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sneaky 0844 numbers

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rockgran Sat 19-Apr-14 14:29:57

I've just had to phone my bank - usually do things online but needed a query answered. Long story short I was prompted to use an 0844 number when it always used to be 0845. As a BT customer I get 0845 free but I have to pay extra for 0844. I'm finding more and more firms are turning to these numbers (also 0871 instead of 0870) in the hopes that we won't notice. I actually managed to find a freephone alternative but I pointed out to the lady I finally spoke to that this is the sort of thing that decides which company I use. A small point but one which really annoys me. tbuangry
I recently applied the same principle to choosing a travel insurance firm. The one with the cheaper phonecall got my custom! Grrrrr!

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Aka Sat 19-Apr-14 14:44:27

Totally agree. We had an 0844 for our GP surgery and you can imagine how long you were on the line trying to be connected to appointments or test results etc. After numerous complaints there is now a local alternative.

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MiniMouse Sun 20-Apr-14 12:00:41

If you go on to SayNoTo0870 and tap in the 0844 etc number that you have it will nearly always give you an alternative that's an ordinary landline number or sometimes an 0800 number. I do this all the time.

Here's the link:

www.saynoto0870.com/search.php

There's nothing like smugly beating them at their own game tbuwink

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rockgran Sun 20-Apr-14 14:53:20

Thanks for that link - I'm putting it in my bookmarks! tbugrin

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grandadgiff Tue 22-Apr-14 01:13:14

Another trick is to flip over your bank statement to see if there is an international (phoning from abroad) access number beginning +44 as that is usually a geographical landline. Hope that helps

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grandadgiff Tue 22-Apr-14 01:15:20

Another trick is to flip over your bank statement to see if there is an international (phoning from abroad) access number beginning +44 as that is usually a geographical landline. Hope that helps

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ayse Tue 22-Apr-14 01:41:23

Thank you for that Minimouse, I've added it to my favourites xxx

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Aka Fri 25-Apr-14 13:37:23

Mini thanks for the link. I added it to my icons on my iPad and today used it to find the 0800 number for Next instead of the 0844 one listed.

Worked a treat smile

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