A main reason i got an 0845 number is it is cheap to run and i’m not concerned about the customer calling me on that number. I get more work from business to business calls anyway and they don’t seem to care on the number, meaning i have a cheap monthly bill while keeping my physical location hidden to prevent losing business due to the location i am in.

The article was: http://blog.citynumbers.co.uk/what-are-0845-numbers-22062011

It is worth noting that the Federation of Small Business is also strongly against use of these numbers as their members say that the costs are hurting them.

If a business wants to expand, increase its trade and improve its customer facing image it should make as convenient and economical as possible for its customers to contact it — so it should use normal landline numbers.

So 020 3xxx should be just as recognisable as 020 7xxx

All users of 084x numbers benefit from subsidy from callers as I explained here:

http://saynoto0870.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-do-084x-numbers-work.html

It’s to be expected that call providers (the telephone companies we make our calls with) will pass this in higher charges.

This is the same as with other retailers. For example, supermarkets charge premium brands and budget “no-frills” have a lower retail price.

As a long-term campaigner on this issue I recognised the need for a non-geographic number type that was charged the same as geographic calls with all providers. It was a huge breakthrough in 2007 when 03 numbers were introduced. It is disappointing that users of non-geographic numbers have, in the main, shunned them.

Coming back to 084x numbers; all users of these numbers should openly declare that they benefit from calls. That way, consumers will be able to see what they’re doing; imposing service charges. Think of this as retailers putting price tags on shelves.

This would pressure organisations to move away from these numbers. For example, would banks really say that they needed to impose a service charge on customers of 2 pence per minute for speaking on the telephone? (The service charge is the benefit they get; callers’ telcos add their own access charge).

Cases where such a charge is justified are pay as you go dial-up internet and dial-through providers such as those that allow calls to be made to abroad at lower rates than the main providers such as BT and Virgin Media.

One last thing. There are references to “0207″ and 0203″ numbers on this page. The majority of Greater London has one area code, 020, and has had so since 1999 when the two old areas, 0171 and 0181 were re-unified. The 7 and 3 are the first digits of local numbers and it is customary to put a space between the code and local number, hence a “020 number” and not a “0207 number”.

Users of landlines in the Capital (whether their local number starts with 3, 7 or 8) thus dial eight digits to ring another within the same (020) area.

Plus, I’d rather they had 0800 numbers, with UK based operator answering, not a machine. (Leeds? How are you spelling that, sir?

And, there needs to be an easily findable and accessible ‘real’ number, for overseas clients, and those who would prefer to use it.

My business does use 0845 also but i’m looking to get that changed to a normal landline number in the next month or so. I have to admit I get most support communication via email or tickets and this is probably because of what you have mentioned in your post.

Thanks,
Glen