with the recently announced BT changes to 0845/0870 numbers it
might be worth mentioning that companies are wise to this website and are getting round the alternative numbers by patching them straight to a switchboard.When the operator answers, you are informed that the free part of your call is now over,and if put through,you will be put back on 0845/0870 etc.
thus saving nothing!
I have been caught out with this dodge,and also informed that this occurs with all companies.Anyone else had same problem?
dadllo  

But surely once you have dialled the geographical number and it is answered, it stays that way. If what you say is correct, which I doubt, anyone could change the call price once the call has started

It doesn't work like that. If you dial an 01/02/03 number, you are charged the 01/02/03 call price. If that redirects to an 084/087/09 number (or the operator puts you through to one), then they carry the cost of the call - not you. You cannot be (effectively) reverse-charged like that.

That is what I thought.

dadllo wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 6:10pm:

with the recently announced BT changes to 0845/0870 numbers it might be worth mentioning that companies are wise to this website and are getting round the alternative numbers by patching them straight to a switchboard.When the operator answers, you are informed that the free part of your call is now over,and if put through,you will be put back on 0845/0870 etc.[smiley=thumbsup.gif] [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

I don't mind the apperance of newbies or helping them out in any web discussion forum (we all have been newbies in web discussion forums at one time or another).

But what I do object to is a newbie who clearly still has much to learn and who then makes their first post in a forum as though they were a knowledgeable expert who thinks they know more about a subject than longstanding forum participants when all they are actually doing is showing up their own woeful lack of adequate understanding of the subject in question.

Direct dialled calls can only be charged at the rate of the number first dialled by the caller (eg 01/02) and the recipient cannot alter the charge once the call is first answered by re-routing or re-directing it internally or externally to another phone number.  Any such re-routing (especially externally) that incurs an extra call cost will be paid for by the company called and not by the person who has made the call to it.

I cannot be sure, but I had assumed that the dodge referred to by the OP was operators misleading callers into thinking that calling the geographic number had not saved them money. This would be with the intention of discreditting the site and discouraging callers from using the alternatives again.

It would be most unfortunate if we were unwilling to engage with those who may perhaps be sufficiently naive to fall for this trick.

This topic is useful as it perhaps indicates a need to commit more effort to combatting what could be a common misconception.

Oh dear! what a lot of flack that caused.I was merely relaying onwhat happened to me when I converted an 0845 # to an 0800#.
I am reassured by your feedback that this cannot be done,however THIS is what the public are being told when they ring.yes I am a newbie to this ,but not in life ..I am a pensioner
and I wasnt making a statement,witness the question at the end (ie:has anyone else had the same problem).I suggest you dont be quite so ready to jump down peoples throats,and actually read what is being said.
dadllo

dadllo wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 7:12pm:

Oh dear! what a lot of flack that caused.I was merely relaying onwhat happened to me when I converted an 0845 # to an 0800#. I am reassured by your feedback that this cannot be done,however THIS is what the public are being told when they ring.yes I am a newbie to this ,but not in life ..I am a pensioner and I wasnt making a statement,witness the question at the end (ie:has anyone else had the same problem).I suggest you dont be quite so ready to jump down peoples throats,and actually read what is being said. dadllo

I am sorry if some of the responses to your post were less than courteous. I have noticed a tendency to the Grumpy Old Men school of diplomacy by certain contributors.

I suspect that to preserve income from the 084x or 087x number, companies' switchboards are instructed not to put you through to, say, technical support but to ask you to redial using the 'direct number' which will cost you more. It has certainly happened to me.

Thanks for pointing this out

dadllo wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 7:12pm:

I am reassured by your feedback that this cannot be done,however THIS is what the public are being told when they ring.yes I am a newbie to this ,but not in life ..I am a pensioner

No it definitely cannot be done even though you seem to have been told it can be and I suppose what surprised me is that you should have encountered such a claim since I have never called any alternative number listed by this website in the last five years where such a claim has been made.  On the other hand it is not infrequent to be told by something or someone one might construe as being a "switchboard" person when calling an alternative number listed on this website that they cannot put you through and that you must instead call their customer service or tech support line direct yourself on some 084 or 087 prefixed number or other (after which they hang up on you).

