sherbert wrote on Sep 6
th, 2009 at 9:44pm:
SilentCallsVictim wrote on Sep 6
th, 2009 at 8:43pm:
...
- If you want to be very clever and offer alternative numbers to allow callers to take advantage of particular pricing schemes on various packages (e.g. 0845 and 0844 for those on BT call plans, but calling outside the time period covered by their plan), then you must be very careful to provide detailed and up-to-date information on who those numbers are intended for and when they should be used.
Surely you mean 0870 and not 0844? I did not think 0844 was covered on BT calling plans
There is no mistake. The example covers costs for BT calling plan customers making
non-inclusive calls. 0870 calls cost exactly the same as geographic numbers for BT customers, so a 0870 alternative would be of no use in helping them to save money.
This element of my advice to businesses is for those who wish to offer alternative numbers to enable some callers on particular packages to be able to save some money. Those who wish to engage in what I see as a rather silly exercise need to be very clever. I chose an example which not only highlights the absurdity of offering alternative numbers but also that of the BT charging structures. I will expand on this to perhaps make the point more clearly.
Imagine “Cheap to call us Ltd” a business with a geographic number that wants to enable people to be able to call it more cheaply. It therefore has lots of alternative numbers to suit every different telephone tariff. These are all re-directed to its central switchboard. Its “Contacts” web pages include lists of all the possible tariffs being used by callers with explanations of every situation where a particular alternative will be cheaper to call than the geographic number. They are reviewed and updated weekly.
It has a mobile number on each of the networks for the benefit of those with in-network calls in their package. It also has a geographic number in sufficient local charging zones, for the benefit of those who pay less for local calls.
My brief quoted comment used an example from the section for callers who subscribe to BT call plans, but are calling outside the time when those call plans are in effect. Those not on "Unlimited Anytime" calling during the day on weekdays will find it cheaper to call a 0845 alternative, which is set up for use in a number of different situations. In this case a very low cost 0844 number would actually be best, indeed from 1 October any 0844 number would be cheaper than the geographic. (A slightly more complex situation applies on weekday evenings for those on “Unlimited Weekends”.)
The point I am trying to make is that companies who offer alternative numbers are playing a rather silly game, given the current and constantly changing complexity of telephone tariffs. Those who use the saynoto0870 database must be assumed to be sufficiently clued-up to know what they are doing as they are specifically looking for alternative numbers. I nonetheless fear that there will be some BT customers outside the applicable period for their call plan who look up geographic alternatives to 0845 and 0844 numbers and consequently pay more. Any general attempt to offer alternative numbers MUST be qualified by a sufficiently up-to-date and accurate description of who should use each number and when, so as to justify the potential for confusion caused by having multiple numbers.
Some may wish to emulate “Cheap to call us Ltd”, but they must do it properly. I regret that the ICO and JBPT do not quite achieve this, however noble may be their intentions. In most cases I would expect a business to focus on its proper business activities, rather than trying to be an expert on telephone charges.
I say,
choose the single number that is right for your business, be ready to justify that choice, but get on with whatever it is that you do best. My only qualification would be for those who wish to offer the extra facility of paying for calls from landlines by using a 080x number - this must however be as an extra, representing an alternative to the primary number for use from mobiles.
Consumerists dream of a world in which every caller has the details of their telephone tariff, as it applies at that time, in their head as they prepare to make a telephone call. Alternatively they would hope for callers to be ready and able to try different numbers, through a variety of providers, so as to hear a pre-call announcement of exactly what it will cost them, before deciding which one to proceed with.
I do not share either part of that dream, as I am not a “consumerist”. I therefore do not worship “Choice” as a deity; he is a good fellow worthy of respect, but there are limits to his usefulness.