09 October 2006

Calling Non-Geographic Number

Sorry for the gap between posts.

Since I last posted lots has happened. I have started a new job. It has been Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the start of the start of Sukkot. Finally, and the motivation for writing this post, I have got received my first proper bill from my new "cheap" 3 mobile.

It was rather more than I expected when I signed up for the contract. Partly beacuse it is one of these cheque back deals but mainly because it costs a lot to phone 0845, 0870, etc numbers ... but such is life and if you need to call a company what choice to you have.

Enter SAYNOTO0870.COM. I was this evening telling Ma to phone a company from her mobile while she is driving instead of wasting time when she is at home and has better things to do than wait on hold. My mother-in-law said she had heard of a website that lists companies "normal" numbers so that you can aviod calling 0870s. She said she didn't know the address but I could try to google for it. Those who know my mother-in-law know that she has probably never used website and google in the same sentence before!

Anyway, I went to SAYNOTO0870.COM looked for the company in question and found a 029 number. Thank you SAYNOTO0870.COM.

Disclaimer: Non-geographical numbers such as 0870 aren't all bad. I used to work for a company that despite being very small had an 0870 number. It allowed them to have a larger, more proffesional image and make a small amout of money from technical support calls. I also have a completely free, to me, 0871 fax number. Since the caller sending the fax pays for the call I don't have to, which is suits me. Premium rate support numbers a different matter however.

1 comment:

Kelly said...

I agree, these non-geographical numbers are just very individual, you should be informed about many things before using them. When you know the rules, you can benefit, especially if you have business. Make sure 0870 or 0800 is right for you – 0800 numbers are good at linking businesses to their customers. If the majority of your work is business to business, a 0800 may not be necessary. The majority of companies contacting you will not mind paying for the cost of a phone call.