Alternatives to 0800 Telephone Numbers

Type in the 0800 number you want to find a lower cost replacement for and click "search" or use the 0800 links below to find an alternative to your 0800 phone number.



Phone numbers beginning with the 0800 or 0808 are referred to as "freephone numbers". While there used to be a cost to call 0800 and 0808 numbers from your mobile, as of July 2015, calls to these numbers from mobile phones became free as they already were for calls made from landlines. Organisations have to pay a surcharge when they accept incoming calls to their 0800 and 0808 phone number.

Want to say no to 0800 call costs? British Telecom's 0800 number should be called only as a last resort, MPs have said. The Home Affairs Committee said BT should do more to promote its 150 direct-dial option instead of pushing the 0800 line which provides callers with automated menu choices. "BT must do much more to encourage people to use the 150 service instead of their expensive 0800 numbers," he said. "Many people will not know this" - it's time for consumers to saynoto0800 call costs!

Be aware that 60% of calls to 0800 and other 08 numbers are not free! Many 0800 and 0808 numbers will cost you a lot in charges so be warned that some companies charge for their 080 customer service lines, even when they advertise them as "free". The practice is particularly prevalent with mobile phone operators. In particular, O2's entire range of contact centers appear to be charging for calls made to 0800 and 0808 numbers. You could be charged as much as £8.80 a minute, plus an access charge of up to 9p a minute from BT (the owner of the O2 network). "O2 is on record as saying that 0845 and 0870 numbers cost them more than they receive in revenue," says a member of a pressure group. "Yet they are still slapping on huge charges for their customers." The Alternative Telephone Numbers database will help you reduce phone charges and say no to 0800 call costs.