UK Geographic Numbers (01,02)
Geographic numbers are telephone numbers that are specific to a town or city location in the UK. For Example a local telephone number for Milton Keynes would start 01908
Geographic numbers are ideal for businesses that wish to widen their marketing into local areas or to have a local presence across the country without the need for a local office.
UK 03 Numbers
03 numbers have all the benefits of Geographical numbers (01.02) without being location specific.
Providing your customers with an 03 number to call gives your company a national presence. It enables you to appear to a wider audience, not just your local area.
Numbers starting with 03, including those that start with prefixes like 0300, 0303 and 0344, are a type of 'non-geographic' number.
Calls to 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02
These rules apply to calls from any type of line including mobile, BT, other fixed line or payphone.
UK 0800/0808 Freephone Numbers
UK businesses that enabled their customers to call a Freephone number have consistently experienced an uplift in calls and it is a great way to enhance your business in the eyes of potential customers
Using an 0800 /0808 numbers adds credibility and authority to your business profile, and shows that you are serious about putting the customer first.
Laws introduced in July 2015 made calls to 0800 / 0808 numbers free from mobile phones as well as Landlines.
0800 numbers were released in the 1985. As it was a single Range ie 0800 XXXXXX they have become in short supply, to overcome this OFCOM released the 0808 range in 1997.
UK 0843/0844/0845/0870 Numbers
As of 1st July 2015, organisations that use 0844/0845/0870 numbers have an obligation to display the cost to call these numbers.
Ofcom introduced new measures to simplify call charges for these numbers. These came into force on 1st July 2015 and are intended to promote price transparency for consumers.
The cost of calling any of these numbers will be split into two parts:
- An access charge: This is what the caller will be charged by their phone company, charged as pence per minute. They will tell consumers how much the access charge will be for calls to service numbers. It will be made clear on bills and when they take out a contract. This is in addition to the below service charge.
- A service charge: This is the rest of the call charge and Service Providers are obliged to communicate this cost to customers.
The service charge is the part that Service Providers need to communicate to callers.
What you need to do
Wherever you advertise or promote a number, your organisation must ensure that the service charge is displayed in a prominent position, and in close proximity to the telephone number.
The recommended form of wording is:
"Calls cost xp [or xp per minute] plus your phone company's access charge."