On a discussion board devoted to frequent flyers with KLM I noticed complaints about 'National Rate' numbers in other European countries.

It's good to know we're not alone:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5456963#post5456963

There is a non-geographical prefix in Ireland: 0818 (I don't know what others there are).

See National Numbering Conventions page 27, from ComReg, Ireland's regulator:

Quote:

11.2.6 Universal Access number Usage Network operators shall not charge originating callers to 0818 numbers more than the retail charge for making the call if calculated at the standard national tariff rate of the network operator from which the call is made. Note: ‘Standard’ in this case means not taking account of weekend offers or other special prices.

What rate is it charged at from the UK? The note at the end about "standard" and not including "special offers" somehow sounds familiar.

As I discovered with Ryanair, it appears to be an anomaly in the numbering. 1899 is charging 15p/min; its rate for calling Irish mobiles as opposed to 1p/min for landlines.

There are similar occurrences in loads of countries, some local, some national, some premium rate. And some have separate ranges of numbers being introduced for VoIP, but some allocate a local rate number to this.

Called from higher charging networks, like BT and mobiles, then the higher rate numbers usually work. Cheap calls providers sometimes have no coverage eg France 0892. A useful way to reach some of these is from an O2 or Orange mobile using some of the 07744 numbers, but not all work eg S-F doesn't but YCW usually does (France, Denmark, German ones so far)

On the subject of North American calling systems, does anyone know of a website that lists geographical equivalents of USA/Canadian 1-800 numbers? It is usually impossible to access these from the UK, but equally difficult to find a geog. number.

I'd be grateful for any guidance.

Liz

Lizevans wrote on Jul 12^th, 2007 at 2:59pm:

On the subject of North American calling systems, does anyone know of a website that lists geographical equivalents of USA/Canadian 1-800 numbers? It is usually impossible to access these from the UK, but equally difficult to find a geog. number. I'd be grateful for any guidance. Liz

Sorry, can't help with a website but with Skype you can call these numbers for free

Quote:

On the subject of North American calling systems, does anyone know of a website that lists geographical equivalents of USA/Canadian 1-800 numbers? It is usually impossible to access these from the UK, but equally difficult to find a geog. number.

I disagree. Before coming to the US, I was often required to call 1-800 numbers from other countries - including the UK. What you do get is a verbal message advising you that the call will be charged at normal rates. In other words it is not free, as it is within the US.

The message advises that the call will only be charged if you continue - even though the accent indicates you have already technically "reached" the USA. What a difference to the UK where the telcos claim it would be '....too inconvenient and costly to advise callers of the cost of a call'.

Often, if you look at the web page for a company, there will be a list of local (chargeable) numbers as well as the ubiquitous 1-800 number. There is certainly no secret about them here! Why should there be - why would you generally want to call a chargeable number when you can call 1-800 for free? (Charge free from cell phones, too, incidentally!)

Provided you avoid BT like the plague, the call cost to the USA is still probably cheaper than calling a 0870 or 0871 number. I pay 2.1c a minute to call the "other way" with no flagfall.

But then who is surprised? Free calls abound - just about every US business and many Government departments have a 1-800 number. Even the Rip-Off Brit companies that do business here have a 1-800 number. How different for their "homegrown" customers!

>:(

Lizevans wrote on Jul 12^th, 2007 at 2:59pm:

On the subject of North American calling systems, does anyone know of a website that lists geographical equivalents of USA/Canadian 1-800 numbers? It is usually impossible to access these from the UK, but equally difficult to find a geog. number. I'd be grateful for any guidance. Liz

In my experience with various UK carriers, I have never found one that treats toll-free 1-8XX any differently, at least in terms of cost, than when calling any other US area code, eg 1-305. A few provide an announcement that the call is not free, but if the provider charges 2p/min to New York, then it invariably charges 2p/min to, say 1-888. I have also never found a UK carrier that does not route to US toll-free numbers. I'm sure some may well exist, but there is no detriment to the carrier in not routing to such numbers. Here, toll-free is exactly that - either free, or from cellphones, offset against inclusive airtime, and as mikeinnc states, it is simply inconceivable for any commercial entity conducting business throughout the country not to have a toll-free number for contact.

Of course the reverse situation is a joke. Calling UK 0800 numbers is either impossible or expensive; where it can be done, the typical charge is identical to that for calling an 0870 number.

The UK numbering and charging regime is simply bonkers, typified by Vodafone removing 0800 from bundled minutes a few years ago. To call 0800 from a UK cellphone, the savvy caller will first use a geographic 'dial around' number (assuming these still exist in the UK) and then call the 0800 number. What a joke.