Non-geographic numbers are used by many large companies so that they can dynamically route calls through to callcentres. There are various numbers starting 03, 08 and 09 with a variety of charges.
“The three main types are
03 – inclusive in calls allowance, else charged at “geographic rate”
080 – free call from mobiles and landlines
084, 087, 09 – numbers with an additional service charge.
Many organisations are now swapping their 0845 lines over to the matching 0345 numbers. This includes most retailers and traders, all government departments, as well as many financial organisations.
Calls to 03 numbers are inclusive from landlines and from mobiles so if you have free minutes then 0345 numbers are free. If you haven’t got any inclusive minutes, or they have run out, these calls are charged at a per-minute rate, often known as “geographic rate”.
Ofcom regulations require phone providers to treat calls to 03 numbers the same as calls to 01 and 02 numbers. This applies whether you call from a landline or from a mobile.
We have created this site to track costs for all of the major mobile phone operators when calling 0345 numbers. The latest prices are listed in our Mobile Costs Section. In most cases, an inclusive calls allowance on your landline or on your mobile will offer much better value for money than paying a ‘per-minute’ rate ever will.”
From the 26th of October 2015 all Financial services in the UK have to change to ‘basic rate’ telephone numbers. Where an organisation currently uses an 0845 number this is most readily effected by changing one digit such that 0845 becomes 0345.
The FCA have published regulations that will mandate all banks and financial institutions to provide consumers who want to speak to customer services or after sales lines with a ‘basic rate’ telephone number so that they don’t have to pay additional charges when calling for service help. “