Which? has published a list of more than 30 companies and government departments it claims are using expensive phonelines (0870, 0845 etc) to make money, including the likes of the TV LIcensing Agency, the DVLA and British Gas.
Sadly, and mildly ironically, Which? charge for access to their report, but thanks to the BBC, here’s a list of some of the culprits and the types of numbers they use:
- 0871 (up to 10p per minute): Admiral Insurance, Bell Insurance, Elephant Insurance, Diamond Insurance, Nikon, Tiscali
- 0870 (up to 7.9p per minute): Apple (tech support), Carphone Warehouse/Talk Talk, DVLA, Gladiator Insurance, Lexmark, Philips, Sony, Zanussi-Electrolux
- 0844 (up to 5p per minute): AOL, Orange, Panasonic, Sky, TV Licensing
- 0845 (up to 3.95p per minute): Barclays, British Gas, Consumer Direct, Direct Line, Eon, Green Flag, Halifax, Lloyds TSB, Miele, Npower, Philips, Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Power, TV Licensing, Virgin Media
The charges above are from BT landline phones, calling from a mobile is likely to be a lot higher.
Whilst these companies sort themselves out following the telecoms regulator Ofcom’s recent rulings and switch to lower rates, there’s always SayNoTo0870, a website which will find you alternative, cheaper numbers.
photo credit: John Picken