Dear Sirs

I am surprised that the National Trust is confused about current legislation regarding premiun rate phone numbers. These are defined as those starting 084 and 087, which cost more than a standard number to call. Also 09 and 070 but I haven't seen any of these used by the NT.

I have always been disappointed that the NT had chosen in the past to use 084 numbers for its primary public contact. The benefits to the NT would have been very small while the costs to members are excessive, especially when calling from mobiles. Legislation which came into force in July 2015 outlawed 084 and 087 numbers for most public contact purposes. Where they are still allowed there MUST be a declaration stating that they cost "Xp per minute plus your phone operator's access charge" where X is the actual cost. The access charge varies but is usually in the range 8p to 40p per minute.

This page has a number of problems:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/contact-us/

The 0844 number should not be shown at all. It is now illegal to do so. The term "local call rates apply" must never be shown as it is meaningless. The statement: "our 0844 numbers are charged at 5p per minute from BT landlines" is both illegal and incorrect. Since there is still some public confusion about 03 numbers it is useful to say that these are charged the same as 01 and 02 numbers, and are included in any call plans.

This page is just as bad:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/contact-us/contact-details/

With a ragbag of 087 and 084 numbers, now outlawed for these purposes, with incorrect declaration of costs. In theory the NT could still use 084/087 numbers for its press office as this is not a point for public contact but it still looks bad.

I recently received my autumn issue of NT Magazine and NT near you. On the back of NT Near You: "For a large print version pleas call us on 0844 800 1895" This is simply illegal, even if charges were mentioned which they are not. It's also highly unethical as it's aimed at people with a disability.

In the NT Magazine your own contact numbers are OK but there are many advertisers still using 084/087 numbers. Most don't declare the charges at all and are therefore acting illegally. The NT may not be formally guilty in these cases but it looks shoddy and causes guilt by association. While 084/087 numbers are allowed for initial sales contact there must be the correct declaration of charges. However any company that uses 084/087 numbers looks penny pinching and disrespectful to its customers.

To summarise numbers that are allowed for public contact, they are what the legislation terms "basic rate" numbers. They are numbers starting with:

01, 02, 03
080 (free, including from mobiles)
07 (except those starting 070 which are a special case)

The National Trust portrays itself as a responsible and ethical organisation. Its half baked implemtation of the legislation does it no favours.

Yours faithfully

Previous messages of a similar nature, from a number of people, seem to have been largely ignored.

Furthermore, I am able to work remotely at home and if I contact Sage from home, my home phone bill suffers the various additional charges for 0845 phone numbers.

Thank you for your email. Please accept my apologies for the delay in getting back to you, we have been extremely busy recently.

I am sorry that you are disappointed with the use of 0844 numbers on The National Trust website. We initially chose the 0844 number for our Supporter Services Centre because it was non-geographic, not because we could raise income from it. We anticipated that we might want to physically move the location of the department and wanted, from a customer service point of view, to avoid having to confuse members with a new number. In November 2004, we did exactly this, moving from Kent to Merseyside, without having to change the number.

In relation to both our 0844 and 0344 numbers being displayed, this is acceptable as an alternative 034 number is given for the main contact number. We state next to the 034 number that local call charges apply, indicative that calls to this number will be the same cost as those to 01 or 02 numbers. The price given to call our 0844 numbers from a BT landline is correct, and doing so meets the legal requirements, as it is standard practice to present the information in this way.

If you were to call the 0844 800 1895 number, there is an automated message informing you of the alternative 0344 number and that it may be cheaper. Both numbers are currently displayed on the website as there are still some leaflets in circulation giving the 0844 version, but the 0344 number should have been used on any recent publications. I am sorry that the 0844 number appeared on the latest version of the Near You that you received. I have fed this back to the region as these are arranged locally. We are introducing a new website towards the end of the year, and only the 0344 number will be included for the Supporter Services Centre as publications containing the 0844 number should now be out of circulation.

As you have stated, there is no legal requirement to give a 034 number for our Press Office as it is not a main contact number. Similarly, for Holiday Cottage enquiries, a 087 number is used, as the small amount of money received helps to offset the very large costs involved with operating the enquiries line.

I am sorry that you are unhappy with the contact numbers used by companies advertising in the National Trust Magazine. Our magazine advertising is arranged externally by Madison Bell. They can be contacted on will.hurrell@madisonbell.com.

I would like to reassure you that we do everything we can to ensure we comply with all relevant legislation, and strive to make any required changes before legislation changes are introduced.

Telephone is not the only way to contact The National Trust. We are currently in the process of improving our Click to Chat service, and welcome emails regarding any subject to be sent to enquiries@nationaltrust.org.uk, where they will be acknowledged and forwarded to the relevant area of the organisation in a timely manner. Members and Supporters are also welcome to contact us by post if they would prefer.

Thank you for taking the time to get in contact with us. It’s fantastic to hear from our supporters, as it helps us to understand how we’re doing and where we might improve in the future. Thank you also for your longstanding support of The National Trust - it is greatly appreciated.