Ofcom has announced freephone numbers to be used for free from mobiles. According to the watch dog, freephone will be free from June 2015 for numbers such as 0808, 0800 and 116. These numbers are free only when used on landline phones but costs between 14p and 40p per minute for mobile phone users.
Ofcom has also promised to make points clear regarding the call cost made to organisations such as charities and government agencies and other companies on non-geographic numbers. These numbers begin with 118, 08 and 09. Callers are informed about the cost only when a BT line is used. New rules of Ofcom implies that access charges must be explained by phone companies and service charges must be defined by the organisation to which a caller contacts.
With this, warnings on adverts might come to an end. This rule will also bring a cap on premium rate call charges to protect customers from high charges. Calls made to 0845 numbers will cost upto 41p per minute from mobiles and 11p per minute from landlines. Based on the new rule, call cost to 0845 will be broken down into service and access charges. The rules are expected to come in to effect only after 26 June 2015.
