bazzerfewi wrote on Feb 4^th, 2016 at 9:37am:

Can you point me in the direction of this new ruling from 1 July 2016 as I am not aware of it?


The only things I am aware of are:
2005 - ban on use of 087 and 09 numbers in the NHS,
2009 December - ban on the use of 084 numbers in the NHS,
2013 December 26 - Cabinet Office guidance recommending public services use 03 numbers in place of 084 and 087 numbers,
2014 June 13 - Consumer Contracts Regulations require retailers, traders and passenger transport companies to use 01, 02, 03 or 080 numbers for post-sales helplines,
2015 July 01 - all users of 084, 087 and 09 numbers are required to declare the Service Charge in close proximity to the number, everywhere it is advertised or promoted,
2015 October 26 - FCA regulations require financial services, including banks and insurance companies, to use numbers starting 01, 02, 03 or 080 for contact from existing customers.



bazzerfewi wrote on Feb 4^th, 2016 at 9:37am:

HMRC changed their 0845 and 0870 numbers over to cheaper 0345 and 0300 numbers in several batches between April and October 2013. The new numbers are listed on the HMRC website. If any current documents are still listing the old 0845 numbers, then these have been overlooked. As of 30 June 2015 all of the old HMRC 0845 numbers return the Number Unobtainable tone.

What is happening on a widespread scale is that after a change of number many other organisations continue to publish the old number as they are unaware of the change.

Appologies! my information is incorrect, what I was  attempting to address was the fact that there are still contact numbers within government depertments that start with the prefix 0845 and should be 0345.

On further investigation these numbers have been decommissioned but they are still present on some sites. I made British Gas and Santander aware of this some time ago, rightly they had ceased using 0845 numbers but they were still present in some instances.

I do not have the knowledge as some members do but as far as I was aware the 0845 numbers should not be used as the first point of contact in any situation as I thought it was none compliant and all initial contact numbers has to have the 01/02/03 prefix.

bazzerfewi wrote on Feb 6^th, 2016 at 10:14am:

HMRC has never used 0843 numbers.

What you have found is a Call Connection Service, otherwise known as a 'signposting' service. This is a third-party website that has set up a series of premium rate numbers for various government departments and well-known retailers. They forward the calls to the correct organisation and after the call-forwarding costs have been deducted they pocket the remainder of the Service Charge revenue.

Where these services use 087 and 09 numbers with a Service Charge of more than 7p per minute, they become Controlled Premium Rate Services and therefore subject to PhonepayPlus regulation. By using a number with a 7p per minute Service Charge, or less, they escape this regulation.

Those sites are essentially a scam and require separate action.


Compliance with the Cabinet Office guidance of December 2013 has been almost 100% and most organisations have changed their numbers and successfully updated their own websites. Some have struggled to update document templates, paperwork and email signatures, but this is now largely addressed.

Most public services refer to other services on their websites. For example most local authorities mention various numbers for HMRC, DWP, local police, Floodline, etc. Many of these third-party mentions are outdated and it will take many years for this information to be updated.

The advice has to be to treat all mentions of 084 or 087 numbers, especially on old paperwork and on third-party websites, as being out of date and to always check the official website of the organisation that you want to call to find their current numbers. These will usually be 01, 02, 03 or 080 numbers.

Off-Topic replies have been moved to this Topic.

Once published, most stuff is never touched again. Indeed, there are thousands of websites still promoting 071, 081, 0171 and 0181 telephone numbers for businesses in London even though those area codes haven't been used for twenty or fifteen years - and a similar situation exists for all other locations and number types.

If you need the telephone number for an organisation, the first advice has to be 'Look on the official website of the organisation that you want to call. Look for a number starting 01, 02, 03 or 080. Treat all paperwork and third-party websites as being outdated, especially those that mention only 084 and 087 numbers.'

If that initial look is unsuccessful, perhaps only 084 or 087 numbers are listed, then try saynoto0870 for an alternative number listing.

Where outdated numbers are listed, organisations need to be made aware that the number has changed. More than a hundred thousand places list the old 0845 number for Samaritans. Most of those will never be updated.

Ofcom regulates the providers of numbers not the users.

Users are regulated by sector regulators such as BIS, FCA, etc. They have regulations on the type of numbers that can be used for certain purposes. There are no regulations that compel third-parties to amend websites.

Ian01 wrote on Feb 7^th, 2016 at 10:36am:

Which has been a free call on 116123 for more than 6½ years.