article_snippet.sent: Telecom watchdogs are to stop a rip-off that allows mobile phone firms to charge customers to call supposedly free 0800 numbers.
article_snippet.sent: Currently mobile phone companies charge customers up to 20p a minute to dial what are free numbers from a landline phone.
article_snippet.sent: The net result is that millions of people dialling what should be free services run by the NHS, the government and company call centres end up paying hefty charges.
article_snippet.sent: Charges of up to 20p a minute being charged by operators for free 0800 numbers will end from July 1 under proposals published by the telecoms watchdog, Ofcom, today .
article_snippet.sent: Charges of up to 20p a minute being charged by operators for free 0800 numbers will end from July 1 under proposals published by the telecoms watchdog, Ofcom, today.
article_snippet.sent: The changes were fought by the mobile phone networks, which have been making tens of millions of pounds a year from customers calling the numbers.
article_snippet.sent: At the time, the company, which is about to be taken over by BT in a deal worth £12.5billion, complained getting rid of charges for 0800 numbers was
article_snippet.sent: Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at the price comparison service, uSwitch.com, said the end to mobile charges to call 0800 numbers was a ‘long-overdue victory for common-sense’.
article_snippet.sent: ‘Making ‘0800’ numbers free from all telephones including mobile phones is excellent news since excellent news’s rarely practical to redial from a landline to avoid charges for what are generally assumed to be ‘free phone’ numbers.
article_snippet.sent: The changes are part of a wider shake-up in call charges to non-geographic numbers, which are described by Ofcom as the ‘biggest overhaul of phone calls in more than a decade’.
article_snippet.sent: They are part of a new regime imposing new rules covering the cost of calling the 084, 087 and 09 numbers used in TV show phone polls, by businesses, GP surgeries and government departments – as well as 118 directory enquiry numbers.
article_snippet.sent: Ofcom and phone companies will be publicising the changes under the banner UK Calling before the switch in the summer.
article_snippet.sent: In July we’ll see the biggest changes to phone calls in over a decade, affecting 175 million phone numbers.
article_snippet.sent: ‘The changes are important for people who enjoy interacting with people favourite shows, but also for everyone calling companies and organisations on 08, 09 and 118 numbers.
highlights_snippet.sent: Operators are charging up to 20p a minute - even if 0800 numbers are free .
  