Can anyone else help with a Geographic alternative for the 0845 number of 0845 474 0013 used by the www.prisons.org.uk website at www.prisons.org.uk/mark-leech/ run by former prisoner turned prisons database/newsletter editor Mark Leech.

A search for businesses on their PO Box postcode of BL8 9RU does not reveal any other businesses at that postcode other than www.prisons.org.uk at PO Box 679, Bury, Lancashire, BL8 9RU.  Also a personal search for Mark Leech on that postcode brings up no results.

A search for Mark Leech at https://www.thephonebook.bt.com/ at the same postcode also does not produce any results as you would expect given that the postcode is for a PO Box number.

So it seems ex prisoner Mr Leech is ignoring the UK transposition of the EU Consumer Rights Directive in to UK legislation via statutory instrument as well as charging a 3 month minimum subscription to access any useful data that may be held by his organisation about UK prisons or their Governors.

For now emailing them at customer.services@prisons.org.uk looks like the only way to try and get in touch without incurring an additional phone cost.

However only 3p per minute to call an 0845 number at www.sipgatebasic.co.uk/rates without the huge Access or Service Charges involved calling an 0845 from my Now Broadband landline so may try calling the organisation using the 0845 number initially.

Of course I am sure it will be the usual story of claiming 0845 is free for him to point at any landline he wants and that 0345 will cost him extra.  But in which case why not get a free www.sipgatebasic.co.uk landline number and run the free Grandstream Wave App on his smartphone by which means he can answer a free UK 01 or 02 number on any UK exchange anywhere in the world that he has an internet connection for where there is not an additional charge for data beyond that included in his existing landline or mobile internet package............

NGMsGhost wrote on Apr 28^th, 2021 at 6:56am:


I would suggest the first port of call would be to e-mail Mark and adv him of the costs of calling an 0845 number from a Mobile (a key example is Vodafone who charge 65p a min Access Charge) plus the 5p per min service charge, making a 1 min call from Vodafone 70p!

The point out the minimal benefits he'd get from the call provider, if any, and see what response you get.