Hi All

I recently moved to Australia and have been getting used to the telephone system here. I thought you might like to here my experiences here, as I have certainly been a victim of the rip-off 0870 numbers in the UK in the past.

As you can imagine, having just moved, I have had to call banks, utilities, telephone, internet suplliers etc. and all use a 1300 number which is a local call.  It's a local call wherever you call from in Australia so even if I call the other side of Australia which is some 3500 miles away I am still charged for a local call.

And the cost of a local call:-  22 cents, or about 9p. But this is a one off connection fee and you can talk for 10 minutes or 10 hours at this cost. Internet access is also by a local number so it costs 9p to connect and you can stay on for hours (dependent on your ISP).

I also bought a new computer from Dell, they have a 1300 support number so it costs 9p even though the sales line is a 1800 number and hence free, not like in the UK where it is an 0870 number for sales and support. What annoyed me about that is that Bracknell where Dell have there offices is a local call from Reading where I lived. Dell UK could learn a little from their Australian counterparts.

The main point I find about ringing these numbers is that when the person on the other end of the phone says, "Please can I put you on hold while I talk to my supervisor about this" I don't mind because I know it doesn't cost me any extra. In the UK I would be put on hold for 10 minutes and it would cost me £1. I find this all makes life must less stressful.

I remember paying off part of my gas bill with Goldfish points on their 0870 points redemption line and going through all the details, checks, mothers maiden name etc. took about  15 minutes. But that had cost me £1.50. to redeem a £5.00 voucher. I closed my account.

I feel for you guys over there with 0870, it is a rip-off that pervades through the society and should be stopped.

Best Wishes

Gary

Is this 9p charge identical to the cost of a (geographical) local call? That's the way it should be! I doubt many countries have the silly revenue-sharing numbers that we have here.

As for companies such as Dell, either the genuinely havn't thought about the impact of an 0870 number (having believed the BT salesman) or they are taking advantage of the rip-off number available in the UK. Their business model clearly doesn't rely on revenue from phone calls as they manage OK in Australia!