, they've put 0870000 0000 on their site.

We're getting 10-12 calls a day, and tried and failed, we can't get them to take it down... yet. Hey-ho.

It took forever, but now we run 0370000 0000 concurrently, at last!