0843, 0844 and 0845 numbers are now charged at a much higher rate than previously and are not included in the University mobile and desk phone 'Local and UK National' call bundles.
How much do calls to 084 numbers cost?
Costs are made up of a one off access charge and/or a ‘cost per minute’ service charge (set by all telephony providers) over and above the advertised charge of the organisation you’re calling, making these calls cost as much as 0870 and 09 premium rate services.
For example a 50 minute call to 0844 493 0747 (BA Executive Club – Blue Card) costs £26 from a University mobile phone or £6.30 from a University desk phone.
What should you do?
If you have a choice, always use a number that starts with 01, 02, 03 or 080 number; these are included in call bundles for University mobile phones and desk phones at no extra cost.
If this isn’t possible, visit www.saynoto0870.com to see if there’s a lower cost alternative. There are several alternatives listed for the BA Executive club number quoted above, including a 01, 03 and even a 080 number.
And if you can’t find an alternative, just keep the call as short as possible!
Of course, this advice applies to most personal mobile and landline call bundles so avoid dialling 0843, 0844 and 0845 and save yourself some money too. For approximate call costs from UK landlines and mobiles, see www.gov.uk/call-charges.