Freedom of Information Act Responses
If you wish to make a request under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act for geographical numbers and other information, see the Freedom Of Information Responses & Requests section of the forum. A list of the posted responses can be found here.

DVLA
This thread contains responses from DVLA, including responses for Freedom of Information (FOI) Act requests. Thanks also go to this member, who has posted contact details of DVLA management here.

See this post about Parliamentry questions for the amount DVLA has made out of callers since 2002.

This thread was started by someone who works for a contractor to the DVLA. Their number was in the Say no to 0870 database and they were receiving many calls. So it shows that there are many people out there using the geographical numbers listed here!

NHS Surgeries
Some GPs have changed to using 084 and 087 NGNs for their surgeries. NEG (Network Europe Group Plc) have been installing their Surgery Line service into around 300 surgeries nationwide. Surgery Line originally used 0870, but now, because of a ban by Department of Health, they are to use 0844. NEG's statement on this is here and is discussed here. Richard Chapman is CEO at NEG and was interviewed on BBC Radio Four's You and Yours programme, broadcast on 17 February 2005. The interview can be heard in Real Audio here. Discussion about the interview is in a thread called Stutter stutter! You'll understand why it's called that once you've listened to the interview!

Further chat about the ban is in GP 0870 numbers could be banned and, what must be the longest thread on the site, NHS premium & national rate phone lines ban.

Below are some more threads on 084/087 NGNs within the NHS:

• Sick paying £5 to see a GP
• Surgeries change number at a cost
• GPs charged premium rates for ambulance calls
• NHS and 0870
• NHS Patientline 49p per minute Ofcom Investigation
• Plymouth PCT changes to 0845
• Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust New 0845 number

Police & Emergency NGNs
The following are instances where 0870 numbers have been issued after emergencies and a murder. All these 0870s are allocated to Cable & Wireless, although it is possible that they have been ported to another provider.

• Berkshire train crash (issued by Thames Valley Police) - November 2004
• Appeal for murder suspect (issued by Wiltshire Police) - June 2005
• London transport bombings - July 2005
• National Express coach crash: 0845 number issued by Thames Valley Police - January 2007
• Metropolitan Police appeal for violent man using 0870 - February 2007

Hertfordshire Police used a 0800 and geographical number after the Buncefield oil depot explosion in December 2005. Discussion on this is here.

The police use O2 Airwave Service as their mobile provider and they have apparently had calls to 084/087 numbers barred so as to not run up a huge bill. Discussion on this is here. Yet many police forces provide 0845 numbers for non-emergency contact and a number of them are now reviewing the situation - see this thread.

• Fife Council New "improved" 0845 numbers with the usual "local rate" nonsense.
• Financial Services Authority (FSA)
• First Direct
• Folkestone & Dover Water
• Freedom2Surf
• Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS); also here
• Humberside Police
• IBM
• Jamster (Ringtoneking) Ringtones for mobiles.
• Labour Party
• Makro "Lo-call" rate 0844 number for all stores.
• MBNA use freephone numbers for contact.
• Micro Direct: (www.microdirect.co.uk)
• Migraine Action Association has reverted from 0870 to its geographical numbers.
• National Rail Enquiries: You must use the 0845 from the UK. The 020 alternative can tell if you're dialling from the UK and won't take your call.
• National Trust
• Nationwide Building Society
• NatWest
• Newcastle Airport
• Norfolk Police have a non-emergency 0845 number. They have issued it to relatives following a tree falling on group of children which has killed one of them.
• North Yorkshire County Council
• Nutrition Associates Reverted back to 01/02 after learning that 0845 isn't "local rate".
• NTL have changed customer services 0800 and technical support 0845 to 0845 and 0871, respectively. Also this thread about complaining to NTL on 0870 number.
• Passport Office
• PayPal
• PicStop: (www.picstop.com)
• Rail Passengers' Commitee (RPC)
• Richmond Council 0870 to pay council tax and says it's "national call rate"!
• Rightmove.co.uk
• Ryanair It's cheaper to phone the Republic of Ireland office from the UK than it is to call the UK one!

Consultations by the Regulator
The telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, publishes consultations, some of which are relevant to everyone, including the general public. These are listed below, along with links to discussion threads on them.

Current, open, Ofcom consultations on telecommunications issues can be found here. Closed ones are here.

Current Consultations
Ofcom is running a consultation until 30 May 2010 in which it is asking for opinions on non-geographic numbers. We have a  discussion thread in which a link to the consultation can be found.

Closed Consultations

• 0845/0870 retail pricing 29/04/04 - 31/05/04 Discussion thread here
• NTS Options for the future and Number Translation Services - Call Termination Market Review 22/10/04 - 07/01/05
  Discussion on these consultations are:
  
  • Ofcom targets competition and consumer safeguards
  • Ofcom bend the truth again. Can we trust them?
  • What will Ofcom do?
• NTS: A way forward and Improved Information About NTS Numbers 28/09/05 - 06/12/05
  Discussion threads on these consultations are:
  
  • OFCOM - FUTURE OF 0870 NUMBERS - CONSULTATION
  • Ofcom Consultation - PRS/NTS Pricing Information
  • Responses to "Way forward" consultation
  • Responses to NTS/PRS Information consultation
  • Ofcom's NTS research
  • R Teleco's deliberately avoiding new Regulations The deadline has passed and only some have improved their pricing information for 08/09 numbers.
• Personal Numbering - Proposed amendment to guidance on acceptable use of 070 numbers 26/10/05 - 08/11/05 Discussion thread here
• National Single Non-Emergency Number 27/10/05 - 22/12/05 Proposals for 101, a single non-emergency number. Discussion thread here
• Conditions regulating Premium Rate Services 21/11/2005 - 22/12/2005 Discussion thread here
• Ofcom's review of Telephone Numbering 23/02/06 - 25/05/06 Discussion thread here
• Proposed deregulation of price controls on BT 21/03/06 - 30/05/06 Discussion thread here
• Raising Confidence in Telephone Numbers 13/02/07 - 14/03/07 Discussion thread here
• Changes to 0870 and Extending Premium Rate Services Regulation to 087 Numbers 02/05/08 - 16/06/08 Discussion thread here