0845 which area

There continued use by will be affected by things such as:. Customer pressure is likely to see organisations opt to move away from the use of numbers. This was the case with public sector bodies. There are, for example, very few Government Departments, local authorities or local health bodies using numbers. Most have moved to using alternative lower cost phone numbers. Technology will also play a part in any decision to move away from the use of numbers.

It can allow a company to use a standard rate 01 or 02 number without it being linked to a set location. This is because technology such as VoIP enables a business to transfer that call across the Internet to another location. It removes the need for them having to rely on the traditional exchange network. Generally, they cost 7 pence per minute from a landline — but it is always best to check with your supplier first.

For mobile operators, check our table below. Interested in buying your own number? Choose from the packages below, or speak to a member of our team by calling now. Who uses numbers? These include: Charging for the use of information and support lines. Making bookings for events and travel. Offer conference call services. Pre-sales information lines. When are numbers not used?

The move away from numbers Although the use of numbers is reducing, they are likely to be around for a little while longer — and many companies buy numbers for use as booking helplines , among other uses. Many companies have phased out the use of phone numbers, but they are still popular in many industries, including:.

As mentioned above, the phone number can still be used for pre-sales customer support but it cannot be used for post-sales customer support. The law was changed in to make it illegal for companies to use the phone number for customer service as it was decided this was unfair on the customer. Many companies moved away from numbers towards non-geographical landlines such as 03 for their customer support lines.

Calls to numbers are charged for two separate rates. The first is the connection fee which is payable to the phone company. The second is a service fee which is payable to the owner of the phone number. The service fee makes the phone numbers easily exploitable by scammers. The access fee for phone numbers can be as much as 55p from a mobile phone and the service charge can be as much as 7p per minute, 7p per call or a combination of the two.

Call costs rounded to nearest penny and last updated in April Most companies have a minimum charge of one minute. Please double-check with your telephone company. Using numbers for customer service lines is now forbidden by law and most reputable companies no longer use such numbers for enquiries. In April , two older local rate prefixes were shut down and their numbers transferred to the code as follows:.

The link to 'local rate' was later broken and by the mids calls to numbers began to be charged at a range of different rates. In July , all and numbers switched to the new two-part charging structure made up of a separate service charge and access charge. Companies are prohibited from using service numbers such as numbers for post-sales customer service lines. More info. All numbers starting are charged in the same manner and have the same technical features.