Alternatives to 0345 Telephone Numbers
Type in the 0345 number you want to find a lower cost replacement for and click "search" or use the 0345 links below to find an alternative to your 0345 phone number.
Want to say no to 0345 call costs? An estimated 50 million calls a month to businesses end in a recorded message, saying "Welcome to 0345". Many people are unaware that the call they have just made will cost them up to 40 pence per minute. You may think that this doesn't sound too much, but if you work it out into an hourly rate for a full-time employee for example, it is far from trivial when compared with 02 rates.
In criticising 0345 numbers, Communications Minister Ed Vaizey said: "With millions of phone calls being made every day to 03 numbers - many of which aren't even registered and only used by companies as billing or service numbers - ministers want more transparency on where people are calling so consumers can make informed choices about which numbers to call."
There is a campaign called 'Say No To 0345' which has been set up by a consumer champion. The aim of the campaign is to put pressure on regulators Ofcom as well as government ministers, to introduce regulation that will force businesses using 0345 numbers to include their geographic rate in all adverts - it's time for consumers to saynoto0345!
This isn't something new either, many parts of Europe have had similar rules for years now. In fact it was announced back in January that a proposed code would be introduced requiring companies to show the cost of calling phone-numbers starting with 084, 087 and 09 from mobile phones and landlines from 1st October 2011. However this now looks unlikely with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills confirming that there would be a further consultation.
Ed Vaizey said: "I don't want to legislate for this until we have had a chance to see how the new ad code works." However this isn't good enough as consumers can currently still be charged up to 40 pence per minute when calling an 0345 number.
Meanwhile the proposed rules surrounding 084 numbers wouldn't affect 03 numbers as they do not cost any more than calls to geographic (01 and 02) numbers, but if you saw such an advert then it would allow you to make an informed choice. The latest statistics show that there are now around 100 million 084 prefixes in use across the UK and many businesses continue to use these numbers as their 'premium rate' option. This should be stopped too! The Alternative Telephone Numbers database will help you reduce phone charges and say no to 0345 call costs.