Yes it seems you have to pay extra to get an appointment at the doctors now. Gervis Road Surgery have introduced an 0844 number with extra buttons and pauses and delays lining the doctors pockets with even more money before you get to see them. The new number is 0844 477 3490 - Has anyone any ideas how to find out the real land line number.  >:(  >:(  >:(

[color=red][size=10]~ Edit by Dave: Thread title amended[/size][/color]

Thanks sa0001 for your quick reply. 293418 was the old surgery number which simply gives a message now that the number has been replaced. The 0844 takes you through to the New Menu system so you have to hold longer in a queue. Another new con they have introduced is that you can only make an appointment for the next month in advance. Strange that a dentist can arrange an appointment for 6 months or even a year in advance to protect his income but a doctor cannot. Perhaps these new lines are making him so much more money that he doesn't have to worry about future appointments.

Thanks again sa0001, Not sure what FOI is - Freedom of Information? - I like the sound of that.
It's not so much the high cost it's the fact we persoanlly call them so regular. I am sure others do also.
This number could be anywhere in the UK or even overseas for someone else benefit and not mine. Sorry I don't like these numbers and never will. Good Luck - we called again today and sorry you cannot make an appointment past the 8th November - they don't have the diaries or spreadsheets available yet. What a farce.

isseb wrote on Dec 1^st, 2007 at 1:21pm:

It has been mentioned elsewhere that (some?) surgeries operating these numbers get a block of consecutive 01/02 numbers for the different extensions. This number ends 00, so don't be surprised if numbers following this (701, 702 etc) get to other parts of the practice. It's not uncommon for the first (quite often ending 00) to be the reception or switchboard.

Calling other numbers reveals: 01202 411xxx:

700 Rings unanswered
701 Gill
702 Julie
703 Mary
704 Audit
705 Answered
706 Jill Franklin (Finance)
707 Nick Thompson ("Business Manager")
708 Rings unanswered

All answer with the same voicemail system which suggests that they are part of a block of numbers. They answer "Your call is being answered by IP Office" and then the person says their name.

The surgery's website is http://www.drpantonandptnrs.co.uk/ It identifies some of the staff.

I'll leave it to you if you wish to continue where I left off.