UK phone regulator Ofcom has announced that called 0800 “freephone” numbers on mobile phones will be free from 2015.
Freephone numbers are used by a variety of services and businesses across the UK from the NHS to business support lines, but currently users calling these numbers incur a charge. Some phone networks will not even include the 0800 numbers as part of a user’s monthly minutes, so they are forced to pay a 20p per minute premium to call a “free” number.
The changes to 0800 numbers on mobiles are part of a raft of changes being introduced by Ofcom to reduce consumer costs and make understanding phone bills more simple. These changes due for implementation by 26th June 2015 include:
- 0800, 0808, and 116 “Freephone” numbers that are free to call from landlines will become free to call from mobiles as well.
- Calls to 08, 09, and 118 numbers will be itemised in telephone bills where they will be listed with a service charge paid to the company or organisation a person is calling, alongside an access charge which is set by the phone network.
- Service charge for premium rate 09 numbers will be capped