Ofcom to clamp down on 08 numbers

Media regulator Ofcom has announced plans to tighten the rules on 08 telephone numbers. The regulator wants to provide greater clarity over the price of calls to 0870 numbers. It is also looking to clarify the cost of calls to 0871 numbers.

The consultation is part of a wider review into the cost of phone numbers not assigned to a specific geographical location, which the regulator says will be in place by this autumn.

Ofcom consumer panel chairman Anna Bradley says: “The continued high prices of calling 0870 numbers, particularly from mobile phones, is simply a scandal.”

The regulator is proposing that the cost of calling 0870 numbers should be brought in line with 01 and 02 numbers. It also wants tariffs to be better displayed.

Bradley adds: “It is simply unacceptable that consumers are paying up to 25p a minute to call 0870 numbers from mobile phones, or 10p a minute from landlines, when compared to the lower costs of calling geographic numbers.”

0870 numbers are currently used by businesses and organisations in sectors such as financial services, as well as for traffic advice.