‘Freephone’ calls set to be truly free

SO-CALLED “Freephone” numbers are to be made free from all telephones – including mobiles – under proposals unveiled by the communications regulator.

Changes will also be made to the charging structure for calls to organisations including banks, directory inquiries and entertainment services, in a bid by Ofcom to clarify costs for consumers.

At present, calls to 080 numbers sometimes incur charges from certain phone companies – particularly mobile providers –while callers to numbers starting 08, 09 and 118 cannot easily tell how much they are about to be charged.

The measures are designed to ease consumer confusion about how much it costs to call companies, public bodies and other organisations.

Under the new rules, callers will pay a single “access charge” to their phone company for all calls to these numbers, plus a “service charge” to the company or organisation they are calling.