Quote:On the subject of North American calling systems, does anyone know of a website that lists geographical equivalents of USA/Canadian 1-800 numbers? It is usually impossible to access these from the UK, but equally difficult to find a geog. number.
I disagree. Before coming to the US, I was often required to call 1-800 numbers from other countries - including the UK. What you
do get is a verbal message advising you that the call will be charged at normal rates. In other words it is not free, as it is within the US.
The message advises that the call will only be charged if you continue - even though the accent indicates you have already technically "reached" the USA. What a difference to the UK where the telcos claim it would be '....too inconvenient and costly to advise callers of the cost of a call'.
Often, if you look at the web page for a company, there will be a list of local (chargeable) numbers as well as the ubiquitous 1-800 number. There is certainly no secret about them here! Why should there be - why would you generally want to call a chargeable number when you can call 1-800 for free? (Charge free from cell phones, too, incidentally!)
Provided you avoid BT like the plague, the call cost to the USA is still probably cheaper than calling a 0870 or 0871 number. I pay 2.1c a minute to call the "other way" with no flagfall.
But then who is surprised? Free calls abound - just about
every US business and many Government departments have a 1-800 number. Even the Rip-Off Brit companies that do business here have a 1-800 number. How different for their "homegrown" customers!
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Not only in UK! (Read 10,076 times)
