The End for 0845 Numbers

3,803
Filed under - Archived Content

On 13th June 2014 it became illegal to provide an 0845 or similar number for a customer service line.

It is now a legal requirement that businesses provide a standard-rate number (i.e. 01, 02 or 03) for their customer service lines.

This law has been passed to ensure that no customer is forced to pay an additional charge – frequently incurred with 0845 and similar numbers – when making a complaint about a faulty service or product.

“It’s a shame that the 08 and other non-geographic numbers introduced by Ofcom’s predecessor, Oftel, to “stimulate innovation and competition” have been systematically abused by some network operators (principally MNOs) for so many years,” said Kieron James at Nexbridge. “Calls to these numbers should have been charged at historic local (0845) and national (0870) rates by all fixed and mobile operators. Even today, some operators charge 40p per minute to 08x numbers (whilst adding no value to the call). In my view, the regulator has taken a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”

What will happen if I’m not compliant after the deadline passes?

From 13th June 2014, any customer that is forced to use an 0845 number to get through to customer service will be able to take the offending company to court and claim back any excess charges incurred during the call.

While this is all the new legislation outlines, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading will also be involved in bringing companies to justice.

“This new law sits in the midst of a number of consumer protection measures and the government will want to be seen to be taking action against those who fail to comply with the new law,” said David Hickson of the Fair Telecoms Campaign.

I thought changes to 0845 numbers were happening next year?

There are a number of changes currently in motion surrounding telephone numbers. The 13th June 2014 marks the end for 0845 numbers for use in customer service. June 2015 will see Ofcom alter 0800 and 0808 numbers so that they are free to call from mobile phones.

Until these 2015 changes come into effect, however, 0800 numbers will not be considered basic rate. This is because customers calling in from a mobile phone will incur additional charges. To overcome this, you will need to provide (and clearly display) a separate 01, 02 or 03 number for mobile phone users.

For example, Tesco clearly displays an 0800 number for landline customers and a 03 number for mobile customers on their website.

What have you said?

Customer experience will definitely improve since almost everyone calling those numbers would have been unhappy paying a charge.

– With thanks to Akhilesh

I hope that it leads to an improvement in the customer experience but will wait and see.

I definitely think that it is good news for us all and well overdue but, as I say, I will wait to see.

– With thanks to David

I think it is a good-news story because it is likely to improve the experience for those customers who wish to use the telephone as their chosen method of communication.

We find that improved experience comes with allowing customers the choice to communicate with us in whichever way best suits their needs – be it email, SMS, webchat or any other method.

By offering these services free of charge, you’ll inevitably see increased satisfaction levels among your customer base (provided you previously used an 084 number).

– With thanks to Ben

Need to find out more?

If you think your contact centre may be affected, read our helpful guide A Quick Guide to the 0845 and 0870 number changes.

What do you think about the move away from 0845 numbers?

Author: Megan Jones

Published On: 11th Jun 2014 - Last modified: 18th Sep 2019
Read more about - Archived Content

Follow Us on LinkedIn
5 Comments
  • @Kieron James : 0845 and 0870 numbers (and their predecessors in the 1980s and 1990s) were originally a good idea, especially when 0845 calls were truly charged at the same rate as a local call. That was back in the days when the UK had a monopoly landline provider and scant mobile phone usage. However, the telecoms industry has moved on somewhat since then.

    Nowadays there are hundreds of providers with a variety of different deals. Whatever the deal callers are on, the vast majority no longer pay for individual calls to normal 01, 02 and 03 numbers. Most of these calls are made as part of an inclusive call allowance. This applies to calls made from landlines and from mobiles. However, calls to 084 and 087 numbers are generally not included in these deals. As such, they represent an additional expense, with every call further pushing up the caller’s bill.

    Ofcom’s intervention measures coming into force on 26 June 2015 will bring price transparency to the retail call pricing of 08 and 09 numbers. It will become very clear that callers not only pay their own provider to connect and convey the call, they are also paying an additional Service Charge to the benefit of the called party. This Service Charge will have to be declared by users of these numbers wherever their number is advertised.

    While it is true that a number of mobile operators currently charge extortionate rates for calling 084 and 087 numbers, it must now be recognised that the Service Charge is an additional cost component within the overall call price, one that is not present when phoning ordinary geographic and geographic-rate numbers. Finally it will become clear that descriptions such as “national rate, “local rate”, “lo-call” and other such claims are simply not true, haven’t been true for a very long time, and that there can be no expectation of these calls costing the same as a call to a geographic number.

    The new consumer protection legislation from BIS, coming into effect on 13 June 2014, will ensure customer service telephone lines no longer use the types of telephone numbers that have these additional charges.

    Ian 11 Jun at 21:16
  • There is some confusion around this rule change in the Call Centre I work for. Does this rule apply only to Complaint lines or does it include general customer Service lines as well (for instance, if a customer is calling to amend their personal details, make a payment, etc.)?

    Charley 13 Jun at 12:48
  • If you take the line that it applies for any type of contact with existing customers, you’ll not go wrong.

    However, why charge new customers a premium rate to talk to you? Savvy consumers will go somewhere else that does not make those extra charges.

    Ian 13 Jun at 16:16
  • Thank you for that information I have been charged a fortune for ringing my doctors surgery to make an appointment. They kept me in a queue and then had to listen to a generic Ebola message then again in a queue to get to reception in total this cost me £9.00 so much for free national health service. Think this is a good example of 08 numbers being abused. Unhappy bunny, about to be happier in june.

    Ange 15 Apr at 16:49
  • GP contracts were amended in 2010 to ban the use of 084 numbers. An amendment made in 2005 had previously banned the use of 087 and 09 numbers.

    Ian 10 Jun at 08:33