Source: http://www.travelbite.co.uk/destinations/cheaper-travel-advice-$15044338.htm

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The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has set up a new phone line offering travellers access to its comprehensive travel advice service.

The new 0845 number means callers from within the UK will be charged for the price of a local call rather than for a national call as under the old 0870 number.

Consular affairs minister Lord Triesman said: "It has never been more important for people to be better prepared before they travel. Calling the Travel Advice Help-line can form a useful part of these preparations. The new number will be cheaper for members of the public to dial and we hope this will help encourage more people to use it."

The new number is 0845 0850 2829. The existing number - 0870 6060 290 - will remain active until the end of March 2006.
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And 0845 is not the "price of a local call" any longer, except for the few subscribers with BT light user accounts!

I agree.

Further to my post above, I have received a further reply today,anyone care to comment on the reply? I have put my original email to them first.


Your new 0845 number is no more "local call rate" than the 0870 number is "national" all calls to numbers beginning 01/02 cost the same no matter where they are called from and to where they terminate, you are obliged under OFCOM and ASA rules to display the cost of these calls, they are both more costlier from a BT line and considerably more from a payphone or mobile, in fact they are premium rate revenue sharing numbers, and if you do not adjust your website accordingly I will report you to both bodies.
Please supply me with the geographical number in place of the 0845/0870 number, if you won't, then I shall apply for it under the Freedom of Information Act.


Dear Mr ,
Further to my e-mail to you of 27 September.  I am now able to reply on the other points that you raised.
The Travel Advice Line number was changed earlier this month from an 0870 to a 0845 number, to bring the service in line with government wide best-practice on public information services, while increasing access and affordability to users.
It is indeed the case that these numbers can be more than standard local rate tariffs. We do not however, take a revenue share on the 0845 number.
The Committee for Advertising Practice - the body responsible for writing and enforcing the advertising rules for non-broadcast media - is aware that the cost of calling non-geographical numbers starting 0845 and 0870 numbers is variable for non-BT customers and that calls to those numbers are unlikely to be charged at the traditional local or national rates that previously applied.
We do take adherence to regulatory advice very seriously and have recently changed our policy on switching to a 0845 number as evidence of this.
In line with the advertising standards agency's recommendations we will not be advertising the service as a local rate number. In addition, the maximum call cost from a BT line will be stated in publicity literature. The large number of tariffs available in the market, mean that we are unable to give precise costs from other networks such as those for mobile phones.
Travel advice is available from our dedicated telephone advisory team and on our website www.fco.gov.uk/travel
We welcome your feedback and hope this answers your comment on this matter.

Ian Walker
Deputy Head of Travel Advice Section
Consular Crisis Group
OAB G/61
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Tel: 020 7008 0198
Fax: 020 7008 0155

Quote:


from the FCO website 

bigjohn wrote on Dec 8^th, 2005 at 4:30pm:


so what if your on BT Light User or your calling at the weekend, the rates are different?

When 0870 & 0845 were invisaged they were equal to the BT Standard Local & National Rates which was a silly idea as BT rates duly change & will change again and again. With the demise of BT Standard & the ASA guidelines persisting in requiring companies to state the max current BT rate this means BT Together has become the defacto standard.
So it follows that if they are going to that far why not peg 0870 & 0845 to the current BT Together Local/National call rate for all networks, if they don't want to go the whole hog & scrap revenue sharing entirely on these nos making them the same as 01/02.

Dave wrote on Dec 9^th, 2005 at 12:54pm:


But not the highest possible price for calling an 0845 from a mobile phone which is in the order of 35p to 50p per minuute.