Cheapest 118 Directory Enquiry services - Ofcom call costs announced 31/12/09

Cheapest 118 Directory Enquiry services - Ofcom call costs announced 31/12/09

Since the deregulation of the former 192 service, there have been over 505 applications to host a service from a total possible 999. Some providers have not launched and some have gone out of business.

The full list is available @ http://www.telecom-tariff.co.uk/dialdirq.htm

Incidentally, 999 for the emergency services was in fact the first non-geographic number to be allocated in 1937 but it wasn't available for everyone to ring until 1963. Now there are a whole suite of Non-Geographic Telephone Numbers such as 0800, 0845, 0844, etc and 111 was launched recently in November 2009 for charities

So, without further a do, the results are in and it would appear that the winner happens to be 118214, a service costing just 20p/min. Of course its a little difficult to compare some services as they happen to have different set up costs and in some cases some providers can be up to twice as much as BT.

Awareness of different providers is relatively and advertisng expenditure is always very high to improve awareness. A recent study by the regulating body Ofcom revealed the folowing

1) While spontaneous awareness of DQ providers/numbers has fallen overall, it has increased amongst DQ users. Prompted awareness is unchanged

2) All other DQ providers are mentioned by 10% or less of respondents.
Self reported use of DQ services continues to decline

3) Over nine out of ten consumers only use one DQ number.

4) The Number's 118 118 (41%) and BT's 118 500 (26%) are the two most commonly used DQ providers.

5) Most consumers (62%) are satisfied with their chosen provider. A minority (12%) are dissatisfied.

6) Mobile customers are more satisfied than fixed customers (77% and 62%).

7) BT 118 500 landline users are more satisfied than landline users of The Number's 118 118 (Fixed line: 73% vs 62%)


41% of fixed line DQ users do not know what their chosen DQ provider charges to provide a UK telephone number.

Among those that mention a price, the average is 48p - close to the actual weighted average price of 50p.

Just over a half of UK adults are aware that prices vary between DQ providers, and just over a third that some DQ providers offer different services to others - unchanged since April 2004.

Of the additional services provided, none show growth in self-reported usage but consumers do show more potential interest in future usage of these

The main reasons mentioned for using a particular DQ provider are:

1. advertising recall (24%)
2. ease of remembering the number (17%)
3. perception that the number used was the new BT service (17%)
4. it is the only known service (16%)
5. The service provision itself is a secondary consideration:
6. cheap (3%)
7. the best (4%)
8. accurate (2%)
9. Accuracy of 118 DQ services broadly unchanged

118 numbers are perceived to be more costly per call than 192 (57% fixed line users/44% mobile users), especially in the case of fixed line calls. This is in part driven by a perception amongst consumers of calls to 192 being cheaper than they actually were (perceived cost to call 192 being 30p compared to the actual cost of 40p).

GPs 084 numbers are now illegal

GPs across England and Wales are being asked to stop using all 0844 numbers for answering calls to their patients.

Nye Bevan's desire in 1922 to make the NHS free at the point of entry almost should extend to the provision of telephone calls, the government have decreed.

Read the Government’s response

The Department of Health proposes to ban the use of premium rate numbers by NHS organisations. It has recently consulted on the use of 084 numbers in the NHS. The Department’s response to the consultation was published on 14 September, and is available on its website at: www.dh.gov.uk by typing ‘084 consultation response’ into the search bar.

The Department received approximately 3,000 responses to the consultation exercise; 2,000 from members of the public, a further 1,000 from the NHS, and a small number of responses from industry and other stakeholder organisations.

The consultation demonstrated that there is overwhelming support for the banning of numbers which cost the patient more to call than if they had called a normal geographical number (for example, numbers beginning 01 or 02). As a result of the consultation, the Department intends to amend legislation to stop the use of any telephone numbers which charge patients more to contact the NHS than the equivalent call to a geographical number. This will be enforced through amendments to the GP contract regulations, and the issuing of Directions to NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs).

The ban will be enforced as soon as the necessary legislative changes can be made. This will be early next year for GP Practices, but as soon as practically possible for NHS Trusts and PCTs. The Department’s ongoing position on this issue has been that patients should not be expected to pay more than the equivalent cost of calling a geographical number, and, in the meantime, Ministers expect NHS organisations to continue to take this into account.

