Our Telephone Lines

Many years ago Marten and I spoke about stopping our Premium Rate lines. We hate charging clients so much to hear a line. For over ten years I have tried to change the way we provide the service and have spoken to our telecom provider(s) trying to come up with a holiday hold system, but we can’t get one developed. I once got told it could be possible if I paid for the development but one company quoted around £10,000! I suspect companies don’t offer this service because they are making money from all the calls they get. I contacted Ofcom about it, but unfortunately, this isn’t their area where they can offer support.

The downside is that Marten has to record a line every single day!! He has recorded lines since the 80s; imagine having to do that daily for so many years.

We started the second recording of Marten’s line on a 0871 number so people can pay us a subscription and listen to Marten without the high call charges.  When we started this service, we did so thinking the majority of clients would call from a landline as they do with our Premium Rate Line. This is how I calculate the cost when we say it is cheaper than calling our £1.50 per minute line.

Subscribers to our Telephone & Text Service also receive a text message to their mobile daily with selections in case they can’t listen to the line. I do however appreciate the majority of people want to listen as Marten is known for his analysis and that’s the way we like to be known.

I would not recommend calling from a mobile as the charges are extortionate. Vodafone for example not only charge you the standard 13p per minute they add on a 55p per minute access charge which means you are now paying the same as our Premium Rate Line with the subscription fee.

However, if you are with Vodafone, I recently rejoiced when I found out you can make savings if you call 084 or 087 numbers regularly with them. They offer a package for just £2.50 per month which offers you 300 minutes a month to any number starting with 084 or 087 as long as they are a UK based line. To get this monthly add on, simply text NONGEO to 97886

If you are with a different provider, they may well offer a similar deal. Please ask!

Not only are these lines expensive for clients they are expensive for us. We pay £50 a month just to have the 0871 line plus we have to dial the same number as our clients to check it has recorded correctly. We don’t get a reduced rate.

So, onto more exciting things! The final stage of our website redevelopment is underway, and as part of this, we are going to offer the option to listen to Marten’s line through our website which means no call charges! I have also designed this to help clients who live abroad – mainly our Irish friends as they are the ones who ask the most often.

Clients will soon be able to join our Telephone & Text Service and will have access to Marten’s line, daily text message and access to a personal area of our website to listen to the line online without call charges.

I look forward to offering this service very soon. To stay informed, please keep popping back to the website or join our free Newsletter.

To clarify the Vodafone deal please visit https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/costs/non-geographic-calls/index.htm

BT landline 12p to 25p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
EE mobile 44p to 63p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
KC landline 10p to 23p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
O2 mobile 45p to 68p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
Post Office landline 10p to 23p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
Sky Talk landline 12p to 25p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
TalkTalk landline 8p to 21p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
Three mobile 45p to 58p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
Virgin Media landline 11p to 24p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
Vodafone mobile 45p to 68p per minute, plus up to 13p per call
Link: http://www.area-codes.org.uk/0871-numbers.php