tangerineRDS wrote on Oct 21
st, 2013 at 12:07pm:
Why do companies use 0845 numbers?
Do they make money out of them as they do with 0870 etc?
Calls to 0845 numbers incur a 2p/min Service Charge. The called party uses this money to pay for the call routing costs at their end of the call. There's usually nothing left over for them to receive a revenue share payment. They simply have and use the 0845 number at no cost to the business, by forcing callers to pay for those costs.
Revenue sharing was suspended on 0870 numbers in 2009. Ofcom did that so that the call price would be reduced. Landline operators added 0870 numbers to their inclusive allowances. However, 0870 numbers remain expensive from mobiles. Additionally, many of the 0870 users simply migrated to 0844 numbers in order to continue receiving a revenue share payment.
Businesses currently do not make money from 0870 numbers. They have to pay for their use, often a bit more than they would have to pay for an 03 number.
Ofcom propose 0870 numbers return to revenue sharing in 2015 with a Service Charge around 10p/min and be subjected to the "unbundled tariffs" system. With mobile operators setting and declaring their Access Charge, the price for calling 0870 numbers from mobile phones could fall significantly.
Businesses using 0845 and 0870 numbers should be moving to 0345 and 0370 numbers. The Consumer Rights Directive will soon require it (or a move to a new 01, 02, 030, 033 or 080 number) for customer service lines.