Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register
SAYNOTO0870.COM

<---- Back to main website

 
Home Help Search Login Register

Pages: 1 2 3 
Send Topic Print
03 numbers are bad you broke the website (Read 36,343 times)
mr_feedback
Newbie
*
Offline



Posts: 5
03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Nov 5th, 2008 at 2:21pm
 
I have been a lurker using the great service this site used to provide for a long time and telling all my friends and family about it as I thought it was a great idea. But now you have broken the website. What is good about 03xx numbers? On my NTL land line and on my pre-dial call provider these numbers cost 8p per minute. Geographical numbers cost 0.5p per minute on pre-dial and so do 0845 nmbers. 03xx numbers then cost 16 times as much as 0845 numbers and you are listing these as decent numbers in your hall of fame! The site has died a death as a useful service. It was great having it around while you saved people money and stopped the corporate extortion and your reasons for making this strange decision to promote these 03xx numbers may only be guessed at. I and my friends and family seriously hope you reconsider this strange turn of events. Once again thanks for the years of satisfaction and money saving you provided.

-- mr feedback ex happy user

EDIT: Actually I was mistaken the 03xx numbers cost 1p per minute on pre-dial, twice as much as 0845 so my complaint about their being good numbers still stands but to a much lesser degree.

EDIT 2: They do cost 8p per minute with Virgin Media and are being advertised as costing the same as geographic numbers. Who is the party breaking the law here since there is a clear deception - either Virgin Media should charge them the same as geographic numbers or companies should stop claiming they cost the same as geographic numbers. It's the 08xx hustle all over again except by using an override provider you only have to pay double the amount you can get geographical calls for. It's still a complete lie that they cost the same as geographic numbers why does nobody call them on this...
Back to top
« Last Edit: Nov 5th, 2008 at 2:39pm by mr_feedback »  
 
IP Logged
 
sherbert
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 2,011
Gender: male
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #1 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 2:45pm
 
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.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
SilentCallsVictim
Supreme Member
*****
Offline


aka NHS.Patient, DH_fairtelecoms

Posts: 2,494
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #2 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 2:48pm
 
Any provider of telecommunications services is obliged to comply with General Condition 17 as amended by Ofcom - see here http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/numbering03/statement.

The requirement is summarised as follows.

Quote:
call tariffs and call discounts will be the same as calls to geographic (01 or 02) numbers. This applies to all call minutes, including ones that are part of the customer’s inclusive minutes


Any breach of this requirement should be reported to Ofcom formally, although if the details are published here, relevant Ofcom personnel would be likely to informed directly.

Previous reports of similar cases have been resolved without the need for enforcement action, as they were found to be due to administrative failures.

There may be rogue providers of telephone services. I hope that attention will be directed at their roguery rather than at this website.

(N.B. this message was being prepared whilst posting #2 was made.)
Back to top
« Last Edit: Nov 5th, 2008 at 2:49pm by SilentCallsVictim »  
WWW  
IP Logged
 
mr_feedback
Newbie
*
Offline



Posts: 5
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #3 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 3:02pm
 
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.
Back to top
« Last Edit: Nov 5th, 2008 at 3:05pm by mr_feedback »  
 
IP Logged
 
sherbert
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 2,011
Gender: male
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #4 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 3:07pm
 
If you look here...http://allyours.virginmedia.com/websales/product.do?id=3001 ; You will see that indeed Virgin Media do include 03 numbers in their package. I am not too sure where you are getting your information from.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Dave
Global Moderator
*****
Offline



Posts: 9,902
Yorkshire
Gender: male
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #5 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 3:18pm
 
mr_feedback wrote on Nov 5th, 2008 at 3:02pm:
So I believe you are looking at it too simplistically when you say these are good numbers even though the intentions are honorable.

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.
Back to top
« Last Edit: Nov 5th, 2008 at 3:21pm by Dave »  
 
IP Logged
 
SilentCallsVictim
Supreme Member
*****
Offline


aka NHS.Patient, DH_fairtelecoms

Posts: 2,494
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #6 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 3:39pm
 
It may be worth pointing out that a provider who does not allow access to 03 numbers is already denying access to many Police Services (for non-emergencies) as well as out-hours health services, charities and other public services, including Ofcom! Many of these still offer alternative geographic or 0845 numbers as part of transition.

