Linda wrote on Mar 2
nd, 2007 at 11:50am:
Those of us with inclusive landline phone packages might find that if the law is changed our phone providers may well cease to offer these packages because so many of the calls the public needs to make during the day are to 0870 and 0845 numbers.
Hello Linda, and welcome to the forum.
In reality I cannot see that such a law will be passed. The main thing is that it will bring the issue to journalists' attention who will report on it. In the next few weeks, the industry regulator, Ofcom, will start allocating numbers beginning 03 to telephone companies. These numbers will provide the advantages of 0845/0870 numbers such as call routing and statistics but will cost the price of a geographical call. So on an inclusive package, it will be included.
The difference at the receiver's end is that it will, in all probability, charge the receiver for calls. This will be a reversal to the current state of affairs where the receiver is often paid, or at least does not have to pay for the call routing etc.
And come 1 February 2008, the plan is that 0870 will be reduced to this '03' rate. 0844, 0845 and 0871 will be left as is, meaning that they will be more expensive than 0870 and that those companies that opted for the cheapest number, 0845, (which was once local rate for many) are now charging more than those on 0870 who opted to charge more than them in the first place!!!