www.voipfone.co.uk looks like the kind of thing Im after, but what confuses me is how these companies can make any money giving stuff away free, there must be a catch or am I being a sceptic here?
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http://www.atomi.co.uk">href="http://www.atomi.co.uk">http://www.atomi.co.uk

Originally posted by: atomi
www.voipfone.co.uk looks like the kind of thing Im after, but what confuses me is how these companies can make any money giving stuff away free, there must be a catch or am I being a sceptic here?

0870 numbers cost the customer about 8p per minute to call and we get a bit of that. Personally I think they are mis-used by companies and there is evidence that people don't like to call them. They were originally intended for value added services but tend to be used for anything now.

They will be moved inside the ICSTIS premium rate services soon.

If you want people to call you, you are far better paying the £1.99 per month and getting an ordinary geographic number (you can have any at all, you don't have to be in London to get a London number any more) or an 0845.
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Modern Telephone Services for Small Businesses
www.voipfone.co.uk

Originally posted by: atomi
Well, I went for the 0870 for the time being, I don't expect many calls as theres not much to ask about my products, plus Im minimising costs until I have at least had one xmas season under my belt. When the changes occur, I'll pay the £1.99 for an 0845.

That's fair enough. Be a little careful tho'. Phone numbers get put in address books, stuck on fridges, put on business cards and stationary and can be a bit hard to change once they become established.

In other words they become part of your brand.

(There are clever diverts and number mapping that can help with the change process if you ever need it)
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Modern Telephone Services for Small Businesses
www.voipfone.co.uk

Originally posted by: Phil Rees

0870 costs the consumer bugger all and actually makes little differnce to the view of your company in regards to national image - most people nowadays know 0870 is not premium rate

I'm not trying to be a smart arse about this, but it is my business - here are the facts:

0870 calls from BT landlines cost

7.91 daytime
3.95 evening
1.50 weekend

pence per minute including VAT

http://www.downloads.bt.com/pricing/SpecialisedNos.pdf

087x (Number Translation Services) will come under the remit of the Premium Rate Services regulations governed by ICSTIS in January 2007.

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/mofaq/telecoms/nts/

0870 will be forced to fall in price to no more than a geographic call

Ofcom forced these changes because 0870 was being widely abused.

You're fooling yourself if you think customers don't know or care; Ofcom doesn't upset a whole industry without cause

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Modern Telephone Services for Small Businesses
www.voipfone.co.uk

Can all these 0845 and 0870 numbers get directed to your mobile if you are away from your office? If so surely that will cost the customer money as they think they have called a landline number but gets re-directed to a mobile?
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Originally posted by: frankiej
Can all these 0845 and 0870 numbers get directed to your mobile if you are away from your office? If so surely that will cost the customer money as they think they have called a landline number but gets re-directed to a mobile?

No, whatever number a caller first calls is the the rate he pays. Any further divert is paid for by the person/company setting up the divert.

For example, a caller calling one of our customer's 0845 numbers is charged by his own provider (usually BT) at local call rates. If the 0845 owner diverts incoming calls to another telephone he has to pay for the diverted leg. In our case that's about 1p per minute to a landline and 10p for a mobile.
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Modern Telephone Services for Small Businesses
www.voipfone.co.uk

Of course I am going to recommend Windsor Telecom - http://www.windsor-telecom.co.uk!

However this might be better in your situation (can't believe I'm plugging competitors, tut tut!) - Regal Telecom (http://www.regal-telecom.co.uk) offers you an 0845 number for life for £150 - no charges/rental/service chgs etc.

Also they have lots of options for instantly re-routing your number, voicemail to email and much more.
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Chris Manning
IT Administrator

http://www.windsor-telecom.co.uk - Corporate NGN Solutions

Making your mind up!!

Hi

I have used GTI services for several years.

Previous to GTI I used Planet Numbers and paid £350 pa renewal

The company in Windsor also charges.

GTI also send an monthly statement with the list of all those who telephoned the business.

