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There have been many discussions over the past couple of years about the value of 1890 and 1850 numbers to general public. In the past, when ringing someone outside your area code cost you an arm and a leg, these numbers were of true benefit to both the owner of the phone number and of course the person ringing the phone number.
From a business perspective, offering your potential customers the ability to ring you at local (or lower) call rates was a great and effective marketing ploy. To the customer, you were safe in the knowledge that a call to the said company would not result in a massive phone bill for something that was possibly a small matter.
However nowadays, 1890 and 1850 seem to be nothing but a scam with no more intentions than filling the telecoms operators coffers with vasts amount of money. There isn’t a telecoms company in Ireland today that don’t offer free national calls as part of their home phone packages. Therefore calling 1890 & 1850 numbers should be free right? Wrong….
Even though the number you are dialing may terminate at a local number, you will still be charged the rates associated with calling a 1890 or 1850 number. Whereas, if they had provided you with a landline number, it wouldn’t have cost you a penny.
It’s fair to say that most people aren’t aware of this fact, until of course they receive their monthly itemised bill that states this. For that reason many businesses will continue to promote their 1850 & 1890 numbers as it has the appearance of being a cheap way to contact them. It also removes “location” as an issue. If people don’t see the area code, they will just assume that the company is local.
The reality is that we should be pushing for these numbers to be stopped. The only people making money from them are the telecoms providers and I would hazard a guess that it’s quite substantial.
So if you are a business and want to save your customers some money, why not ditch the 1890 or 1850 number and start promoting your landline number again. If you are someone who rings these numbers, why not stop and starting seeking the landline numbers of the companies you are trying to contact?
There is a list of popular establishments landline numbers on this thread… http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=74589 – it may come in handy some time!
#1 by Michele at January 14th, 2010
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You’re forgetting a couple of things
1 – You’re in Dublin
2 – Not everyone is in Dublin
3 – People seem to think that nothing can exist outside Dublin
#2 by Tom Doyle at January 14th, 2010
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Wouldn’t that be a few things? You Dub hater you!!!!!
I don’t get your point(s) anyway Michele (not the frist time that has ever happend :P)
Seriously though – it’s national calls that are free with most packages now, not only local calls! So it doesn’t matter what part of the country you are in!!!
#3 by Michele at January 15th, 2010
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The reason why a lot of people use 1850 / 1890 is because it doesn’t tie you to a specific location.
If you provide an 021 number then people know you are in Cork, for example.
This may not matter too much when a business has reached a certain size, but when you’re starting out any potential blocker, such as a business’ perceived location, could cause issues.
Personally I’d love to not have a locall number for our business, as it costs us money. We don’t make ANY money from it.
Of course if we made money from it I’d probably be more than happy to keep it
Michele
#4 by Tom Doyle at January 15th, 2010
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I completely agree Michele and I do mention that in the post. That only benefits the company involved.
It’s just as easy for a business to offer a local number for wherever they are targeting, regardless of their location.
Another problem I have with these numbers is the “LoCall” or “LowCall” that they’ve become to be known. They aren’t low call by any stretch of the imagination anymore.
#5 by RobbieM at January 15th, 2010
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I wonder how long before companies drop irish numbers in favour of these new voip-in numbers. I see most VOIP companies provide a inbound fixed line sort of number and they have strange pre-fixed too. This will turn the local number idea on it’s head!
#6 by Brendan O'Connell at April 5th, 2013
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I just don’t understand why companies don’t also include their ordinary landline number beside the 1890, 1850 etc. Is there any way to indicate to them that some people like me will not ring that company at all but will look for an alternative who gives out their landline. The big question is what is in it for the company. I understand what’s in it for the telephone companies. Do these telephone companies pay these user companies money to give out only the 1890 etc number?
Brendan O’Connell
#7 by Ian at May 27th, 2014
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Irish consumers recently had a chance to stop businesses using these expensive numbers. The EU Consumer Rights Directive 2011 has recently been transposed into Irish law as the EUROPEAN UNION (CONSUMER INFORMATION, CANCELLATION AND OTHER RIGHTS) REGULATIONS 2013 (aka 2013/si484).
The EU Directive requires post-sale customer helplines to be charged at no more than “basic rate”. This definition obviously includes geographic numbers and freephone numbers. It should also allow mobile numbers in as much as they are often free to call from other mobiles and are the primary contact point for many small and independent traders.
However, this was Ireland’s big opportunity to have the various non-geographic “shared cost”, “national rate” [sic], “local rate” [sic], and “lo-call” [sic] numbers excluded from the “basic rate” definition. While that wouldn’t have prevented these numbers being used for sales lines, it would have been the beginning of the end for this quite blatant rip off.
Allowing these expensive numbers to be defined as “basic rate” appears to go against the principles of the EU Directive. Consumers will continue to be ripped off, but now with the apparent full backing of a “consumer protection” law that says it’s OK to do so.
What went wrong at the consultation stage in May 2013? How did this nonsense ever get through and into the published legislation?