This morning on the Today prog HMRC's director of customer service (Customer?, I'm a taxpayer, not a customer, but we'll let that pass) was responding to a damning NAO report on HMRC service. You may remember that HMRC's phone system was in meltdown last year. Said director apologised again but said that HMRC used 0300 numbers which are free to call.

Not if you're on PAYG, don't have inclusive minutes or using a payphone.

Yes, calls to 03 numbers may be 'inclusive' but they are never 'free'.

Calls to 01, 02 and 03 numbers are chargeable. You either pay a monthly fee for a package of inclusive calls or you pay a (usually very high) per-minute rate.

Inclusive call plans are available on landlines and on mobiles. On landlines, there's a choice between 'Weekend', 'Evening and Weekend' or 'Anytime' allowances. On mobiles, inclusive allowances are available both in the form of a contract or as a pay-as-you-go add-on or bundle.

Calls that are 'free' are to numbers starting 080 and 116 and numbers such as 105, 111, 112 and 999.

This explains the differences between 03 numbers and the various 08 numbers:
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/contacting-08-and-03-numbers

The recording that I have just listened to had Ruth Owen saying that 0300 numbers are free to call for most people.

Those who fail to select the correct inclusive call plan, do incur excessive penalty charges when calling ordinary numbers - that is a scandal that needs to be addressed. Obviously calls from payphones do incur a per call charge.

Given that an enormous cost to the public purse would be incurred in paying telephone companies for those calls which they currently offer at no charge, the fair telecoms campaign does not see a compelling argument for switching all public service numbers to 080. It is however necessary that free-to-caller numbers are used for those cases where it is imperative that no caller incurs any third-party cost.

We must be grateful that callers are no longer subsidising the cost of providing telephone service lines, which was previously the case when HMRC used 0845 numbers. That was a hard fought battle, which we won.

BT in this article

here: http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/money/mortgages-bills/three-million-may-have-paid-wrong-tax-due-to-hmrc-calls-says-nao-11364064255933

Incorrectly Call them " local-rate ‘03’ numbers " :o

The recording that I have just listened to had Ruth Owen saying that 0300 numbers are free to call for most people.

I am no expert but it isn't rocket science I assume Ruth Owen is a professional within the industry, if experts cannot use correct quotes what chance is there for others.

People on a low income and those that don't understand call plans will believe calls are free and not inclusive in the bundle.