0800 Numbers?

[globaldevelopment]

Hello,

At the moment I run a business from the comfort of my own home & I have known most people in here seen to have 0800 and 0845 numbers for the company.

I am just woundering around for a little info

Where do you get 0800 numbers or 0845
How much does it cost monthly
Are they good to have for a business


Regards

Phillip

 

[cjd]

I wrote a guide on telephone numbers here:

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=46850&highlight=telephone+number+business

We sell 0800 & 0845 numbers (I don't really recommend 0845 - see post). Prices here:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/prices.php

 

[ServWise]

If you are working from home and have broadband then I would really recommend getting an Internet phone system (VOIP).

It can be quite easy to setup (If you buy the right system) and the things you can do really can make your business seem much more professional and save you lots of money.

A good UK VOIP provider is voipfone.co.uk (Sorry cant post full links yet) they have lots of great services to offer and I get my 0800 number (As well as a number of other numbers) from them and it cost only £4.99 per month. (No connection other than I have used them for years and rate there service highly)

My personal recommendations for VOIP kit are

Siemens Gigaset IP range (gigaset.siemens.com) these DECT IP phones connect directly with the industry standard SIP protocol used by most VOIP providers. Most also have multi-line functionality for up to 6 handsets and 6 SIP accounts from different providers so you can connect to multiple providers and have multiple handsets receive calls from multiple lines. I use them and there great and the call quality is excellent.

IMHO there the best VOIP phone you can buy for the money.

P.S. I have the S450IP but looking at there website this has been supper-seeded by the S675IP. Also you only need one handset/base station, additional handsets are purchased separately for less and connect to the main base station.

 

[ServWise]

Thats weird, I just read the second post and noticed its from VoipFone themselves. still my recommendation stands, they are very good.

 

[elofty]

voipfone are good for voip but i'd recommend twplc.co.uk for the 0800 number £4.99 + vat (same as voipfone) but you get 500 inclusive minutes per month (around 2-3p a min from voipfone).

Just FYI.

Matt

 

[kayemdesign]

I'm currently trying to phase out using an 0845 number for my business. I don't think they're great for business, people on mobiles with inclusive minutes get charged extra for calling an 0845, if you have free national calls you still get charged for calling an 0845 so we're dropping it over the next few months and just using our landline office number.

Steve

 

[CKG]

I think people are less likely to call 0800 for local services - Well I say think. I know it harms response rates for me when using 0800 on a local scale.

What I like about voipfone is you can have geographic numbers which is a real plus for advertising locally based sevices.

Where I live there are 3 telephone code areas that are quite close together 01248, 01492 and 01745. You won't get a sniff if you advertise in a 01248 area with a 01745 phone number though they are only a few miles apart.

That's why I like it.

 

[elofty]

I have done the same, I have 2 area codes locally.

01721 and 01896.

I was lucky to be around when voip released the uk wide pool of numbers so got 2 ending 000 which tends to bring in a few sales. I just got to sort out marketing and im laughing...

 

[cjd]

voipfone are good for voip but i'd recommend twplc.co.uk for the 0800 number £4.99 + vat (same as voipfone) but you get 500 inclusive minutes per month (around 2-3p a min from voipfone).

Yes but if you want voicemail, voicemail to email, access to a control panel (so you can change things), divert to somewhere else etc etc it'll cost you between £9.99 and £99.99 to 'setup' and up to £49.99 pm to rent.

(Nice including business hours for free tho' - we charge 99pence for that )

Found this a useful reminder too

Outbound Calls > BT's Capped Rate? The Facts

Fact: Call Costs
Fact: Call Duration
Data from Energis (one of the UK's largest network operators) shows 90% of business calls are under 3 minutes. The average duration of a call is less than 2 minutes. Therefore BT's capped rates make little difference on a typical business call spend.
Fact: Setup Charges
Setup charge for calls to mobiles: BT charges a 7p setup charge for every call to a mobile. We do not.
Fact: Minimum Contract Period
The BT business plan requires customers to commit to a 1 year contract. You can cancel with us at any time, even within the first year.
Fact: Minimum Threshold
BT customers will have to commit to a fixed spend threshold (claw backs will be invoked if thresholds are not reached). Spend as much or as little as you like and enjoy the same low rates.

 

[elofty]

Yes but if you want voicemail, voicemail to email, access to a control panel (so you can change things), divert to somewhere else etc etc it'll cost you between £9.99 and £99.99 to 'setup' and up to £49.99 pm to rent.

(Nice including business hours for free tho' - we charge 99pence for that )

Found this a useful reminder too

Outbound Calls > BT's Capped Rate? The Facts

Fact: Call Costs
Fact: Call Duration
Data from Energis (one of the UK's largest network operators) shows 90% of business calls are under 3 minutes. The average duration of a call is less than 2 minutes. Therefore BT's capped rates make little difference on a typical business call spend.
Fact: Setup Charges
Setup charge for calls to mobiles: BT charges a 7p setup charge for every call to a mobile. We do not.
Fact: Minimum Contract Period
The BT business plan requires customers to commit to a 1 year contract. You can cancel with us at any time, even within the first year.
Fact: Minimum Threshold
BT customers will have to commit to a fixed spend threshold (claw backs will be invoked if thresholds are not reached). Spend as much or as little as you like and enjoy the same low rates.

I had meant to use them for the actual 0800 number and route to a voip line from voipfone like my setup (not that I use the freephone much) I have since been informed that call08.com gives 1000 free minutes for the same price.

 

[Call The Office]

Hi Philip I know it's not the same subject, but I fealt there was relevance to my reply. Have you thought about getting a company like Call The Office to handle your inbound calls for you? It will give your business a corporate feel, your clients will never hear an engaged tone again, or hang up when they are forced to leave voicemail. You are left to get on with the important tasks and outbound calls. You have a team of Partners who will look after your callers and email any messages to you, if urgent they will text or put through to you at home (introducing the caller first).

Let me know if you would like a free trial?

regards

Chris.

 

Thanks for all the replies thanks,