numeniusaqua wrote on May 12
th, 2010 at 11:35am:
I must admit, as a small business it is very confusing - my telephone provider told me it is local rate for my customers, and checking all over this site there seems to be contradiction after contradiction on this matter - ASA too saying it's not, but the service provider adamant it is! I'm more confused than ever !
Hi and welcome to SAYNOTO0870.COM.
Back in the day when there was only BT, it charged 0845 at the same rate as that for a local call. Also, national calls were more expensive than local ones.
The competition in the market has driven down the price of geographic calls (generally speaking), and not the cost of 0845 calls. Users of 0845 numbers benefit from subsidy from callers, and that is by design, which is why call providers (retailers) charge more.
The 03 "UK-wide" numbers are the neutral option for those who require a non-geographic number.