I have just viewed my VM bill and to my horror there was a 0.75p charge I did not recognize. I promptly contacted VM and they informed me that it was a personal number; surely it is time that OFCOM got their act together and introduced legislation to stop this blatant scam as I would never knowingly make contact via a personal number. Personal numbers should carry a recorded warning message something similar to 08/09 premium rate numbers, I suspect it may be difficult to warn callers as it is a recipient call. As far as I can make out the scam is to call the number and drop the call to encourage a call back. I do not remember making the call and I imagine most people would not even know they had been charged or even what a personal call it.  I do not claim to be an expert and I am reasonably savvy but as far as I am aware personal numbers cannot be identified, most people would return the call if a connection was lost.   If any member knows how to identify a personal number I would appreciate feedback, I am also concerned because obviously other people some of them vulnerable will also receive these calls and respond accordingly.

Mobile numbers start 071 to 075 or 077 to 079.

Personal numbers start 070.

Once everything to do with the reforms to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers are safely out of the way, Ofcom will move on to reviewing 055, 056, 070 and 076 numbers.

Speaking of 070 numbers, I found a company based in Battersea, London who's primary advertised number is an 070 number, and there is NO information about it's call cost.. see here and here

Their main website does have 020 numbers, but also an 0844 number for Dealer Support with NO call info at all.

:-?

Hospedia is another large user of 070 numbers!

Well known scam. A friend got caught by it over 5 years ago. Missed call on their mobile, called back and got whacked with a charge.

I suppose it's better late than never that Ofcom are reviewing 070 which really has no legitimate uses at all.

I've no idea what 076 numbers are currently used for. Were they used for pagers?

076 is used mainly for pagers, and this usage is now in decline.

07624 is used for normal mobile phones in the Isle of Man, matching their 01624 landline prefix.

Ofcom banned revenue sharing on 070 numbers in 2009, which saw most of the scams come to an end.

Ofcom's 'National Numbering Plan' details the various allocations: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/numbering/
This page has a useful summary of the main points: http://www.telephonenumbers.co.uk/Prefixes/i=1

I have been aware of number changes since the 90s I even submitted a programme to BT at Martlesham Heath there then research centre and I cannot understand how OFCOM released personal numbers with a similar range to a mobile number.

Incompitance that is all I can think!

When these allocations were initially made in about 1996, the Termination Rate for calls to mobile phones (077, 078, 079) and to personal numbers (070) was about 40p per minute.

Mobile phone contracts did not include calls to other mobile networks. Calls from mobile phones to mobile phones on other networks and to personal numbers cost about 75p per minute. Calls from landlines to mobile phones and to personal numbers were also both expensive.

As the Mobile Termination Rate fell, inclusive cross-network calls to other mobile phones became possible. As it fell further, the number of inclusive minutes rapidly increased. The Mobile Termination Rate was about 4p per minute in 2009 and in 2015 it is about 0.7p per minute. As a comparison, the termination rate for 01 and 02 numbers is about 0.2p per minute, and for 03 numbers is about 0.5p per minute. We have now reached the point where landline providers can offer inclusive calls to standard mobile numbers, and several already do so.

The termination rate for personal numbers has not reduced. It is this fee that pays for the running of the service. To be clear, someone signs up for a personal number and pays nothing for the service. The service is funded by callers, much the same way that 084 and 087 numbers work, except the additional call costs for those are now transparent and declared as the Service Charge.

In the early days of personal numbers, some providers offered revenue sharing and this led to many scams. Revenue sharing was banned in 2009 and most of those scams went away. It is now very obvious that 070 numbers are the only premium rate number range with non-transparent pricing, the Service Charge is built in to the price and not separately declared.

The consultations on 080, 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers ran to many thousands of pages, took three years to sort out and were followed by an 18 month implementation period. Ofcom were correct to defer the review of other number ranges (such as 055, 056, 070 and 076) otherwise the consultations would have been several thousand pages longer and rumbled on for several more years. Indeed, the complexity of it all may not have led to any meaningful success. Instead, the issues with 08, 09 and 118 numbers have largely been addressed.

The issues with 055, 056, 070 and 076 numbers are different to those for 08, 09 and 118 numbers and it is right that they be dealt with separately. Ofcom has already reviewed 0500 numbers and they will be withdrawn on 3 June 2017. It seems likely that 055, 056, 070 and 076 may well go the same way.

