UK Calling made simple for consumers
From 1 July 2015 call charges are changing, with a new system to make the cost of calling service numbers clear. Ofcom’s UK Calling website has full details. Here are the key changes for consumers.
Which phone numbers are affected? 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers called from both landlines and mobiles.
What changes?
At the moment, the information you see about the cost of calling a service number generally looks like this:
Calls cost 20p per minute from a BT landline. Other landlines may vary and calls from mobiles may cost more.
From 1 July the price of a call will be made up of an access charge (this is set by your phone company) plus a service charge (set by the organisation you are calling).
Your phone provider will have to tell you what its access charge is and make it clear on bills and when you take out a contract.
The company that runs the services you are using will have to advertise their service charge as clearly as possible.
0800 & 0808 freephone will be free
Starting with 01 July 2015, calling freephone numbers 0800 and 0808 from a mobile will be free. At present these numbers are free of charge only when called from a landline.
Why does this matter to me?
Under the new rules the charges for 084, 0847, 09 and 118 numbers will change. This should make it easier for you to check the cost of your calls. You will also know how much you’re paying to your network and how much you’re paying to the service provider when making a premium rate call.
Why all these changes?
Research conducted by Ofcom showed that consumers are often confused about the costs to call 08, 09 and 118 numbers and therefore less likely to use them.
Watch Ofcom’s UK Calling video for more information: