[quote author=Alwyn link=1284342717/0#14 date=1286555632]Excellent.  I've listened to the radio prog but it doesn't say where are they to be found for HMRC?  Do you just replace 0845 with 0345 followed by the rest of the number?[/quote]
It requires HMRC to bring the 0345 numbers into use.

But yes, all the numbers beginning with 0345 are set aside for the users of the respective 0845 numbers. For example, Cambridgeshire Constabulary moved from 0845 456 4564 to 0345 456 4564. So the Tax Credits helpline which is presently on 0845 300 3900 could become 0345 300 3900.

Low Income Tax Reform Group is calling on HMRC to change its telephone policy which its says causes its most vulnerable users to bear a disproportionate cost:

http://www.litrg.org.uk/News/2011/telephone-call-charges%E2%80%93time-for-hmrc-t...

Quote:

Heinz wrote on Jan 8^th, 2011 at 8:38am:

This looks (and is) very foolish.

In fact, T.O.P. publishes a geo number (01308 488066) on their website - http://www.taxvol.org.uk/. Older people with BT lines who have not got wise to the fact that they probably should be subscribing to the Anytime Call Plan would (for now) call more cheaply on the 0845 number.

LITRG also promotes another advice service - TaxAid and quotes its Old 0845 number. Last October, Taxaid migrated to the equivalent 0345 number.

I would suggest that the helplines in question are probably doing the right thing (for now - 0845s will have to go altogether once BT is allowed to charge for them properly). The errors and omissions on the LITRG website do however need to be corrected.

One other quick thing.

A FOI response says that UK geographic numbers published for overseas calls do in fact go through to the same teams as the Business Rate premium 0845 numbers.

This is (hopefully) soon to be immaterial now if the 0345 numbers are activated.

Dave wrote on Dec 12^th, 2011 at 8:38pm:


http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/tc-new-number.htm
Quote:


What an annoying statement when they could have made it absolutely clear. Especially annoying if you have to use a business rate number to contact your telephone service provider!

Dave wrote on Dec 13^th, 2011 at 6:24pm:

No, It really should say that calls cost exactly the same as a geographic call and will form part of inclusive minutes where applicable.  These rules apply to landlines, mobiles and payphones.

If we are looking to get anal on this, there is a wide difference between what may be factually accurate (which usually admits a very wide range of possibilities), what is helpful to readers (who are likely to be labouring under misapprehensions), what is politic (failure to refer to the cost of calling 0845 numbers as compared with that of calling 0345) and political correctness (avoiding offence to minorities, such as those who can call 0845 numbers more cheaply than 0345).

Dave was actually correct, as the Ofcom regulation does cover the possibility that there could be different rates for calling various types of geographic numbers. There is no single geographic rate by regulation and although it is very rare for their to be separate rates for local calls, it is not unknown and not prohibited.

Where there is a cheaper rate for local calls, this does not have to be applied to calls to 03 numbers. When Talk Talk recently offered local calls only as inclusive - this offer has now been withdrawn, it was however persuaded to add 03 to the definition of what is "local", for everybody.

daguerrotype wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2012 at 11:25am:

The Tax Credits Helpline can be contacted on 0345 300 3900. This is the only 0345 number that has been activated (apart from the equivalent textphone number that is).

Which alternative have you used as it would be helpful to know?