Brookside Group Practice in Earley has resisted all calls for it to abandon its 0844 477 3005 Business Rate telephone number, despite a ban, which was introduced nearly two years ago.
The Group’s publicity of the surgery’s geographic numbers, supplied by SAYNOTO0870.COM, will enable patients to avoid expensive calls. It should leave this particularly large practice wondering whether it is really worth imposing a charge on patients.
This is a great example of how alternative numbers can be used to further the fight against the inappropriate use of Business Rate numbers.
The NHS should be free at the point of need, which means that providers should not be imposing charges on patients in this manner.
Cheaper calls to the Tax Credits Helpline
Meanwhile, HMRC has, in part, heeded our call to switch on its 0345 numbers. Its Tax Credits Helpline can now be called on 0345 300 9300 instead of 0845 300 3900.(1)
This means that calls, many of which come from mobile telephones, will come from bundled minutes, rather than costing anything up to 35 pence per minute.(2)
It is a first step by HMRC. DWP, including its agency JobCentre Plus has yet to do anything about its Business Rate numbers. They should introduce 0345 numbers to run alongside their 0845 ones immediately. SAYNOTO0870.COM will be delighted to promote them!
In the longer term, the 0845 numbers should be phased out completely and replaced with 03 numbers.
And finally…
SAYNOTO0870.COM was featured in Tuesday’s ”Rip Off Britain” programme on BBC One.
- Users of 084x Business Rate numbers can migrate to their equivalent 034x ‘UK-Wide’ number. It is standard industry practice for providers to permit such a change whilst under contract.
- Call Costs Table by David Hickson, author of NHS Patient Blog, who is NOT affiliated with SAYNOTO0870.COM. This table shows the additional charges patients incur on a 5 minute call with various landline and mobile services.
Contact: Dave Lindsay, SAYNOTO0870.COM
E-mail: dave {at} saynoto0870 {dot} com
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