UBT - Chris Suddick wrote:0870 numbers are a pain in the **** (or *** if you're American) and cost a lot more than ordinary calls. Some bright spark (who should be nominated for sainthood) has created this website where you can search for an 0870 number that you've been given and, in many cases, give you a normal landline number which can be as little as one tenth of the cost.......
Great posting - like Halifax, I've had this website as a shortcut on my desktop for ages.
So many firms now use 0870 as a revenue earner, keeping you on hold for ages, playing you countless messages about why they are so good and why they appreciate you calling (sic) and "we're ever so busy, we just don't have enough operators to answer all our lovely customers calls".....
yeah, right !
More like....let's keep this person on hold even longer so we can earn even more dosh from them.....
For some time now, 0870 has been a non-geographic number that ISN'T related to the actual cost of a national rate call, as the phone operators PAY the licensees of the number a percentage share of the call revenue....
And thankfully, OFCOM last week announced a change (to happen NEXT YEAR) where there'll be more transparency about the actual cost of calls to 0870 and they will introduce a new non-geographic number range starting 03, that'll be cheaper with no "pay back" to the licensees....
Then, let's see how many firms relinquish their 0870's in order to prive they really care...and how many keep them as profit-making mechanisms.
BTW: To have an 0870 number, you need an actual landline number....and the named website makes it obvious what the ACTUAL landline number is that the 0870 re-directs to.....clever stuff....
PS incensed mode > "off"
regards
Tim
PPS If you know the REAL landline number associated with an 0870, then you can submit this to the website and it'll update it's database accordingly...!
