I am just renewing my car insurance with Saga and recovery with Green Flag.

I have had the usual arguments with both eg insisting 0845 is local and that there is't a problem dialling 0800 from abroad. The phrase containing banging, head and wall comes to mind!!!!

Green Flag European Assitance insisted there was not an alternative to their 00800 number for calling from abroad (well there was it was an 0870 number!!!!). Said they had never had a single complaint. Then guess what I fould in one of their documents (but not on the card you would take with you) an alternative number if you can't use the 00800 when calling from abroad!!!!!

Interestingly the card you use also says 'applies to most European Countries', which is a fat lot of use if you are in one that it doesn't and rather contradicts the statement given on the phone, which I did pursue relentlessly!

Two questions:

a) How does the 00800 number differ from the 0800 number (if at all)

b) In the UK they say if calling from a mobile press * before dialing the 0800 number. Why do you think they say this?

00800 is an international freephone number.  You CAN dial it, exactly as shown, from most countries for free.  NO messing about with country codes-  indeed, 800 IS the country code!  See here

Not sure about the * before 0800,  O2 sometimes insist you drop the 0 instead.  I've always assumed these are to make you think about the number and therefore realise that it's not going to be free from a mobile.

Thank you. So not as bad as I thought then. At least that means I can use the 00800, but I shouldn't expect it to be foc from my mobile, but foc if I use a landline. key of course is actually being able to get thru'.

Still intreaged by the '*' instruction.

When Orange and One-2-One started as PCN, rather than O2 and Cellnet's GSM (I think) they had 0800 calls carried without charge to the caller. The other two networks played an announcement if you dialled 0800 explaining that they could (would) carry the call if you paid for it and dialled *800 etc. That way, I suppose, they could argue that they were not charging for 0800.
Now they do not even bother with such a pretence, but every network simply screws the caller.
I wonder why? No, I do not.

Tanllan wrote on Sep 23^rd, 2007 at 3:28pm:

When Orange and One-2-One started as PCN, rather than O2 and Cellnet's GSM (I think) they had 0800 calls carried without charge to the caller. The other two networks played an announcement if you dialled 0800 explaining that they could (would) carry the call if you paid for it and dialled *800 etc. That way, I suppose, they could argue that they were not charging for 0800. Now they do not even bother with such a pretence, but every network simply screws the caller. I wonder why? No, I do not.

Go to http://www.o2.co.uk/specialnumbers and you will see that o2 now charges 20p a minute for 0800 numbers and charge for all other 08XX numbers. In other words they don't get counted in the 'free package' any more. :'(

As you say every network is out to screw you.

http://www.firstcallmotorbreakdown.co.uk/

I know this subject is not related 0870

I have posted this to enable members to have an option, I have used them for a few years now and I have received a good service at a reasonable price

I hope this will assist members

Baz

Baz,

They use an 0870 number as a contact number  which will put a lot of people off using them. :(