Business UK Calling - clear call rates for everyone
Important information about how 08, 09 and 118 numbers will be charged from 1st July 2015
From 1st July 2015, Ofcom, the independent regulator for the UK communications industries, is changing the way 08, 09 and 118 numbers are charged for all communication providers across the industry.
These changes are designed to make the cost of calls clearer, and they are being communicated through a campaign called UK Calling.
Put simply, call charges for calls to 084, 087, 09 and 118 across the UK, will be made up of two parts: an access charge from Plusnet and a service charge from the organisation you are calling. There will also be changes to 0800 and 0808 numbers making them free to call from mobiles, as well as landlines.
PLEASE NOTE: These industry changes will not affect any inclusive minutes within your current Plusnet call plan. Any inclusive minutes you currently have will remain inclusive.
Find out more
All these changes apply to calls made from every landline and mobile phone for every provider including Plusnet, Talk Talk, BT, 02, EE and Sky. Calls from payphones, international calls or calls to the UK when roaming overseas are not affected.
Find out more at ukcalling.info.
Numbers beginning 084 and 087 are general service numbers used for contacting organisations. Those beginning 09 are 'premium rate' service numbers. Numbers beginning 118 are directory enquiry numbers.
Plusnet currently charges you a setup fee for calls to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers as well as a pence per minute or pence per call charge, depending on the company you have called. The charges can vary depending on the time of day you make the call.
When you call organisations, you sometimes see information about the cost of calls, which looks something like this:
"Calls cost 20p per minute from a BT landline. Other landlines may vary and calls from mobiles may cost considerably more."
This makes it hard to know the cost, unless you happen to be calling from a BT landline.
From 1st July 2015, the cost of calling any of these numbers will be made up of two parts:
Access Charge
This is what we charge you, per minute, for connecting the call. The Plusnet access charge will be 7.98p per minute excluding VAT. This charge will only be applied to calls made to 084, 087, 08 and 118 numbers.
Service Charge
This is the remainder of the call charge. The organisation you are calling decides the service charge and must communicate it. For example, if the service charge was 20p per minute, the organisation you are calling might say "Calls cost 20p per minute, plus your phone company's access charge". Plusnet will publish the list of industry agreed service charges on our website from 1st July 2015.
By adding together the access charge and the service charge, you'll know exactly what the call will cost you.
Here's an example:
Our access charge is 9.58p per minute (7.98p per minute ex VAT). Let's say the service charge for a particular number you want to call is 20p per minute. In that case, you would see information like this:
"Calls cost 20p per minute plus your phone company's access charge."
In this particular example, the call would cost 20p per minute (the service charge), plus 9.58p per minute (the access charge). So the call would cost you 29.58p per minute.
If the call lasted for 2 minutes, the charge for the call would be 59.16p
Your call charges will be rounded up to the nearest whole penny on your itemised bill, just as they are today.
Ofcom only requires the new rules for 084, 087, 09 and 118 to apply to calls made from residential lines and consumer mobile phones. However Plusnet will be including our business customers in these changes so you can also benefit from the clearer charging structure.
Freephone numbers starting 0800 or 0808 are already free to call from landlines. From 1st July 2015 it will be free to call 0800 and 0808 numbers from your mobile as well.
UK Calling is the name for the changes that are happening to make telephone charges clearer, and the information campaign which is communicating these changes. The campaign is being led by Ofcom, the communications regulator, and they are working together with major phone companies.
Research has found that there is often confusion about how much it costs to call service numbers. These changes will make it easier for you to understand how much you will be billed for making these calls.
Freephone numbers which begin with 0800 and 0808 will become free for customer to call from mobile phones. At present, mobile users are generally charged for these numbers.
For numbers starting 084, 087, 09 and 118, the new system will make the cost of calls clearer than at present. There may be some small changes to the cost of individual calls. The organisation you are calling will communicate their service charge and Plusnet will communicate our access charge via our website.
Yes. Your call plan will not change and any inclusive minutes you currently receive will remain inclusive.
There will be no changes to our call rates for UK landlines or UK mobiles as part of this industry change.
The access charge is 7.98p per minute (excludingVAT) and will be published on the Plusnet website and on your itemised bill.
Companies and organisations that provide services using 084, 087, 09 or 118 numbers will be required to communicate the charges clearly.
Wherever they advertise or promote one of these services, they must ensure that the service charge is displayed in a prominent position, and in close proximity to the telephone number.
All the changes will happen on 1st July 2015.
Calls made before this date will not be affected by these changes and will billed according to the tariff that was in place when the call was made. Calls that begin on 30th June 2015 and cross over to 1st July 2015 will be charged against the tariff that was live when the call began.
From 1st July 2015, Plusnet will automatically begin to bill your calls to 08, 09 and 118 numbers with the new charging structure. There is no need for you to do anything.
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