With BT 03 numbers cost the same as 01 & 02 numbers, in other words they cost nothing, as these numbers are included in the package that you get with BT. Also these numbers again come under the 'free calls' that most mobile providers with their packages.

03 numbers, I believe should be charged the same as 01 & 02 numbers with other providers. I am sure Dave or others will provide more information.

OK thanks for putting me straight. The override provider that says it charges 1p per minute for these calls always says "that number is engaged" and it's not true. So myself and everyone else on Virgin Media is stuck paying SIXTEEN TIMES the amount I pay for geographic calls currently because I cannot find an override provider which will put these calls through. I doubt override providers are obliged to put these calls through? So it seems that even though it's great for people on BT, it's still a travesty to everyone else. Even if Virgin Media are obliged to put through the call at the same rate as geographic calls (and I'm about to call them and find out how much their geographic calls are), their calls are more expensive than override providers.

So in fact, this is still a hustle that forces everyone to pay more except BT customers WITH INCLUSIVE MINUTES. The fact those circumstances are caused by an interplay between different companies doesn't change this and therefore 0303 is still a hustle which will cause large numbers of people to end up paying more. So big business wins in the end. I'd love to change to BT but that would end up costing me more than the discounted telephone I get from Virgin for having Broadband with them. How many people in the UK are on the Virgin combined packages? 0303 numbers can ONLY end up costing them more at present than it did before.

So I believe you are looking at it too simplistically when you say these are good numbers even though the intentions are honorable.

mr_feedback wrote on Nov 5^th, 2008 at 3:02pm:

Virgin Media charges are published online at: www.virginmedia.com/callcosts

Only BT is required to allow all telephone numbers to be dialled. The override provider therefore does not have to carry calls to any numbers it doesn't wish to. In reality the vast majority of providers carry most or all numbers because if they didn't, people wouldn't use them.

There has been discussion on here in the past about some providers not charging 03 as per 01/02 and those appear to have been rectified after notifying Ofcom.

The 03xx numbers are really what the Say no to 0870 campaign has been fighting for. If organisations wish to use a non-geographical number then they should have the option to do so without disadvantaging the caller. This of course requires telephone call retailers to comply with the rules.

mr_feedback, what is the dial through provider you are using for geographical calls?

Am I right in saying that this provider does not allow 03 calls and that you have to revert to calling them via Virgin Media?

sherbert: It says they include them in the free weekend calls yes.

jrawle/sherbert: I got my information by phoning 150 on my virgin phone and asking "how much does it cost to call numbers starting with 03?". I was told "8p per minute". Which is more than it costs for geographic calls. Maybe the information is wrong, last time I asked virgin to send me a fully itemized bill they said sure and it never arrived. But then again Virgin have failed to do what they said they would 90% of the time I've been with them anyway.

jrawle: Virgin block access to dial-through numbers on the short ~5 digit codes but allow you to use them via 0800 xxxxxx and 0844/0871 xxxxxx numbers. This is slightly more expensive than calling from the short codes as virgin charges the dial-through for connecting the call, but unless you make hours of calls a month this is more than compensated for by the lower line rental.

Dave: Thanks for call charges link. It does say the 03 numbers are charged like geographic calls as you say they should be, that's not what their customer service agent told me though. I'd be inclined to believe their web page seeing as their customer service has given me misinformation plenty of times in the past. You are also correct in that I can't use either of my override dialers to call 03xx numbers. The two providers I use are 18185 for their cheap rates to 08xx numbers (this pretends I can call 03xx numbers but always reacts by saying the number is engaged when it isn't). And 0844 calls for their cheap landline calls and they just refuse to connect 03xx numbers.

So even if Virgin do charge the same rate for 03 rather than the 8p a minute I was told (making the calls 4p a minute),  this is still EIGHT TIMES more expensive per minute than the 0.5p a minute 18185 charges for calls to 0845 numbers.

I do understand that it's not the fault of the web site or the companies using 03xx numbers from your putting me straight though, obviously the problem is the override providers not allowing access to 03xx numbers. I'm not sure why that is (hopefully just inertia and not say the telecomms companies charging override providers more to connect 03xx calls) but it's currently costing me more money than when the companies I called used 0845 numbers, which I could get for 0.5p per minute just like geographic calls cost me during the week.

Perhaps you have some suggestions? I will write to all the override providers on moneysavingexpert.com and also give the forum users there a nudge to see if anyone else is getting screwed by these new numbers at present and wants to write to the override providers. I hope you have succeed in your goals and the extra expense this is causing me are just growing pains.

sherbet I will be moving soon it would be ill-advised to leave virgin right now and get tied into a new contract. I do pay a bit less than you but considering the headaches involved, no I'd never recommend anyone else sign up to virgin and will definitely get a BT line later due to the fact they actually know what they are doing.

It's a shame as cable internet is slightly more responsive than ADSL, and a pity that Virgin are allowed to have the monopoly on it since they are worryingly incompetent.

I think 18185 must  have a problem with 03 numbers, because i recently dialled an 03 number from a BT Line  using the 18185 access code and it claimed network busy, i dialled it using the 0808 access code it said it was busy,i then tried it via the 0208 access code it said it was busy. Yet when i rang it direct via BT and O2 it answered straight away.