If you have the time and or think it's just as good a way.
DON'T PHONE :
SEND A SNAIL MAIL ASKING FOR A REPLY.
If we all did it they would soon make it easier and cheaper to contact them by phone. It would soon stop all the problems with getting through.
It cost about £10 to answer a letter that is the office overhead for them to process one.
I start the letter "As you don't have an 01 or 02 phone number to call you on......"

Or
"As I am having difficulty getting to a person on your phone help desk I choose to write to you.....".

You can add "I waited XX minutes this morning trying to get through."

If we all did this they'd soon buck up.
Give it a try.
A written reply is always better anyway as you have something definitive which can be shown in The Small Claims Court.
I called the CQC this morning which is an 0300 number charging local call rates. And it answers and I get through to a system which puts me on hold at my expense. The CQC look after the interests of the old and vulnerable. It gives you such confidence in their services. (Sarcasm.)
Anyone know an 01 or 02 number for them?
I'm writing the letter now. ;)
Regards
Bob.

24lemans wrote on Oct 21^st, 2013 at 10:10am:

I called the CQC this morning which is an 0300 number charging local call rates. And it answers and I get through to a system which puts me on hold at my expense. The CQC look after the interests of the old and vulnerable. It gives you such confidence in their services. (Sarcasm.) Anyone know an 01 or 02 number for them?

Welcome to SayNoTo0870.com.

The 03 telephone numbers are the good guys here. For years we never had a non-geographic number range that was charged the same as calls to geographic numbers from all providers, fixed line and mobile.

In 2007 03 numbers were introduced with the regulator, Ofcom, stipulating to all communications providers that they must not charge these numbers above the price of a geographic call and must include them in bundles on the same basis. Today there are no known exceptions to this rule.

The vast majority of landline packages charge local calls the same national ones, so talking about "local rate" just propagates unnecessary misunderstanding, and for that reason I always use the term "geographic rate".

There may be many reasons to criticise the CQC, but its choice of telephone number isn't one!

Hello, there is no problem with using an 03 number, they are charged (or treated) in the same way by your telecoms provider as 01 & 02 numbers, I understand that is a legal requirement ie if you have a call package which includes 01 & 02 numbers, then 03 numbers MUST also be included.   If your telecoms provider is treating them differently, then they should be reported to OFCOM who will (or should) remind them of their obligations.

To our knowledge, ALL providers (landline, mobile, payphone etc.) are compliant with the regulations regarding the charging of calls to 03 numbers on exactly the same basis as calls to 01/02 numbers. (The regulation says that they can be cheaper, but we are not aware of any such cases.) We regularly repeat this reassurance, so please let us know of any exceptions.

Most organisations will support multiple forms of contact. Whichever is most suitable will depend on the type of situation and the preferences of the respective parties. Online methods are becoming increasingly popular for both parties, partly because of the low cost, however we believe that there will always circumstances in which the voice telephone call will be the preferred and most effective means of resolving an issue. Letter post is likely to remain for some time to come, but it will become increasingly expensive.

Looking for an 01 or 02 number as an alternative to an 03 number is a fruitless exercise.

Should you find an 01 or 02 number, it will cost the same, or more,^* than the 03 number.

If you have inclusive minutes on your landline or mobile, 01, 02 and 03 are all included on the exact same basis.

^*Co-op home phone charges 2.5p/min in the day, 1.0p/min in the evenings and 1.0p/min at the weekend for local 01 and 02 calls and charges 3.0p/min in the day, 2.5p/min in the evenings and 1.5p/min at the weekend for national 01 and 02 calls. Calls to 03 numbers are charged at the same rate as to "local" 01 and 02 numbers.