The Times January 08, 2007


Telecoms watchdog hopes '03' will break '0870' code
Elizabeth Judge

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Businesses will be encouraged to ditch “0870” numbers in favour of a new “03” number range under a crackdown by the telecoms regulator on call abuse.   Ofcom is shortly to assign new “03” numbers, which, although countrywide, will be charged at the same rate as regular “geographic”, or “01” or “02”, numbers.


The new number, Ofcom hopes, will help to do away with the confusion and high bills that can follow calls to the “0870” numbers that are favoured at present by many businesses and public bodies. When “0870” was introduced ten years ago, the price of a call was in line with what was then a national rate call. However, as regular call prices have radically reduced, the number is now more akin to a premium-rate number.

Depending on the telephone provider, calls to “0845” numbers can cost up to 5p a minute and calls to “0870” up to 10p a minute, compared with 1p a minute for some regular calls.  Today a daytime call to an “0870” number from BT’s most popular package is 7p a minute, against 3p for a national-rate call.

Some businesses have abused this discrepancy by switching to an “0870” number as a money-making device. They take advantage of revenue-sharing, whereby they take a share of the charges paid by the caller.  Callers are wising up to this ploy and recently several businesses and public service bodies have come under fire for adopting “0870” and “0845” numbers. British Airways was condemned over profiting from callers phoning to find luggage lost amid the Christmas fog problems at airports by using an “0845” number.

It insisted that the charges were necessary to offset the cost of running a call centre in Newcastle.  There have been accusations that callers are held up unnecessarily on the line at some companies purely to help to boost profits.

The “0870” number originally was introduced to help businesses by enabling them to provide one memorable number to customers. The new “03” number, Ofcom said, is aimed at organisations that “require a national presence but do not wish to make an additional charge to consumers for contacting them”.  It said that it hoped that some businesses would find the number “more appropriate than the chargeable 08 numbers”. The new range, it said, should become trusted by consumers.

In 2004 consumers spent an estimated £1.5 billion calling 0870 and 0845 numbers — almost £1 in every £5 spent on all landline phone calls.  The “03” range is part of wider new rules being introduced by Ofcom, which will also force companies to charge the same or less for “0870” numbers as they do for regular numbers — or else make a free announcement at the start of the call.

The new “03” numbers will be included as part of any inclusive call minutes or discount schemes for geographic calls.

No revenue-sharing will be permitted on calls to the new numbers.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5-2536036.html

Tanllan wrote on Jan 8^th, 2007 at 7:08pm:


I think you could yet turn out to be right Tanllan.