I gather that one main issuer of personal numbers does so to hospital patients; having registered they can call out free, but it costs 50p/minute to ring them. You can, of course, ring them, ask for a return call, and ring off, but you still get charged to listen to the recorded message first. Does anyone know of a way to alert the holder of a personal number without completing a call?

Call the normal geographic number for the ward and ask them to pass on a message asking the patient to give you a call.

Good Morning I hope all had a merry christmas I know I did

These 07 personal numbers are a rip off and it is about time OFCOM did something about it. Is there anything that can be done in this area. Does anybody know if there is any upcoming legislation to kerb this extortionate practice

After encountering significant failure with the reform of 0870 numbers in 2009 (most users simply moved to a new 0844 or 0871 number to continue gaining revenue share rather than to the newly created 03 numbers), Ofcom realised that tackling issues one prefix at a time was doomed to failure. Ofcom instead kicked off a far wider review of non-geographic numbers in 2010. This promised to look at 05, 070, 076, 08, 09, 116 and 118 numbers.

The first phase covered 08, 09, 116 and 118 numbers and generated thousands of pages of consultations and responses over a three year period, followed by an 18-month implementation period. The changes for 08, 09 and 118 numbers finally came into force on 1 July 2015. They give clarity to the financial benefit enjoyed by the called party and their telecoms provider when an 084, 087, 09 or 118 number is used and made 080 numbers free to call from mobile phones. The changes to 116 numbers were very simple and were implemented at a much earlier date.

In the interim, Ofcom also reviewed 0500 numbers and decided this range will be closed on 3 June 2017. Existing users have until then to move to the matching 0808 5 number or to some other number of their choosing.

Sometime in 2016, Ofcom has to review the success of the recent changes to 08, 09 and 118 numbers to see how they went, and make any necessary tweaks to the regulations. There are a couple of minor changes that appear to be necessary.

Once all of that is out of the way, Ofcom is likely to move on to reviewing 055, 056, 070 and 076 numbers. The issues for these numbers are different to the issues for 08, 09 and 118 numbers. Ofcom were right to hold back on this work and not attempt to do it all at the same time. That would have doubled the size of the consultation and likely doubled the time for the work to be completed. Instead, the important issues affecting 08, 09 and 118 numbers have already been fixed. The forthcoming consultations for 055, 056, 070 and 076 numbers are likely to be much simpler than they otherwise would have been. I expect to see the 055 and 056 ranges either phased out or migrated to the 03 range, and the 070 range completely phased out.

OK  I think I get it now 070 numbers are personal numbers, if this is correct I wasn't aware of this and I take an interest in telecom numbers. I appreciate that my knowledge is limited but I am more aware than the average member of the public in regard to telephone numbers so it begs the question

How many callers are not even aware of these excessive call charges.

Iain Harrison wrote on Dec 28^th, 2015 at 3:49pm:

I gather that one main issuer of personal numbers does so to hospital patients; having registered they can call out free, but it costs 50p/minute to ring them. You can, of course, ring them, ask for a return call, and ring off, but you still get charged to listen to the recorded message first. Does anyone know of a way to alert the holder of a personal number without completing a call?

I decided to find one of the 070 numbers that Hospedia (the company who runs the TV/Phone system) uses in order to check the cost..

Here are a few for you:

Number: 07081

EE 75p per minute.

O2 66p per minute

BT somewhere between 33 and 52p per minute depending on the full number called (BT are the worst for trying to decipher!)

I think I now have a headache having tried to work that out, so the average caller won't know!

Virgin Mobile states that calls to 070 numbers cost up to £2.50 per minute.

It's a minefield.

CJT-80 wrote on Dec 30^th, 2015 at 12:33pm:

Iain Harrison wrote on Dec 28th, 2015 at 3:49pm: I gather that one main issuer of personal numbers does so to hospital patients; having registered they can call out free, but it costs 50p/minute to ring them. You can, of course, ring them, ask for a return call, and ring off, but you still get charged to listen to the recorded message first. Does anyone know of a way to alert the holder of a personal number without completing a call? I decided to find one of the 070 numbers that Hospedia (the company who runs the TV/Phone system) uses in order to check the cost.. Here are a few for you: Number: 07081 EE 75p per minute. O2 66p per minute BT somewhere between 33 and 52p per minute depending on the full number called (BT are the worst for trying to decipher!) I think I now have a headache having tried to work that out, so the average caller won't know!

