These people are totally out of touch.  ::)

http://www.essexrcc.org.uk/funding-ftf.asp

Quote:

For more information please contact Kris Radley, the RCCE Rural Transport and Access Adviser, on 0844 4773938 (calls charged at local rate). …

Also see:
http://www.essexrcc.org.uk/pdf/housing.pdf
http://www.essexrcc.org.uk/download/BGV%20Details.pdf

http://www.cold-norton.org.uk/minutes%20112006.pdf

Quote:

392. Members acknowledged RCCE change of address: Rural Community Council of Essex Threshelfords Business Park, Inworth Road, Feering, Essex CO5 9SE Tel: 08444 773938 * FAX: 01376 573524 E-mail addresses remain unchanged * The 0844 number telephone number means that any call made from a land line in the UK will be charged at the prevailing local call rate

Naturally, calls are charged at 5 pence per minute at all times from BT and most other landlines.

An FOI asking who has told them it is "local rate" and to provide their "evidence" would be interesting.

Surprise, surprise, 0844 477 numbers are charged at g6 rate - the highest (5p/minute at all times) 0844 rate possible.

They might have had an argument (but a poor one) if they'd picked a 4p/minute number because that's the BT rate for a weekday daytime UK 01/02/03 calls now.

Anyway, they used to publish 01376 574341 as their number - http://www.essexpartnership.org/vip8/com/Community/dis/content.jsp?channelOid=18369 and that number was answered by an answering machine announcing, "This is Jan Cole of the Rural Community Council of Essex" at 21:50 tonight - so it's still in use.  

I have added it to the database (but it needs moving the the verified database now).

Has anyone on this site put together a 'Say No to 0870'-branded template letter that we can fax or post to companies that make misinformed statements about their use of non-geographical numbers? Because I would be happy to do some serious faxing in this case. The use of an 0844 number annoys me, but telling blatant lies about the cost of calling it is the thing that really winds me up.

Heinz wrote on Apr 10^th, 2008 at 9:12pm:

I have added it to the database (but it needs moving the the verified database now).

Thanks. Done.  :)