Quote:0844 numbers (note: this charged at a standard national rate of only around 4p a minute, I believe)
Calls cost 4.2p/min plus VAT plus a 15p connection fee - but this applies only from BT landlines.
A three minute call will cost more than 30p.
Virgin Media landlines charge 12p/min plus a 16p connection fee for the same call.
A three minute call will cost more than 50p.
More than 50% of callers use mobile phones. They are charged 20p to 41p/min - mostly 35p/min or more.
A three minute call will cost most mobile callers more than than £1.
These figures are far more than the 4p/min you quote. Less than 40% of calls made from residential landlines are made via BT.
In particular, these calls are not included in call plan allowances so every call pushes up the callers bill.
Additionally, these are not "national rate" calls. They are far more expensive than a call to an 01 or 02 number.
Most people make calls to 01, 02 and 03 numbers within an inclusive allowance (effectively "free").
Have you started making plans for migrating to the matching 0344 number?
This is charged exactly the same as a call to an 01 or 02 number and this applies to calls made from landlines and from mobiles.