Who is responsible for setting the cost of a telephone call?

The ban on phone numbers that cost more to call than geographic or landline numbers within the NHS has had little effect.

One of the biggest reasons for this appears to be the way in which PCTs are taking at face value assurances, given by GPs’ telephone providers, on the cost patients incur when dialling their numbers.

In this posting, I explain, using some simple logical thinking, why these supposed affirmations are in reality totally worthless.

Who is responsible for setting the cost of a telephone call?

Many GPs imply that it is down to their own telephone provider. They cite phone provider assertions that patients pay the same as a geographic or local call.

For this to be the case there would have to be regulation which all telephone call providers must obey. They would all have to be prevented from charging more, but there is no such rule!

The telephone system as a whole allows customers of one telephone provider to ring those of other providers. It also allows the call providers to set call rates independently of one another.

So it follows that it is the caller’s telephone company that sets the call’s price and not the receiver’s.

What about local or geographic call charges?

In the days when we all placed our calls with BT, it charged national calls at a higher rate than local ones. Crucially, as everyone made calls with the same provider, which offered only one tariff, there was only one price for local calls. So it was valid to refer to the local rate.

Also, at that time, 0845 calls were charged by that sole provider at the same rate as it did local calls.

But today, there are many providers offering many tariffs, charging different rates for local calls. So there is now no single local call rate that applies to everyone. Additionally, charges for 0845 calls are generally greater and are therefore no longer aligned to these varying local rates.

Furthermore, with today’s tariffs, in most cases all geographic calls, whether they are local to the caller or national, cost the same on any one particular tariff at any one time.

What about call charges?

We don’t have to look very far for some examples of major providers charging more for 084x calls than local calls. Virgin Media charges just over 10 pence per minute for 0844 g6 and 0845 numbers, yet geographic and 03 calls are inclusive or just below 9 pence per minute.

T-Mobile charges 41 pence per minute to 0844 and 0845 numbers, but geographic and 03 calls are inclusive or up to 30 pence per minute, depending on tariff.

Load of twaddle

To summarise:

• It’s the caller’s provider that sets the cost of the call.
• 0845 calls are no longer charged the same as a local call.
• Calls to 0844 and 0845 numbers are more expensive than local calls.

So the suggestion that a 0844 or 0845 number costs no more than a geographic call is utter twaddle!