0845 numbers

[dillonspopps]

Hi All, 

I was charged nearly £20 this month for calling a 0845 number which I thought was free to call from my phone.  When I checked the site I found out that calls where free to these numbers and contacted O2 only to be told they are not free to the that particular number I called.  This does not make sense and very misleading, so basically you can call 0845 number but only the ones listed on the O2 website below.

https://www.o2.co.uk/popups/free-numbers

They refused to remove the charge and I will be taking this further, absoloute ridiculous.

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

The charges are set by OFCOM and apply equally to all networks.
It is the responsibility of the customer to check non standard call charges unfortunately.

[Cleoriff]

Hi @dillonspopps

Check out the service numbers in this link

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/account-and-billing/other-numbers-and-charges

[chrisymon]

You may also like to know that most companies that have a 0845 also supply a 0345 number as an alternative. Takes a few seconds to look up then call the 0345 version of it as thats free call from your mobile !  Save yourself 20.00 for a few seconds of searching google, also some good apps out there that do it for you.

[chrisymon]

We found out from one of our customers on Monday that a new law has come into force in the UK since 13th June 2014 around Customer Service telephone numbers.

It is now illegal to provide a new 0845, 0870 or similar telephone number for a customer complaints helpline.

If you have an existing 0845 number you can may continue to use it as long as the 0345 is displayed as prominently.

The new law has been put in place as a part of ensuring that Consumers do not have to pay extra for attempting to rectify existing problems which are not their fault.

The changes only apply to telephone lines dealing with existing customers.

Companies can still use 0845 and similar for customer advice helplines such as Technical advice as long as the charges for the call are clearly advertised.

Here is the link to the government notice detailing the change in law:

[jonsie]

Most companies also provide an overseas geographical number. I always use that one when calling from mobile.