CAB backs free calls to 0800 numbers

Monday, 20 December 2010 12:00

Proposals to make calls to 0800 numbers free from both landlines and mobiles have been welcomed by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).

Communications regulator Ofcom said that it wants to standardise the use of a range of non-geographic phone numbers in order to address consumers' concerns and confusion over their use.

The CAB said many people on pay-as-you-go mobile plans can run up "substantial costs" contacting some government helplines, utility companies and banks with 0800 numbers.

This can deter them from contacting these organisations in the event of a problem arising and many individuals have to make an appointment with its advisers simply to use a landline.

Tony Herbert, a social policy officer with the charity, said this in turn can make it harder for bureaux to deal with other clients at a time when there are "more people than ever in desperate need of advice".

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