It is Now Illegal to Provide an 0845 Number for a Customer Service Line

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It is now illegal to provide an 0845 number for a customer service line.

From 13th June 2014, it became 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.

High-profile names, including the Environment Agency (EA) and Tesco, have already moved away from the costly 08 numbers and towards cheaper 03 numbers, ahead of the changes to the law this summer.

The EA came under fire for charging flood victims up to 41p per minute (via an 0845 number) to get through to the designated helpline service, and have since changed to a standard-rate 0345 number. They have also changed their general enquiries number from 0870 to 0370.

Tesco have made the change ahead of schedule simply to benefit their customers. They now provide free 0800 numbers for customers calling in from a landline, alongside 03 numbers for those calling in from a mobile phone, therefore ensuring that no one has to pay more than the standard rate to get in touch.

“We understand that a growing number of our customers want to contact us from their mobiles, so we’ve added an 0330 number to our existing 0800 numbers,” said a Tesco spokesperson. “We made this change as we believe it’s the right thing to do for our customers.”

What exactly is happening this summer?

From 13th June 2014, it will be illegal for companies to provide premium-rate numbers (including 0845, 0870 and 09) for their customer service lines. This law was passed as part of “The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013″ on 13th December 2013.

This applies to any phone line that is in place for existing customers (anyone who has a contractual relationship with a company or is an ongoing receiver of a company’s services) to make a query or complaint. This law does not apply to value-added services, such as technical support or sales lines.

What will happen if I don’t comply?

From 13th June 2014, any company which fails to comply with the new law and still offers a premium-rate number for their customer service line will be putting themselves at risk of court action.

Customers will be within their rights to take such companies to court and successfully reclaim the excessive charges made to them. Trading Standards are also at liberty to get involved in bringing non-complying companies to justice.

“There is no escaping the fact that these measures will soon be the law,” said David Hickson of the Fair Telecoms Campaign. “The best thing any affected company can do is to make the switch as soon as possible, and try to gain some positive PR coverage from doing the best thing for their customers.”

A poll of 362 of Call Centre Helper readers revealed that 39% are using 0845 or similar numbers for their customer service lines.

If you think that your contact centre might be affected by the upcoming changes, read our Quick Guide to the 0845 and 0870 number changes to find out what you need to do next.

Author: Megan Jones

Published On: 5th Mar 2014 - Last modified: 18th Sep 2019
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12 Comments
  • Hi,

    Does anyone know if this new legal requirement is inclusive of all sectors?

    Thanks

    Thomas Nelson 12 May at 11:55
  • I think so, but I think that there may be an exemption for the Financial Services industry.

    jonty pearce 14 May at 17:54
  • There are exceptions. If you are just a general line for customers you are exempt.
    It is only for customer who wish to complain or need support for a product they have purchased

    Linda 29 Jul at 13:48
  • I just got a replacement card from Santander… 0845 603 8750 to activate it…

    Seems they haven’t got the message, who do you complain too ?

    Tony 14 Jun at 12:47
  • Hi Tony

    You should complain about the 0845 numbers to Santander and also ask for a refund of the call costs.

    The Act (“The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013″) states that they should provide

    iii. The address which complaints should be sent to, if it is different to the address supplied for the business or the third-party trader you are acting on behalf of.

    You can also drop a complaint in to Ofcom.

    jonty pearce 17 Jun at 17:00
  • The FCA still hasn’t published the specific regulation for the financial sector. Some day in the future, financial services will be required to use 01, 02, 03 or 080 numbers.

    From 1 July 2015, New Ofcom regulation requires all users of 084, 087 and 09 numbers to declare their Service Charge wherever their number is shown.

    This has already prompted most banks to change their 0845 lines over to the matching 0345 number. In some cases, paperwork has yet to catch up and still shows the old numbers.

    Check their website for the latest information. Wherever you see an 084 number advertised, try calling the matching 034 number. Likewise for any 087 number, try calling the matching 037 number.

    Ian 14 Jun at 14:08
  • The Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 cover retailers, traders and passenger transport companies. The regulations came from BIS, not Ofcom, and they do not cover financial services. Regulation for the financial sector will come from the FCA, perhaps in the next few months. This is nothing to do with Ofcom.

    Ian 22 Jun at 01:09
  • The FCA regulations mentioned above will come into force on 26 October 2015.

    Thereafter, banks and insurance companies will have to offer 01, 02, 03 or 080 numbers. Many have already made the switch.

    Where an organisation currently offers an 084 or 087 number, the simplest route is to adopt the matching 034 or 037 number.

    Ian 6 Sep at 21:17
  • Does this apply for Business to Business customers?

    Chris 16 Jun at 12:25
  • Chris – As far as I am aware it is for all customer types

    Jonty Pearce 17 Jun at 10:04
  • Dose this apply to Nursing Agencies who expect there workers to call on a 084 and a 087 number to obtain work from them.

    melissa Howse 11 May at 18:33
  • As far as I am aware it only applies to a customer service line.

    Jonty Pearce 25 May at 15:15