I, like all of you probably, believe 0800 numbers to be free to the caller, but unless I'm reading it incorrectly BT seem to think otherwise.

I was trying to phone BT Broadband to complain about the speed of my Broadband.  I found the following contact page ... (a rather long URL) to their "Contact BT > Broadband & Internet > BT Broadband > I have a technical or connection problem" page on the Phone Us tab.  It gives a number to call which is 0800 111 4567 and then strangely states the following ...

"Calls to 0800 numbers provided by BT will be charged at up to 4 pence per minute. A call set-up fee of up to 6 pence per call applies to calls from residential lines. Mobile and other providers’ costs may vary."

Am I simply mis-reading things or is BT really suggesting I'll be charged?

Mike

# URL view corrected ~ DaveM

My suspicion is that that number used to be an 0845 number, but has recently changed to an 0800 number. Probably means that someone has forgotten to update the page for the new number. You should never be charged to call an 0800 number from a landline (mobiles are chargeable unfortunately).

No I think something else is afoot here if you look at this page which also goes to a freephone number 0808 100 7665.

They both seem to be associated with BT supplying other numbers (0800 & 0808) for the subscriber who would be charged this when people call (the subscriber), if that makes any sense. You see my thinking here ? There were a few others that I found on this website that gave similar info to what I've shown above.

Well, having a quick browse of the web, it seems that technical support for BT used to be on an 0870 number. As I said before, I think someone has just replaced the number and not bothered to change the surrounding text.

BT have now updated the page to correctly read "Calls to 0800 numbers are free from UK landlines. Mobile costs may vary."

Unfortunately I still haven't solved my Broadband issue  :(

Mike