0845 Numbers

[bizzyrizzy]

Anyone know of any decent company's i can get a 0845 number from and have it routed to my house phone? Any recommendations?

 

[Paul_Rosser]

I use uk2numbers for my 0845 and they seem to work quite well, it costs £9.95 to setup but then you are charged a price per minute for incoming calls.

 

[alldayPA-Robyn]

TTNC are pretty good we use them for our business or comms ready?

 

[andygambles]

I hate 0845 (and all non-geographic) numbers with a passion..
If I had a choice of calling two companies one with 0845 and one with a normal number I would call the normal one.

 

[fisicx]

^^^Totally agree.

If there are two companies to choose from and one has 08 anything then I automatically call the one with the local number.

This is why saynoto0870 is such a popular site.

 

[bizzyrizzy]

Signed up and got a 0871 number. Will use them in future as well.

Also anyone know of any decent priced virtual address company's in uk pref in or around Manchester that mail forward and allow collections of mail?

Thanks for replys.

 

[cromiem]

Since changing my 0845 business number to a geo located number business has increased

 

[BusinessTeam]

Evening,

We work with www.voicehost.co.uk - 0845 numbers just £2.00 per month. They have some very flexible options to enhance your business.

Regards

Richard

 

[cjd]

Signed up and got a 0871 number. Will use them in future as well.

Just out of professional interest, can you explain why you chose an 0871 number?

 

[fisicx]

Signed up and got a 0871 number.

In other words you have killed off your business. Sorry but that is just about the worst thing you could have done.

 

[andygambles]

Why have you chose one of the most expensive numbers for customers to call you on?

 

[leemason]

Even an 0870 number is cheaper to call these days that an 0845 or 0871 (particularly an 0870). If you are registering a new number don't use an 087x or 0845 number. They WILL put a lot of people off. A better bet is an 03 number if you don't want a geographic number as these will be included in mobile and fixed line call plans whereas 0845 will not.

 

[bizzyrizzy]

I have decided to choose the 0871 number for extra revenue stream as I think a lot of customers will contact us via email/live support etc. This will be for a online eCommerce store and we will be selling clothes etc.

If on the other hand I had a business that relied on a lot of customer interaction through telephone calls etc i would not think twice about getting a freephone number.

So due to being a small store online and not much telephone interaction might as well go with the extra revenue option

 

[cjd]

It's a really, really bad idea to use 0871 if you're selling to consumers.

Not only will it stop them calling you, it'll put people off buying from you.

Most people check contact details before buying from an unfamiliar store, 0871 just shouts rip off.

And because even you expect no- one to call you, where is this extra revenue stream?

It's silly to prejudice your business for a couple of quid per month. Please change your mind

 

[alldayPA-Robyn]

Have to agree with cjd I run a mile at 0871 as a consumer and I know a lot of friends and colleagues do the same. It's not a good business practice and people tend to avoid companies that do use them.

 

[bizzyrizzy]

Ok considering the amount of replies for its a bad idea i might revert to a freefone number such as 0300

With 0300 being a new format for mobiles to call for free have a lot of people cottoned on to this or would they think it was a pay per minute number

Or should i state below the number about call charges so they know beforehand

 

[IanDade]

Try www.switchboardfree.co.uk

They do 0843 numbers which is the same as 0845 (local rate) and you cna have call attendent, i.e. Dial 1 for Sales, etc and you can route each option to 5 lines and it rings them in turn. You get comfort messages, music and the caller can leave a message at any time

We use it for our main switchboard, we manage it online and when i am out of the office, i can get all sales line calls diverted to my mobile or home number if i am working from home.

It really is great and it is FREE!!

 

[cjd]

For God's sake, O843 is NOT like 0845 - it's actually just like 0844 but never mind.

With the possible exception of 0800, 08xx numbers need to avoided.

03 is a far better choice, but even better is a plain old 01 or 02 number. Why do you think you need a non-geographical number?

 

[ITsoldUK]

For God's sake, O843 is NOT like 0845 - it's actually just like 0844 but never mind.

With the possible exception of 0800, 08xx numbers need to avoided.

03 is a far better choice, but even better is a plain old 01 or 02 number. Why do you think you need a non-geographical number?

I am with CJD on this one.

Drop the non-geo numbers altogether.

MOST people have contracts and packages that INCLUDE GEO numbers so calling would cost them nowt.

PLUS it will actually let the client know you are located somewhere REAL and not hiding in a call centre (I know you can get geo from different locations but you know what I mean.)

JMTC

 

[fisicx]

It really is great and it is FREE!!

Not for the person making the call it isn't. 08 anything will lose you business. 0843 will lose you even more.

Go local and get more leads.

 

[leemason]

Actually 0870 changed a while back. It used to be quite bad but I believe it is now pretty much on a par with 03 numbers in that it is included in most call packages (whereas 0845 is considerably more).

 

[cjd]

0870 is now an ordinary national rate call; Ofcom removed its revenue share because it was being abused. The problem now is that the 0870 brand is irretrievably damaged.

 

[Talay]

In other words you have killed off your business. Sorry but that is just about the worst thing you could have done.

Agreed.

0800 works ok for some, local 01/02 is best in reality for the vast majority and the 03 number range might have some life in it but people don't know what it is.

If 0800 becomes free from mobiles (due ???), then I don't see the traction for 03 numbers as non geographic cost free options.

 

[leemason]

Agreed.

0800 works ok for some, local 01/02 is best in reality for the vast majority and the 03 number range might have some life in it but people don't know what it is.

If 0800 becomes free from mobiles (due ???), then I don't see the traction for 03 numbers as non geographic cost free options.

As you've pointed out there 0800 is not free at present from mobile. Therefore I would not go for 0800 at present or offer an alternative for mobile users to call (01/02/03).

 

[Talay]

As you've pointed out there 0800 is not free at present from mobile. Therefore I would not go for 0800 at present or offer an alternative for mobile users to call (01/02/03).

Yeah, but do you really want to re-brand from a 03 to a 0800 in 6/12/18 months or whenever ? It can't be more than 18 months away it seems at most. In fact, if you look at some mobile contracts, which I have done lately, some already include 0800 in their plans.

Having a local number is fine but if you border a number of areas, as we do, it makes no sense to have 2/3/4 different local code numbers and yet you cannot really be so local if your main number is 2 or 3 phone districts away.

Of course, many businesses do not need local numbers, even if they are not national.

 

[leemason]

I don't see a problem having an 0800 number and another number as well. Many companies advertise an 0800 number then another number for International callers.

As a point of interest when I first had a mobile of my own in about 1994/5 Orange did allow free calls to 0800 numbers. Don't know if they still do as I'm with T-Mobile now.

 

[cjd]

Here's how to make free 0800 calls from a mobile. (You need a contract mobile).

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/Free_0800_mobile.php