A really good response from South Eastern Trains. Maybe somthing to do with them losing the franchise in April.

You made a request under the Freedom of Information Act.  Thank you for being specific in the questions you asked.  We hope to have answered you as fully and clearly as possible.  Where you have questions or require more clarification, please let me know.  

1.      Do you use 0870 numbers?
No. South Eastern Trains replaced 0870 numbers with 0845 numbers in March 2005.


2.      Do you use 0845 numbers?
Yes

2.1.      And if so, what are the equivalent geographical numbers?
These numbers are as follows:

o      0845 000 2222 = 01752 675 649
o      0845 000 2211 (now replaced by an 0800 number in our website information) = 01752 835 758
o      0845 678 6978 = 01752 835 756
o      0845 678 6966 (now replaced by an 0800 number in our website information - this is a minicom number) = 01752 835 722
o      0845 678 6976 (fax) = 01752 828 393

Please note that these geographical numbers are subject to change at any time and are only valid at the time of writing.

2.1.1.      What would the equivalent geographical number be for callers calling outside of the UK, who cannot dial Non-geographical numbers (e.g.0845,0870)

South Eastern Trains are aware that callers cannot connect to non geographical numbers from overseas, but as South Eastern Trains runs a service that is UK-based, this does not affect our customer base.  If a customer did want to contact South Eastern Trains while overseas, there is the option of emailing from the South Eastern Trains website.

2.2.  What revenue do you receive per minute and in total from the use of
0845 numbers?
We receive nominal/no revenue from the use of the 0845 numbers.

2.2.      Are you aware of the revenue collected by your telecom provider, from your callers?
South Eastern Trains is not aware of the amount of money its service providers make from a call.

2.3.      Have you considered the revised COI* guidelines?
I can confirm that South Eastern Trains has taken into consideration the revised guidelines.

2.4.1.      If so, what conclusions did you come to?
COI guidance recommends that an alternative method of contact should be offered.  South Eastern Trains offers its customers a number of other ways to contact its services e,g. via the web where you can send an email, or by letter.

2.5.      Do you realise that a call to local number costs the same as a call to a national number when made from the same location for the majority of telephone subscribers?
South Eastern Trains does realise that some service providers now charge the same rate for national and local calls.  However, this depends on the service provider and the tariff chosen by the customer.

2.6.      Do you realise that 0845 numbers now offer no cost advantage to callers, irrespective of their location, only disadvantages?
South Eastern Trains does realise that tariffs can vary depending on the customers service provider and depending on the type of phone they are calling from (eg. Landline or mobile).  However, having a non geographic number insulates the customer from potential issues that could be caused by disaster recovery situations where numbers may require re-routeing for periods of time.  South Eastern Trains investigated the use of 0800 freephone numbers but did not proceed as the cost of introducing free calling would significantly increase running costs which would have to be reflected in additional service costs.

2.7.  Are you aware of the cost implications to your callers, when using
0845 numbers, including calls from mobile phones?
South Eastern Trains does realise that tariffs can vary depending on the customers service provider, their calling plan and depending on the type of phone they are calling from (eg. Landline or mobile).  

2.8.  How much does it cost to call an 0845 number:
2.8.1.      In the Daytime.
2.8.2.      In the Evening.
2.8.3.      At Weekends.
The cost is entirely dependent on the tariff charged by the individual service provider that the customer uses and the individual calling plan that the customer has with their service provider.  It also depends on the type of phone they are calling from (eg. Landline or mobile).  

2.8.4.        Could you tell me why you don't list the cost of calling an
0845 on your website, in breech of the ASA/CAP Guidelines.
South Eastern Trains does not list the cost of calling a 0845 number on the website as tariffs can vary depending on the customers service provider and any specific calling plan that customer has with their telecom provider.  Cost also depends on the type of phone they are calling from (eg. Landline or mobile).

3.      If Applicable what companies supply/operate your:
3.1.  0845 telephone numbers: This is managed by our call centre Symphony and Global Crossing.
3.2.  0870 telephone numbers: N/A
3.3.  Telephone switch equipment: Global Crossing.

4.      I would also like copies of all the internal documents, memos;
meetings; discussions and any information relating to the tender of the 0870, 0845 numbers.

We do not hold this information as we have held most of our 0845 numbers for several years. We did not have a specific tender for the numbers although we did tender for call centre services.

If you are unhappy with our response to your request, you have the right to have the response reviewed. Please contact me if you wish to do so.

Yours sincerely




Mike Gibson

That's a really good response! As they're a private company, are they even covered by the act?
EDIT: Whoops, I'm really sorry; I didn't realise how old this thread is!  :-[
Apparently, the old South Eastern trains were a private company in public ownership, so they were covered by the act.