Hi virgin just me that they wont be chargiing at all for 0845 and 0870 numbers from 01/08/2011

Is this true?

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thanks for the reply.

the Virgin support said they are goona to make ALL my 08 calls free (not free for a certain amount of minutes or time of week/day)
even though im only on a free calls at weekend package.

I got the impression from the customer services guy, that this was a industry wide move.

Yeah sorry, the first person I spoke gave incorrect infomation, the 2nd from overseas didnt have a clue, the third did.

Virgin are making calls to 0870 free at weekends or weekends and evenings, depending on your package.

As part of the line rental increase at the start of august

for a extra 2 pound a month you can get 0845 as well.

The talk unlimited gets both 08 numbers free at all times.

I think theres a minute allowence as well though

Indeed - I've been having a discussion on this with a few others on the VM support forum (http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Telephone/bd-p/Telephone) - and sure enough...

http://tinyurl.com/6zz8trn under "Talk 08"..

Talk 08 £5: Includes 250 minutes each month of direct dialled voice calls calls to UK numbers starting 08. You must keep your Talk 08 £5 package for at least 30 days.

I fail to see how this can be either loss-making or a mistake. That works out at 2p/minute - a few savvy VM customers could even club together and get themselves an 0871 number!

(Edited for wrong link to VM forum)

japitts wrote on Jun 30^th, 2011 at 9:59am:

VM is probably banking on many people not using up to the 250 minutes.

I would expect that there will be a clause in there on artificial inflation of traffic: where someone gets a number and then dials it to generate a profit in that way.

It's funny because I was only looking at this earlier today. More and more landline providers are bringing their 0870 charges into line with geographic and 03 calls (and this includes making the zero fee where applicable).

SilentCallsVictim wrote on Aug 23^rd, 2011 at 8:21pm:

Indeed.

But it is happening gradually and we are not at the stage of only one or two as it was two years ago.

catj wrote on Aug 24^th, 2011 at 2:25am:

0870 calls are now added to the list of those which are included at the time that the selected Plan is in effect.

The whole point of the way in which landline services are provided nowadays is that one needs to select the Plan that reflects the times when one makes calls. The level of the penalty charges imposed for calling outside the terms of one's package, e.g. during working hours if subscribed to Talk Evening and Weekends, makes it essential to only incur such charges very rarely.

We have not properly come to terms with the fact that calls to Geographic Rate numbers (which should now include 0870) are not subject to call charges under normal circumstances. Simple arithmetic shows that call inclusive packages are not some "extra" for those who make lots of calls, but a basic element of one's telephone service.

I can understand why the least inclusive (i.e. the cheapest) call packages are offered as the default. I would however make a case for considering the "Anytime" options as the norm, with discounts available for those households where generally nobody is at home making telephone calls during the working day or weekday evenings. Having taken the discount, one may expect to incur penalty charges for calling during times outside those covered by the selected package.

All of that said - calls to Business Rate and Premium Rate numbers are obviously subject to call charges, as some of the charge has to be paid on to the recipient.

BT's inclusion of 0845 is an exceptional situation, enabled by its special regulatory status and brought about by mistakenly anticipating Ofcom's intentions for future regulation. BT correctly anticipated the change to 0870 by just over six months and expected to be perhaps twelve or more months ahead of the game with 0845. As it has turned out the expected change to 0845 has not happened, as Ofcom has decided to take a different course.

The VM Call 08 packages are an unusual marketing ploy, not followed by other providers. As with BT's inclusion of 0845, they stand outside the norm. We wait to see what effect forthcoming regulatory changes have on these exceptional arrangements.

We may not be very far away from a situation in which calls to mobiles join calls to geographic rate numbers as part of "normal" telephone usage. There will be lots of issues raised, but this will serve to further isolate calls to Business Rate and Premium Rate numbers as exceptions.