RECENTLY the Gazette published an article on the use of the 0870 prefix for the telephone number used by one of the Devizes doctors' surgeries.
It highlighted the higher charges which can result when callers are forced into using such numbers, i.e. when no alternative is available.
Another doctors' surgery in Devizes has now joined this trend.
The proliferation of these numbers is enormous. I am sure many of the public are unaware of the costs involved. If a normal number is available then to avoid an 087 prefix is beneficial. 0800 numbers are free to normal landline callers. 0845 numbers will invariably cost in excess of the rate for a local geographic call.
0870 numbers will cost up to 7.9 pence per minute in excess of what would have been paid for a national or local geographic call.
There is a website at www.saynoto0870.com. Why should we be forced to use these numbers for medical services, when we can otherwise minimise our telephone charges by choosing a competitive provider?
K.D.Crisp
Devizes
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