Hi all, I have just found out that I have been charged by Sky for calling Play.com on a 01 number. I have since found out that Sky charge for calls to The Channel Islands, which is where your call goes to, when I found an alternative goegraphical number. Are there any other numbers to call Play.com that will not be chargeable on a Sky Talk plan?

The number Play.com publishes for overseas callers is 01534 877595 which is a Jersey number and not included in many calling plans with UK landline and mobile operators. This is intended for people who cannot dial the 0845 800 1020 number from outside of the UK, although it can be used in the UK just the same.

We discussed the issue of calling Channel Islands numbers with UK packages several years ago in Help! £10 Jersey International Call. As a result of this, I added a note to all entries with Jersey numbers in (and an equivalent one for Guernsey numbers):

01534 nos are Jersey and may cost more than other 01/02 nos and inclusive mins may not apply.

At that time the 01534 number and 0845 number both went through to Play.com's outsource provider in Northern Ireland and this was known to be the case because we had the 028 number which answered identically.

Since then, another verified entry for Play.com has been added to the database giving 020 7760 3349 as the alternative. This is answered the same as the 0845 and 01534 numbers and the old 028 number now answers with a recording saying that it is no longer available. Perhaps Play.com has changed its call centre provider.

I have updated the listings to say that the 01534 number diverts to the 020 number. Hence it can be used instead and will get through to the same place.