I wonder if you were not actually told that you must call another number and that this would be at the higher rate.  If they are telling you that you will be charged at the higher rate if they connect you on the switchboard number then it is simply a dodge to put you off calling that number again as they are fed up with all the people calling the switchboard to avoid the expensive 084 or 087 prefixed phone number.  It may be that to get you through to where you wanted they have to forward your call to the 0845 or 0870 number externally but if so it is they the company who are paying for it but not you.  But perhaps a less well informed switchboard operator might genuinely not realise this.

Sorry if I came across as a "grumpy old man" (even though I have a few more years to go to qualify as a SAGA member) but perhaps it takes one to known one. ;) ;D

dadllo wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 7:12pm:

Oh dear! what a lot of flack that caused.I was merely relaying onwhat happened to me when I converted an 0845 # to an 0800#.

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am sorry for the response you've received from NGMsGhost in particular. We try and keep him on a tight leash.


dadllo wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 7:12pm:

and I wasnt making a statement,witness the question at the end (ie:has anyone else had the same problem).I suggest you dont be quite so ready to jump down peoples throats,and actually read what is being said.

Others have posted on the same subject, so yes, it is not an uncommon misunderstanding.

Perhaps you could name and shame the company concerned.

Indeed this is why they (an operator or recording) often tell you to redial an 08 number rather than connecting you. If an operator offers to connect you, but claims it'll cost the 0870 rates, say you don't mind, as it will do no such thing. Rather than clever companies attempting to discredit this site by misinforming the public, this is most likely due to operators who haven't a clue how it works themselves.

A related issue is when there is a recording that includes information about the call cost (quite rare these days as they don't want you to know!) If you dial on an 01 number but it goes through to the same line as an 0871 number, it may say the call costs 10p/minute, but of course it won't actually cost that much.

Dave wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 8:17pm:

Perhaps you could name and shame the company concerned.

I was also going to suggest that in my last post but then other matters distracted me.

If you look at the OP's original post he did basically claim that our list of numbers was no damned good because they were largely to people who then connected you to more expensive lines.  Although he now claims he asked a question that is certainly not how it read at the time.

Hello again dave,thanks for your kind words,the name of the Company was the Halifax(HBOS)the number I rang was 01422380880.I cannot remember the 0845# I converted from.
I just thought members would like to be informed of what I encountered,not start ww3.
thanx
dadllo

dadllo wrote on Jan 12^th, 2009 at 2:12pm:

Hello again dave,thanks for your kind words,the name of the Company was the Halifax(HBOS)the number I rang was 01422380880.I cannot remember the 0845# I converted from.

This number is the Halifax switchboard for HBOS which is why they told you you were through to switchboard!

The website lists numbers which are suitable alternatives. This may mean having to ask to be put through, so they may not be direct alternatives for the same department.

This may be a general switchboard or sales when you actually want customer services, for example.

Dadlo,

I hope the following helps - it what I use:

01422 380880 - switchboard

0113 2851332 - online helpdesk

0113 3809574 - customer services menu

The customer services menu is tortuous. If you key in *01 when it is rabbiting to you it bypasses all the options and gets you a human!

You can also use their "call back" service here; - http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/callback.asp

Works for me every time, and I give them an 0870 number to call me back on  ;D

Thanks for the numbers Keith,the 0113# will prove useful,does the *01 work on other rabbiting as well?or is it just hbos.
dadllo

I don't know. I was given the *01 tip by an HBOS person when I complained and it works. Worth trying on other systems and see whether it works. Zero often bypasses menus but usually puts you thru to a switchboard so may be a false economy whereas the 01* does go thru to customer services.