Watch out if you use 18185 etc etc.

They are no longer treating 03 calls the same as 01/02 calls.

They now charge 3p a minute and 5p connection at all times whether you use short code or a normal access number.

EG. www.18185.co.uk

Your see it says 030 calls but i tried to call a  0330 number. and got the 3p announcement.

They are not allowed to charge differently for 03x numbers compared to 01/02.

Ofcom specifically stated that calls to 03x have to be treated same as 01/02.

I note that the 18185 website specifies calls to 030 numbers incur a 3p per minute charge. 

Presumably calls to 0345 and other 03 numbers not starting 030 are charged at 0p per minute?  But I'm not ringing one to find out.

poppasmurf wrote on Aug 7^th, 2014 at 10:57am:

Presumably calls to 0345 and other 03 numbers not starting 030 are charged at 0p per minute?  But I'm not ringing one to find out.

I have already pointed out that calls to other 03 numbers EG 0330  are charged at 5p connection 3p a minute also. ;)

I see that they no longer support calls to 03 numbers full stop !!!

bigjohn wrote on Aug 28^th, 2014 at 9:01am:

I see that they no longer support calls to 03 numbers full stop !!!

I used to be able to call 0300 numbers on 18185 but now when I call them it says, it's not supported as it's a special tariff number.

Really not happy about this as it will cost me more to call them now. >:( It's a pain that these override providers are hard to get hold of, as they need to be told they are wrong.


Any others that support 0300 and offer cheap calls?

There is no requirement for override providers to offer to connect to any particular number or class of numbers. It's purely a business decision by the provider. Hence they can take a decision not to conenct to 03 numbers if they wish.

I don't claim any understanding of the arcane world of termination rates etc but I suspect it costs fractionally more to connect to an 03 number than an 01/02 number. Since legally nobody in the UK can be charged more to connect to 03 than to 01/02 it may not be viable for an override provider to do so.

Since £5/month will buy anytime calls to 01/02/03 numbers from some mainstream telephony companies(£7 for BT)  it's getting to be a bit of a niche market where override providers are relevant to making UK calls.

I suspect that the problem is that the termination rates  , for  03 numbers  is high enough for some users of the service to offer payments (benefit in kind) to callers. So its easy to see why 18185/1899/18866  took the decision not  let you call 03 for an unlimited time for 5p. You'd be printing money at there expense.

They were then criticised for charging for 03 calls and not including them in unlimited time. So they withdrew the option altogether.

We touched on the 03 problem here: http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1404987879

If  you dont have inclusive minutes to 01/02/03 numbers where  they would normally  be included.

You can look at the MSE callchecker for cheap suppliers http://callchecker.moneysavingexpert.com/ukcallchecker/
ignoring the the entries for 18185 etc that have not been updated.

If you have/get a 3 payg sim you can call them for 3p a minute.

Or you could look on here and see if you can find a 01/02 or Freephone Number. ( Bit of a backward step i know  :o )

bigjohn wrote on Aug 28^th, 2014 at 9:01am:

I see that they no longer support calls to 03 numbers full stop !!!

They are stating, "UK (030)   not supported".  e.g 1899: http://www.1899.com/rates.php

So maybe 034 are?!

.

derrick wrote on Oct 11^th, 2014 at 9:36am:

bigjohn wrote on Aug 28th, 2014 at 9:01am: I see that they no longer support calls to 03 numbers full stop !!! They are stating, "UK (030)   not supported".  e.g 1899: http://www.1899.com/rates.php So maybe 034 are?! .

No they dont support calls to any 03 number full stop. The website,s need correcting.