0845 etc phone numbers

[CottageCooks]

I want to get some stationary printed for direct mail but I'll probbaly be moving from the South West at some time in the next year. I figured it's be just as easy to get an 0845 or similar number that I can have wherever we end up in the country.
But how should I choose who to get one from? Can you tell me good / bad experiences please and rough costs of getting on of these lines. Obviously I also don't want my customers charged a huge amount for calling me.....
Many thanks,
Dani
Cottage Cooks
"getting children cooking"

 

[Astaroth]

There are growing movements against non-geographic numbers by personal customers which is obviously linked to the growth of phone tarrifs that include all calls to geographic numbers.

Certainly when VOIP came out it was possible to have a geographic numbers which were not necessarily based on where you are and it was possible to have more than 1 number for a single line. Prehaps it would be best to move to one of these types of services and then either retain the existing number indefinitely or run the two numbers concurrently when you do move until your marketing material/ letterheads etc have run out and simply change the number on reprints thus saving having to dump paper stock.

 

[leemason]

if you get it from someone line Voipfone (A member here CJD runs it) then you can use a VoIP handset or soft-phone system to get the number directed anywhere you like (in the world) as long as you have an ADSL connection to plug the phone into.

 

[cjd]

Some options here:

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

 

[stugster]

CJD, do you do any unlimited options?

I almost fell head over heels with Gradwell's service options (they offer an unlimited local call package for "£15" a month).

I went through their sign-up process, and all the hidden prices are now becoming apparent.

Setup fee: £29.38 (aouch!)
Specific Number fee: £23.50 (never actually chose a special number, just asked for it to search for one)
Monthly fee: £17.63 (was advertised at £15 and there was no mention of it excluding the VAT)
Hardware Delivery: £9.40 (to send a phone!? wat!?)

Gradwell's site looks good... but when you go through all the signup stages, it's really just a big money earner for them!

 

[cjd]

No we don't do unlimited and neither does anyone else in practice - they all have 'abuse' policies.

We do bundles of minutes tho' - works out at about 0.8p per minute ext VAT to about 40 countries.

I agree with you about Gradwell's prices (but I suppose I would, wouldn't I?) But it's an old trick in the telco business - make all your prices really difficult to work out and compare.

We have a policy of being up front and as clear as possible - all our prices are on full public dispay - no tricks and traps:

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

(I have some sympathy for the p&p tho - we use next business day delivery which cost us about £5 plus all the phones and adapters are pre-provisioned ie they are set up with all our network configurations so that they work 'out of the box' and stay working because we can then remote manage them as new features are released.)

 

[stugster]

Yeah, it's subject to a Fair Use Policy - of 4000 minutes a month.

What I'd personally be looking for is the option of a Geographic number (0131), a SIP phone (a nice business-looking one!), and the ability to forward calls to my mobile when the SIP phone doesn't get answered.

Maybe with the addition of a voicemail service too. But I don't want all the usual rubbish "press 1 to be hung up on, press 2 to be put on hold for eternity" etc.

Just a plain option for my customers to call me!

 

[cjd]

Well, we do all that. Voicemail is free as is voicemail to email. Geographic (0131) numbers cost £1.69 per month (inc VAT). List of features here:

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

Our service is pick and mix - you just choose the bits you want so you're not paying for packages you don't need or use.

The best hardware phones are the snom range - by a long way. The basic 300 does everything you need but if you can stretch to a 320 it would be worth it.

 

[stugster]

£1.69 a month for a 0131 number? aouch... I've got a number with another voip provider... how much would it cost to move it from them?

 

[cjd]

£20 ex VAT

http://www.voipfoneuserforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=318

 

[quantad]

Hi,

If you are wanting to go with an standard 0845 number service. We went with uk2numbers.co.uk which seemed the most reasonable at the time.

