BT drops 0870 and 0845 charges

BT has dropped charges for calls made by its telephone customers to telephone numbers beginning with the codes 0870 and 0845.

The numbers, often used by commercial operations such as banks and retailers, generate revenue for the companies that use them, as well as BT.

However, BT has decided that anyone on its Anytime package will now be able to call them for free, and those on the Evening and Weekend package can call the numbers free after 6pm on weekdays and any time at the weekend.

BT first announced its plans to scrap charges for 0870 numbers back in February 2008.

John Petter, managing director of BT’s Consumer business, said: "Our customers spend 30 minutes a month on average calling these numbers.

"We hope we have taken a sting out of the price of these calls, but also removed one of those irritations that customers believed was an unfair anomaly," Petter continued.

James Parker, mobile manager at moneysupermarket.com, applauded BT's decision.

"With every household service provider adopting 08 numbers, callers have for too long been forced to shoulder the cost for premium rates that only line the pockets of providers," Parker said.

"Now BT has taken the first steps, we urge other providers to do the same and abolish these charges," he continued.

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