Free 0845 and 0870 calls for BT Business customers

BT extend their 0845
and 0870
inclusive call packages to Businessses with effect from October 26th 2009.

On January 16th, 2009 announced this offer to residential customers as long as they paid a monthly fee under their 'anytime plan'. It does not include 0844
and 0871
numbers which many businesses have migrated to but it does offer some welcome savings.

The alternative option to 0845 is, of course, 03 numbers, which are free to call from landlines and mobiles numbers.

This is a welcome move for businesses who are struggling n the current climate. The rise of 08 numbers have been dramatic and the costs of calling them have not really been in line with the cost of calling 01/02 numbers.

The benefits of using 0845 numbers are, of course, significant and include but are not limited to:-

A) 0845 numbers are great for new business start ups who may be moving into or out of premises as it means they can keep the same number whiout worrying about the significant costs of changing as the underlying number changes.

B) 0845 numbers are nationally base and are not restricted by Geography. This is great for companies who are attempting to measure the impact of their marketng efforts, when different 0845 numbers are used for different campaigns, etc.

C) 0845 numbers are very flexible in that they can be diverted to mobiles and international numbers at the drop of a hat.


D) 0845 numbers can be used to map against web site and other marketing materials.

E) By using 0845 numbers callers can use auto-attendant or virtual reception services i.e. press for 1 sales, 2 for service, 3 for accounts, etc which gives a far more professional feel to their operation.

F) Organisations can opt for memorable numbers which can be chosen at short notice to dovetail with tight advertising print deadlines.

0845 Numbers from one of UK's leading Providers

0845-numbers are very inexpensive for the business and other than this some benefits of 0845 Numberfor your business are discussed below:

Map your number any where:
These 0845numbers can be mapped to any telephone or mobile number and that it works with all types of phone line, modems, fax machines etc. So the location of your business can be changed to any where any time and your number will remain the same. And since the 0845 Number is a non-geographic number, so it leaves an impression on your customers/callers that your business is not restricted to a particular place; unlike the normal number which have an area code and they give an impression of your business being restricted to a specific area.


Customer Trust
The 0845 Number makes you be perceived more professional which makes your customers trust you more than your competitors. This results is in more calls by your customers which is translated into more satisfied customers and hence more business for you.

Location Flexibility:
This flexibility of location allows you to setup your call centre at a place where it costs you the least. So 0845 Number provides you with complete flexibility of using any phone line, mobile and other telecommunication devices without letting your customers/callers know about what your location is!!

National Reach , Local presence
A 0844-number gives a number of benefits to your customers also i.e. your customers can call you from any where in UK at the same rate and you do not get charged for the calls that you receive. Your business can be marketed throughout the nation and at the same time your customer gets a feel of your local presence.

Marketing Benefit
And that it has also been proven by a research that the marketing campaign launched through these type of professional looking numbers (e.g. 0845 Numbers) are a lot more effective than the campaigns done through other numbers.

Revenue Sharing
0845 Numbersalso provides a facility of revenue sharing where in the 5pence per minute paid by the caller is shared between you and your 0845 Number services provider. That is 1 pence out of this 5pence goes to you and the rest to the service provider and that your percentage revenue share can be increased as your number of calls received increases.

Memorable numbers

Choosing such a number that either reflects your business, your product or service is an excellent method to give you a competitive edge over others. These numbers are more memorable than the normal ‘number’ numbers. i.e. it has been proved by research that remembering a number in terms of digits is far more harder than the remembering it in alphabetic of in word form. Using a 0845 Number enables you to do that; you can get a ‘0845-your business name’ number and become more memorable than your competitors


The benefits of a 0845 Numberfor your business are not restricted to the discussed ones in fact each of its additional service provided with it has a number of benefits individually.

03 numbers to overtake 0845

03 Numbers to overtake 0845 for new business connections

03 Numbers exhibit the benefit that they have to be charged at the same rate as the 01/02 rate that a caller is due to pay on its tariff. Therefore, as most businesses have free landline minutes within their mobile phone tariff packages, this means that calling back to the office on the main number will also be free.

