Feb's 0870 changes promise consumer savings but business chaos

by Bob Crabtree on 9 November 2006, 14:16

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The press release


PRESS RELEASE

09 November 2006

0870 Advice for UK Businesses

Finally, someone stands up for UK businesses and considers the very real impact of Ofcom’s proposed changes to 0870 regulation

If you’re not already aware, from February 2008, organisations that currently use 0870 numbers will no longer be able to receive revenue share from 0870 calls and fund advanced services. Instead, they will have the choice of continuing to use their 0870 numbers and pay for calls received or face the daunting prospect of having to migrate to new number ranges. Either way this will mean significant cost and upheaval to the businesses concerned.

At least there is now someone on your side! www.0870advice.com was set up as a joint initiative by Gold Numbers Ltd and Performance Telecom Ltd to help their existing customers understand the business impact of Ofcom’s proposals and what viable options they would have going forward. The website is now available to all UK businesses that currently use 0870 numbers and are concerned about the regulatory changes.

www.0870advice.com aims to help organisations to:

• Understand the history behind this decision
• Analyse how the changes to 0870 regulation will effect their business
• Assess the viable options that they may have going forward
• Obtain advice on how to help manage the changes effectively

The website has a poll that allows you to vote on your favoured strategy, a regular newsletter for subscribers that will keep you up-to-date on the latest developments and even has a section that enables you to raise your valid business concerns directly with Ofcom.

More importantly, organisations have the opportunity to seek free, no obligation advice. Every business will have a different need and potential solution so, by submitting information to the site, you will gain specific and targeted advice from a team of experts.

If you’re one of the 600,000 UK businesses that currently use 0870 numbers, make sure you visit www.0870advice.com for more information.



HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

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Good.

I've used this site
www.saynoto0870.com
to get the direct numbers for companies.

Most of the 0870 numbers i call are usually complaints of some kind. So I resent their making more money from providing me with poor service or products.
rolph,

Great link - I'd have been very keen to have known about this earlier, though.

But maybe the people who run the site will come up with similar info for the new chargeable numbers.
usually if sayno.. doesn't have a geographical or freephone alternative then I just don't deal with that company.
Used it just this morning to speak to Vodafone equivalent of 191 for free on a landline.

If all Ofcom are going to accomplish is to get companies to change their phone number to an alternative revenue generating number then Ofcom really haven't got a clue about how to protect/help consumers. Just more confusion around the unfamiliarity of tariff rates for “different” numbers.

One thing that is good though, is that the people who give out an 0870 number as their personal number and actually earn money from family and friends calling them, will no longer profit in such an unpalatable way. There were actually websites out there encouraging people to do this. Yeuch!