From the 1st July there are a few changes being applied to the way in which charges are made for calling and receiving calls on UK non-geographic 08 numbers. These changes are being implemented by the telecoms regulator Ofcom and affect all UK businesses from the 1st July.
Ofcom are making these changes after analysing their research which highlighted that consumers were frequently confused by these types of numbers and are often hesitant to call them due to lack of clarity concerning the costs of these types of calls.
As a result Ofcom are proposing to make changes to the numbering structure to make it more transparent for both businesses and consumers alike.
The two changes are as follows:
- Freephone numbers — numbers beginning with 0800 and 0808 — will be free to call from mobile phones as well as landlines from July 1st 2015.This means that if you operate with a 0800 or 0808 number, your cost to receive calls on this number will be increasing slightly.
- Calls from consumer landlines and mobiles to 08, 09, and 118 numbers are changing. From July 1st 2015 the cost of calling these numbers will be made up of two parts.
- Access Charge – charged by the callers telecom provider eg. BT, Tech IP etc. This is a pence per minute charge.
- Service Charge – the rest of the call charge includes any revenue going to the organisation being called, plus any revenue going to the inbound number service provider.
Example: a call to an 0844 number, is broken down into 1.7ppm access charge from the telecoms provider for the outbound call and 5ppm service charge from the receiver/number owner = 6.7ppm becomes the total cost to call one of these numbers.
These changes apply to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers.
These changes affect anyone who uses any of the above numbers in their business, where the numbers are advertised/communicated in any form as a number that consumers may call.
So the important part is what do you need to do?
The changes are consumer driven so that consumers are fully aware of the call costs prior to making a call, as a result these must be CLEARLY displayed at point of sale, on company literature (print or online) and on all advertising. The charges should be displayed as follows:
For 0843 and 0844 numbers:
Calls will cost 7p per minute plus your phone company’s Access Charge*
* This charge will vary as it is dependent on the carrier the caller uses for their outbound calls
For 0845 numbers:
Calls will cost 3p per minute plus your phone company’s Access Charge*
* This charge will vary as it is dependent on the carrier the caller uses for their outbound calls
Switching to 03 numbers:
Switching to an 03 number may be the best solution,03 numbers are not subject to any of the above charges. 03 numbers are charged to at the same or similar rate to a UK geographic call (01 and 02 numbers) and are often included in call bundles. This is the same for both landline and mobile callers.
03 number owners also pay the same rate to receive calls from UK landline and UK mobiles and often the incoming pence per minute, is less than a Freephone number.
Any 08 number you currently have will have the 03 version available to you. There would be an administration/setup fee for the new 03 number.
If it sounds confusing, don’t worry, we can help. Just give us a call on 0800 50 533 50 or complete an enquiry form online here, one of the team will be in touch to offer guidance about being compliant with these upcoming regulation changes and advice on switching from 08 to 03 numbers. For more information about different telephone numbers and what they mean to your business, visit our Call Routing & Phone Numbers page.