Some companies who front their businesses with 0870/0844 will now find that they will have extraordinary large phone bills. Funny when you think this is most telephone companies.

i.e. when they use BT’s Presentation Number Service and transmit their 0844/0870 from the office as a CLI to to the mobile handset, users will naturally just dial back and therefore will be charged at the going rate which is typically between 10p-£1.50/minute.

According to recent news articles, 03 Numbers are likely to overtake 0845 numbers as the popular type of business phone number. Some of the reasons for this lie in the following:-

1. They offer a national presence. Therefore businesses who are based in Northumbria can have the feel of a company that is based in London or indeed anywhere throughout the U.K.

2. They offer smart call handling features in much the same way as 0845 numbers such as call whisper, call recording, and auto-attendant features, so there is no loss in the quality of the service being offered.

3. For instance, callers into the service can be presented with Press 1 for sales, 2 for service and 3 for accounts, etc.

4. 03 Numbers are great if a company is likely to relocate – often new start businesses may move two or three times in the short history.

5. It is possible for businesses who get in early to select their numbers from niche players in the market rather than be randomly allocated the numbers by the carriers such as BT and C&W.

6. It is easy to set up and can be provided across all types of numbers such your local business number and also to mobiles and international numbers.
0300 numbers are exclusively for public service bodies so it is likely that over time people will become far more familiar with the concept of these numbers and start to use them for businesses purposes.

What to look out for when you buy 0845 numbers.

All too often individuals look for the best of the cheapest deal on 0845 Numbers, only to find that the cheapest was not necessarily the best.

In this article we aim to assist in providing some helpful hints in what to look for in an 0845 number to achieve the best deal.

Most providers look to charge a connection fee and ongoing monthly rental. This seems like industry norm but clearly if it is totally free then there is a good reason for this. Caveat Emptor (Buyer beware), as often the devil is in the detail.

Free means that it’s possible that you may be asked for a lot of money to move the number to a new location. If your business moves premises then you will need to plan early for the 0845 Numbers as part of your project management plan as it can take up to 10 working days for some providers to action your request which may mean you will loose connectivity if the 0845 number is one you rely on.

Are you receiving a rebate on your 0845 Numbers? Most providers will offer some form of rebate, albeit a low one, but only when the number of minutes exceeds a certain threshold, which varies from provider to provider. If you do not see this; ask for it, it’s definitely there.

Do you have a self service portal? This means you can move your own numbers instantaneously without involving the provider, who may or may not have gone bust. This is good for business continuity planning, especially if you are a plc. As they have a duty of care to the shareholders to provide a business continuity plan for telecoms.

Do you receive statistics on your existing 0845 Numbers. Number of calls answered to the number unanswered and what duration of the call.

Can your provider present you with a detailed summary of where the call originates from in terms of both geography and also Caller Line I.D. This is important for marketing purposes when planning where budgets are to be allocated in terms of marketing expenditure.

How quickly can your provider set the numbers up. If you have an important advertising deadline, ask the provider how long it takes to set the numbers up from receipt of a valid purchase order. Often this can be up to 3 working days and if that important deadline is not met for a campaign what impact will this have on your organisation.

It is worth asking to see a set of terms and conditions of contract before you place your order as the company may not advertise this on their web-site. Do they have a secure internet portal and does it provide the after sales back up that you require from a telecoms company.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask these questions before you place your 0845 numbers order.

BT put prices up again

BT is going on yet another price hike, rendering its telephone calls 34% more expensive than 6 months ago.

Calls will be 5.25p per minute.

The set-up fee per call will rise to 9p.

This will affect 12 million of BT's 14 million customers. Only those on its Anytime package, which costs £4.95 a month, will not be affected.

The latest increases will come into effect on 1 October. Customers were told of the change in the magazine that BT sends out with its bills.

"We have been quite generous to customers over the years, offering things like free calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers. Telephony costs have come down," a spokesman for BT said. "We advise customers to consider whether they would be better off moving to the Anytime calls package in order to avoid increases in daytime call prices and the set up fee. BT's Unlimited Anytime Plan costs just £4.95 a month, or 17p a day, and includes all your UK calls and calls to 0870 and 0845 numbers at any time."

"Today's price increase announcement isn't likely to improve BT's popularity in the eyes of cash strapped consumers," said Steve Weller of price comparison website uswitch.co.uk