Hope this helps

Kirsty

 

[cjd]

I should have mentioned that we've got a special UKBF offer on at the moment:

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=31829

 

[Oakesly]

Contact Edward at NEG located at The Technology Centre, Framlingham, Suffolk on 01728 726500. He has just quoted me to set me up with an 0845 number or an 0844 number. Both numbers cost the customer about 4.2p per minute to call you, but whereas the 0845 number earns money for BT, the 0844 number earns money for you and costs you nothing. I'm seeing Edward next week to sign up; he is really knowledgeable and if you want any advice on phone lines for your business he's the man to see.

 

[KM-Tiger]

Both numbers cost the customer about 4.2p per minute to call you

Entirely up to you how you treat your customers, but a ripoff with phone charges is IMHO not a good start.

I know it's only pence, it's the principle that matters.

 

[Oakesly]

Bearing in mind that most customers are calling from outside our local area, the lo-call numbers 0845 and 0844 are saving them money, not costing them more. BT charges a standard charge of about 3p per minute during office hours for local calls and more for national calls, so I don't see this as a rip-off.
If it costs the customer the same to call 0845 as 0844, saves them money in the long run, and the only difference is that either BT make money or I make money (and it's only something like 1p per minute profit anyway) I'd rather put the money in my pocket than give it to BT - I think they have enough already!

 

[PI Guy]

i have decided to get an 0800 number, hopefully by monday it will be available. I got from john denman in utilities warehouse.

 

[cjd]

You have to be careful about 0844 and 0845 numbers. 0844 can cost as much as 10p per minute (depending on the 5th digit) and generally people don't know what an 0845 number is or what it costs. In fact your customers are likely to confuse both with with 0870. See Ofcom research below:

1.4 When asked how much calls to different number types cost, residential consumers tended to over-estimate the cost of calls to all number types. Broadly speaking, consumers appear to understand the relative cost differentials: 64% recognise 0800 numbers as free to call from fixed line phones and estimates of the cost of calling other number types were ranked broadly correctly, with normal geographic landline numbers being perceived the cheapest to call and 09 premium rate numbers perceived most expensive. Consumers made relatively little distinction between prices for calls to 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871.
1.5 There is a clear correlation between estimated call cost and likelihood to call number types. Residential consumers are less likely to call numbers that they perceive to be more expensive to call and/or are unfamiliar to them.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/numberingreview/research/

Not only that but calls to special number ranges like 08 from a mobile can be charged at whatever rate the mobile operator prefers.

I will now only recommend 0800 or normal geographic numbers to my customers - although they can have 0870 or 0845 if they wish.

 

[rwhitetlc]

This may seem a strange question but has anyone tried the Tesco voip service. On paper it looks good. £15 to join of which £5 is given back to you as credit towards calls. They give you a phone and a geographic number. I am sure there must be catch but can't spot it yet.

 

[cjd]

I don't think there's any real catch, the service is provided by Freshtel who are Australian and it seems to work ok.

My criticisms would be that calls are expensive - 2p per minute for a UK landline call (we charge 1p +VAT). The phone is a very cheap USB one which isn't going to give you the best quality calls and requires your PC to be switched on to work.

It's a simple service and if that's all you need a better alternative would be to buy a £8 mono head set and use one of the better value VoIP services, ourselves, Sipgate or voip.co.uk - just to get a feel for it. Most of us do free softphones and allow you to play for free. (We give you a free 056 number).

 

[rwhitetlc]

Thanks.
What is an 056 number?

 

[cjd]

From our website:

https://www.voipfone.co.uk/EP_UK_Telephone_Numbers.php

A New Voice Service Number or e164 number. This has the format 056xx xxxxxx. This is a new number range specifically for Internet Telephone companies. Like the Voipfone numbers, calls between 056 numbers are free but unlike them, they can be dialled from any telephone anywhere.

When someone calls a 056 number from the UK using an ordinary telephone, the caller will be charged at the NVS call rate which in July 2005 was: Daytime 4.89p/min, Evening 2p/min, Weekend 1.18p/min. When they call from outside the UK they are charged standard international rates.