Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
NHS phone costs
I was referred for a scan by my GP and the (private) company involved - InHealth - called me and left a number to ring back on to make an appointment. I rang this number several times, being kept on hold for ages, until I eventually got through. (To be fair, they also made two attempts to contact me again, but I was out.)
Got my phone bill today and the total costs of those calls, mainly as I say being left on hold, was over £1.50. It's an 0844 number, which is not covered under BT's call plan like the 0870 and 0845 numbers. Is this the way it's going to go from now? "Free" services with hidden extra costs. (Not to mention that the scan is being done near Oxford Street, which means I have to travel into the West End rather than a local hospital.)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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Just seen on the bottom of the appointment letter that I was sent AFTER I had run up the phone bill trying to get through, that there is an alternative number you can use "if you prefer not to contact us on the 0844 number". Would have been useful to have this from the start!
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Permalink Reply by james walsh on
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Maddy* we save zillions on phone bills using this http://www.saynoto0870.com/
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Yes, whenever I see an 0844 or 0845 number, I check that web page first. I think the "non-geographical" numbers were dreamt up in the days before the Internet took off and thinks like Skype and iChat made distance considerations appear to be redundant.
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Fair point, but again it's "buyer beware", which should not apply in a state-run, free-at-point-of-delivery service - why can't they just give out a free number to start with? Presumably they are being paid by the NHS (us) to run this service, so there is no need to sting you on the cost of calling them. (Some GP surgeries used to resort to this tactic, but were told to stop using more expensive numbers.)
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Agree.
It was probably begun at a time when a flat-rate nation-wide represented a saving to many people, compared with making a long-distance call. That rationale has largely gone and meanwhile, the NHS has grown accustomed to the revenue-sharing from the telecom companies. But people don't normally ring the NHS just for the sheer fun of it.
Unfortunately, this applies to other state services as well.
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Permalink Reply by Madeline on
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It's not just the NHS.
I got this email yesterday from EON with this sentence in it:- "In May, we changed our numbers from 0845 to 0345, which means you’re now charged at a local rate when you call us, not a national one..."
I get free 0845 calls but now I'll have to pay to phone them. Considering that most calls are probably about some sort of problem I feel it's unfair that they should still make money out of my dilemma. The scenario is that you're paying whilst you have a problem, then you have to pay again to get it resolved.
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