This might help you : https://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/compare.htm?xid=401328&band=PN2&ctype=R1&clen=3

Ofcom had reserved the 06 range of numbers for migration of 070 users but bottled it some time ago.

It'd be quite simple to do in isolation but the need to consider the 050, 055/056 and 076 ranges make it less so.

The 050 range has already been reviewed.

The decision (published by Ofcom on 3 June 2014) was for this range to be withdrawn on 3 June 2017.

Existing users have been offered the matching 0808 5 number for migration. The new number is one digit longer than the old number but retains the final six digits of the old number.

A thorough review of 055, 056, 070 and 076 is coming, but is not imminent. An evaluation of the recent changes to 08, 09 and 118 will be first, along with any further changes that may need to be made. There are several that spring to mind, not least reversing the decision to allow providers such as BT to selectively include 0845 and 0870 in standard inclusive call packages.

The issues with 055 and 056 are relatively straightforward. The simplest solution would be to migrate these numbers to the 03 range and apply the same pricing principles.

The issues with 076 are also minor. Pager usage has diminished. Perhaps it's time to consolidate remaining users into the 0767x, 0768x and 0769x ranges, freeing up the remainder of 076 for other uses? Mobile numbers allocated in Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man are non-inclusive and charged at a different rate. The prefix allocations are very random. Perhaps those could be migrated to 0760x or 0763x for Jersey, 0761x for Guernsey and 0762x for Isle of Man. The latter already uses 07624 for mobile phones.

The 070 range is going to cause the most issues. The whole concept of a premium service where the called party enjoys advanced call-forwarding facilities and these are paid for entirely by the caller through non-transparent charges now stands at odds with the 'unbundled' tariff system that applies to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers.

Some may call for 070 call prices to be unbundled. I say a more radical approach is needed and this range should be closed with users providing premium services offered migration to the matching 097 number. Other services should be withdrawn. All landline and mobile numbers have comprehensive call-forwarding facilities. All 03, 08 and 09 numbers are simply call-forwarding systems. I see no place for a specific 'personal' numbering service especially where it is funded by callers paying additional charges. Additionally, Hospedia's business model is based on a rip-off and non-transparent call charges. They need to move to a premium number range and properly inform users of the Service Charge, else change their business model.

It would be interesting to see a breakdown of what the 070 range is used for - how many numbers are used by 'personal numbering services' in the classic sense, how many are used by Hospedia and other such systems, how many are used by second-hand car trading magazines and websites, and how many are used for other things. If a consultation is coming in the next year or so, I suspect that Ofcom are already gathering this sort of information in preparation.

bigjohn wrote on Dec 30^th, 2015 at 5:06pm:

I decided to find one of the 070 numbers that Hospedia (the company who runs the TV/Phone system) uses in order to check the cost.. Here are a few for you: Number: 07081 EE 75p per minute. O2 66p per minute BT somewhere between 33 and 52p per minute depending on the full number called (BT are the worst for trying to decipher!) I think I now have a headache having tried to work that out, so the average caller won't know!

This might help you : https://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/compare.htm?xid=401328&band=PN2&ctype=R1&clen=3
[/quote]

Thanks bigjohn I tried the link but it failed to work...

However I did a look up on the site and for the 070 81 number type here is some info:

Call Cost for Charge Band: PN2 Personal Numbers
Telephone Tariff: BT Unlimited Weekend Calls
(Call costs include VAT at 20%, minimum call 60 seconds)
All Week - 48.51p per minute and set-up cost of 17.06p

Sample Call Costs   
30 secs   1 min   3 mins   10 mins   30 mins   1 hr   1½ hrs   
All Week 65.6p 65.6p £1.63 £5.02 £14.72   £29.28  £43.83


Quite expensive indeed!  :o :o

Hi CJT 80.

Go to https://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/codelook.htm enter the Hospedia allocated code 070813

Click on look up number.

Click on PN2.

Then click on Compare All Residential Call Costs:      All Week

To see how extremely expensive these calls can become.Depending on your operator. :o