Same response with my talktalk landline account (converted from onetel!) initial reply was 03 numbers will not be included in your inclusive "bundle". I mentioned that Ofcon had said these numbers will be and as I was dialling one of these numbers I wanted to know the exact price structure before calling.  Was asked to hold while it was referred to a senior manager!!!! (I managed to get a call center in Scotland, at least the person had a scottish accent).  After a few minutes was advised that it was NOW included.  What is going on-one questions how ofcom have cascaded information regarding the costing of these numbers to the telcos and if the telcos are just waiting to see how many people realise and complain, and then react accordingly.

As this thread has gone quiet in the last few months I presume that most of the main landline and mobile phone telcos are now charging for calls to 03 numbers at 01/02 rates and/or as part of any inclusive calling plan and as part of bundled minutes allowances?

However the recent replacement by Surrey County Council (a council I am a council tax payer of) nearly two weeks ago of its main 0845 contact centre number with an 0345 number and various other 0300 numbers for individual services caused me to test connectivity to these numbers with www.18185.co.uk - one of the stable of Finarea indirect access call brands that also include www.1899.com and www.18866.co.uk

On doing so I was rather perturbed to find that my call was not connected and that I instead received the message "This is a BT announcement.  The telephone network is busy please try again later".  This message was played repeatedly no matter how many times I dialled the number.  These were the same symptoms I had formerly experienced a few months ago with www.yourcalls.net (a WLR provider who I pay my whole phone bill to but who do not block access to indirect access carriers like Finarea) when I tried to dial the BBC Information call centre directly without any prefix so that the call would route with yourcalls.net and their telecoms partners.  In that case I reported the problem to www.yourcalls.net who told me to dial 1280 to ensure BT routed the call for the time being but also reported it as a fault. However when testing calling the new Surrey CC Contact Centre main number (03456 009009) using my www.yourcalls.net line 10 days or so ago without a prefix I got straight through, unlike with 18185. 

So I emailed both the main commercial manager of Finarea Igor Tracchea (igor.tracchia@finarea.ch) and the CEO of BT, Ian Livingston (ian.livingston@bt.com) indicating my concern that calls to 03 numbers using Finarea calling brands with UK indirect access codes were being blocked with the message "This is A BT Announcement.  The Telephone Network is Busy. Please Try Again Later".  I received no reply from Mr Tracchea but Ian Livingston did get one of his senior BT network managers to reply claiming that the blocking of the Finarea calls was nothing to do with them.

So anyhow today I thought I would just try giving Surrey County Council a call on their 0345 6009009 new main number using 18185.  So I dialled the number with the 18185 prefix and what do you know I got straight through to their automated menu system.  I listened for a while and then checked my 18185 online billing account and sure enough it was charged at flat 5p rate indicating that 18185 are now treating 03 calls as being charged the same way as a call to geographic 01/02 number.  If it was being treated as an NGN then there would have been a 5p connection charge and the per minute charge too to that as the minimum call charge.

So it seems even a budget overseas telecoms carrier like Finarea can in fact manage to carry calls to 03 numbers once they have come under enough pressure to do so.

My next question though is what about Skype?  Does anyone use them and if so can you connect to 03 numbers with them and are they charged at the same rates as calls to other UK 01/02 prefixed phone numbers or instead still at g6 multimedia rate?

Also is anyone here who is based in the UK using a UK telecoms carrier who is still not connecting their calls to 03 numbers and giving the "telephone network is busy" message instead.  Or is anyone using a call carrier who is still trying to bill them at g6 multimedia rate for 03 calls instead of as per an 01/02 number and so out of their inclusive call package minutes where appropriate?

Also lastly what about our overseas members like idb.  Can you call 03456 009009 at your normal call package rates for calling UK 01/02 prefixed phone numbers?

All information that people can report on any continuing issues with calls to 03 numbers not being connected and charged as per calls to 01/02 numbers would be very much appreciated.

NGMsGhost wrote on Dec 14^th, 2008 at 2:17pm:



I think it was just a temporary congestion issue you encountered the other day.

They have been able to do so for some time, as you can read elsewhere

Oddly, various Betamax VoIP brands (who sometimes appear to have things in common with Finarea), could not reach some numbers I tried for several months after 18185 could, but I just called a couple successfully a few minutes ago

andy9 wrote on Dec 14^th, 2008 at 3:19pm:


It seems odd there would be congestion calling just 03 numbers but not 01/02 numbers when so few of them are being called at the present time.  I have never had that message with 18185 when dialling a UK 01/02 number or a UK mobile number.

I did try calling the Surrey County Council 0345 number several times over a period of a day or more and always received the same message that "the telephone network is busy".

I'm happy to report that Localphone now charge 03 numbers at the same rate as their 01/02 numbers (1p per minute).

idb wrote on Dec 18^th, 2008 at 12:41am:


idb,

I trust that you will be making this point about the much lower calling cost of 03 numbers from overseas when you respond to the Department of Health's current consultation exercise on the need (or otherwise) to force doctors currently using 0844 numbers to replace them with 01, 02 or 03 prefixed phone numbers.

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7783963.stm

www.e-health-insider.com/news/4413/official_consultation_on_084_numbers

and

www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_091879 for the consultation itself.