It is hoped that many more will be moving onto 03, and in time these alternatives will be switched off.

Any serious telephone service provider would surely not wish to deny access to these services!
Back to top
 
WWW  
IP Logged
 
Dave
Global Moderator
*****
Offline



Posts: 9,902
Yorkshire
Gender: male
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #7 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 3:48pm
 
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?
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
jrawle
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 708
Didcot, Oxfordshire
Gender: male
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #8 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 4:09pm
 
This is ridiculous, everywhere on the Virgin Media website where it mentions geographical or inclusive calls says clearly "01, 02 or 03". Either this user is on some sort of legacy tariff, is being ripped off by Virgin, is simply mistaken about call prices on his bill, or else is just a troll.

Incidentally, I thought Virgin blocked access to most dial-through providers, or is that just a myth?
Back to top
 
WWW  
IP Logged
 
mr_feedback
Newbie
*
Offline



Posts: 5
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #9 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 5:27pm
 
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.
Back to top
« Last Edit: Nov 5th, 2008 at 5:28pm by mr_feedback »  
 
IP Logged
 
sherbert
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 2,011
Gender: male
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #10 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 5:49pm
 
Were they quoting mobile prices instead of land line prices? This could be the cause of the confusion.

Anyway I know you said that it would not be cost effective to leave Virgin, however my BT land line and Broad band with the odd calls that I get charged for, which is usually less than £1 a quarter, as the 01, 02 & 03 numbers are included comes to about £75 a quarter, which is about £6 a week and for that I do not get any hassle that you seem to be having. Worth a thought.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
mr_feedback
Newbie
*
Offline



Posts: 5
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #11 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 5:59pm
 
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.
Back to top
« Last Edit: Nov 5th, 2008 at 6:00pm by mr_feedback »  
 
IP Logged
 
jrawle
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 708
Didcot, Oxfordshire
Gender: male
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #12 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 7:37pm
 
You shouldn't believe anything Virgin customer services tell you, they are useless. This just shows that they don't bother to look for the information you ask for, but make it up on the spot. Can't you look at a summary of the calls you've made online to determine their cost?

I don't see why you use the fact that, as you claim, 03 calls are "eight times as expensive" as 0845 calls as a reason not to give 03 numbers as an alternative to 0870. Are you expecting us to find 0845 numbers as alternatives to all the 0870s? (In some cases, there are actually 0845 alternatives.)

0845 numbers are now cheaper than 03 for BT customers in the daytime too. However, this is not a reason to criticise 03 numbers. As a consumer, you have a choice which phone package you take. You could choose one that gives you inclusive 03 numbers at all times. You will not find this for 084 or 087 numbers - they are totally uncompetitive due to revenue sharing, in particular 0844 and 087x. That's what we've been complaining about all alone, and 03 numbers do address this. If you choose to use telephone services that don't allow you to call 03 numbers cheaply during the daytime, that's up to you.
Back to top
 
WWW  
IP Logged
 
oldharryrocks
Full Member
***
Offline



Posts: 134
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #13 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 8:20pm
 
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.

Back to top
« Last Edit: Nov 5th, 2008 at 8:23pm by oldharryrocks »  
 
IP Logged
 
jrawle
Supreme Member
*****
Offline



Posts: 708
Didcot, Oxfordshire
Gender: male
Re: 03 numbers are bad you broke the website
Reply #14 - Nov 5th, 2008 at 8:24pm
 
oldharryrocks wrote on Nov 5th, 2008 at 8:20pm:
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.

Is this just a case of them not updating their systems to recognise the new code? There's no reason why it should cost them more to connect 03 calls than 01/02, is there?
Back to top
 
WWW  
IP Logged
 
Pages: 1 2 3 
Send Topic Print
(Moderators: CJT-80, bbb_uk, Forum Admin, Dave, DaveM)

Website and Content © 1999-2024 SAYNOTO0870.COM. All Rights Reserved.
Written permission is required to duplicate any of the content within this site.

WARNING: This is an open forum, posts are NOT endorsed by SAYNOTO0870.COM,
please exercise due caution when acting on any info from here.


SAYNOTO0870.COM » Powered by YaBB 2.5.2!
YaBB Forum Software © 2000-2024. All Rights Reserved.


Valid RSS Valid XHTML Valid CSS Powered by Perl Source Forge