Rip Off Telephone Numbers

Modern life is already jam packed with cost and inconvenience and having to pay an additional charge for customer service helplines or tech support can be the final straw. We think that calls to premium rate numbers are basically a rip off after having already paid for goods or services that should frankly, work as intended without the additional chasing.
One of the main gripes that we have is the cost of telephone calls to 08 numbers particularly from mobiles where they can cost as much as 50ppm. Luckily Ofcom have recently enacted a new piece of law that requires government departments and those offering customers service lines to also offer an alternative 0345 contact telephone number.

Although 0345 Numbers are not geographic Numbers, they are treated as such by mobile phone companies and therefore should not attract any additional charges outside of the callers inclusive minutes allowance. This is great news for UK consumers as most of us tend to use our mobiles to chase up customers service queries and are often hit with an unexpected bill for the call at the end of the month. Aside from the fact that it seems unfair that consumers are paying additional to get products to work, or service agreements fulfilled, companies are making huge profits from these calls and it may seem to some that the call centers in themselves are treated as just another way to extract money from consumers.

Whilst most Government Departments have made the switch to 0345 numbers, its not always as easy to find them, this problem is compounded by the fact that many Governmental Departments are still sending out letters and notifications with the 0845 Customer Contact Telephone number on whilst stock deplete.

A new 0345 Number Directory and information service aims to redress the balance and ensure that 0345 Numbers and information including costs and usage is easily available to consumers so that they can find and use the most cost effective customer service number for the organization that they are trying to contact.
A little known fact is that when 03 numbers were introduced by Ofcom in 2007, the 034 and 037 ranges were reserved exclusively for those migrating from the exactly matching 084 or 087 number. Many organisations have now made that move..
To check if an organization has made the switch, to add an 0345 Number that you have found or to simply find the 03 number for any UK Company simply check out the 0345 Numbers Database