Make UK 0800 numbers free from your mobile phones?

[Tarquin Farquart]

Here in the UK numbers with an area code of 0800 are free to dial, unless you are dialling from a mobile phone in which case you will be charged for the call.

There is a rumour going around that if you drop the inital 0 (i.e. the number starts 800 etc.) the call will be free.

The Wikipedia page on toll-free numbers mentions this, but there is a "citation needed".

In the UK, numbers starting "0500", "0800" or "0808" are free, with "0800" the most commonly encountered. The range 0808 1570xxx is set aside for fictitious uses in TV and radio. Additionally, numbers in the range 0808 80xxxxx are reserved for not-for-profit helplines. Since Orange UK introduced charges for dialing freephone numbers in December 2005, all British mobile networks now charge for calls to freephone numbers, with certain limited exemptions (notably Childline). From some mobile networks, certain freephone numbers such as vehicle recovery services may remain free to the user by omitting the leading 0.

Has anyone heard of this rumour?

[Apollonia]

Sometimes when I dial 0800 numbers from my mobile there is a recorded message saying words to the effect of; " The number you have dialled is not free from your network, if you wish to continue please dial again, omitting the first 0."
So I can call 0800 numbers but legally the company has to warn me that I am paying for the call. Maybe if it IS free from my network the call just goes ahead as normal?

[Spikey]

Er, I'm pretty sure that you can't dial '0800' from a mobile. You HAVE to drop the initial 0. And no, it's not free.

[Andrew of Ware]

Ofcom are proposing to make 0800 numbers free from UK mobiles as well as landlines, but the final decision will not be made until early 2013.

http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/895191-o...le-phone-users

Ofcom hopes the proposed changes will clear up the current confusion over the premium rate call charges from mobile phones and make it easier for customers to work out how much they are being charged.