I find that very useful. No charges AT ALL. Their service is excellent.

Now - make your own mind up! Best of luck.

Phil,
if I see an 0870 number these days I'm afraid I'm automatically put off calling that number unless it is
essential. If its a local company I'll often look for their local number before I dial the 0870 number.
0845 is a different matter, I'm much less annoyed calling one of these numbers, oh and the joy of 0800 numbers

D

Originally posted by: dirky
Phil,
if I see an 0870 number these days I'm afraid I'm automatically put off calling that number unless it is
essential. If its a local company I'll often look for their local number before I dial the 0870 number.
0845 is a different matter, I'm much less annoyed calling one of these numbers, oh and the joy of 0800 numbers

D

I think that's a pretty common reaction. The numbers are different products and do different jobs. 087x was never designed as a simple business number it was supposed to provide some extra benefit to the customer calling; not just give revenue to the owner of the number
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Modern Telephone Services for Small Businesses
www.voipfone.co.uk

I am thinking about moving from a home office to a serviced office.  Can anyone tell me if it is possible to take my 0208 number with me?  If so, how?

Also, if I were to go for a 0845 number and in future decide to move again, would I then be able to take the number with me?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Caracola

If you move within your local exchange area you can take it with you, talk to BT

If you're moving away to another area code entirely (say brighton or manchester) the only way you can keep it is to move to a VoIP service (cough, such as Voipfone, cough ). It cost £20 to port it (a BT charge) and we charge £1.99 per month thereafter.

We can port BT numbers no matter where you finish up.

0845 are capabale of staying with you wherever you go as they are not geographic - make sure you get one from a company that is able to port the number elesewhere in case you fall out with them (cough, such as Voipfone, cough).

There's info on numbers here:

http://www.voipfone.co.uk/EP_UK_Telephone_Numbers.php
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Modern Telephone Services for Small Businesses
www.voipfone.co.uk

Thanks very much for the reply cjd!

When I asked at the serviced offices whether I could take my number with me, they said no, but that I could use an 0870/0845 number.

The move will be within the 0208 area. Is porting a BT number and getting an 0845 the same as far as the serviced offices people go?  Does my question make any sense?!

Thanks again! 

Originally posted by: Caracola

Thanks very much for the reply cjd!

When I asked at the serviced offices whether I could take my number with me, they said no, but that I could use an 0870/0845 number.

The move will be within the 0208 area. Is porting a BT number and getting an 0845 the same as far as the serviced offices people go?  Does my question make any sense?!

Thanks again! 

Haha - I think it makes sense but I am struggling a bit to unpick it

The service offices will get the numbers from a provider - it may well not be BT. I imagine they will keep ownership of the number not you, in which case it will stay with the office. But the only way you can know is to ask them if you can take the numbers with you when you leave - even 0870/0845.

The reason you can usually take 0870/0845/0800 etc numbers with you is because, unlike the 0208 number, they are not linked to a geographical location (ie outer London). But you can only take even those numbers with you if the provider will let you - only BT (and Kingston) is forced to port a number, everyone else doesn't need to do it.

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Modern Telephone Services for Small Businesses
www.voipfone.co.uk

Sorry to keep asking you questions....but I'm more than a little confused.

Just spoke to the serviced office people and they told me that I can only take my 0208 number to their offices if I own it. Which I guess I need to take up with BT.

They also said that they would provide me with a number and if I were to get an 0845 number from voiphone, I would have to overlay that number with theirs?!  I asked how to do that and they weren't much help.

Is there a number at voiphone for me to call and talk this through with someone??

Thanks again for your patience and help!

it's the pain in the bum again.  Are you sure you gave me the right email address?  It keeps bouncing back...

Originally posted by: Caracola

it's the pain in the bum again.  Are you sure you gave me the right email address?  It keeps bouncing back...

try sales@voipfone.co.uk (they always get thru )
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Modern Telephone Services for Small Businesses
www.voipfone.co.uk