Ofcom clamp down on 0870 call charges

Commenting on Ofcom's decision to encourage a reduction in cost of calls to 0870 numbers, James Parker, head of mobiles at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Finally Ofcom has committed to making these call charges transparent and to help reduce costs for calls to 0870 numbers, which are used by most businesses and household suppliers to provide technical or customer support services.

"Most people have to regularly call 0870 numbers and whilst this decision is a step in the right direction, Ofcom seem to have missed the opportunity to place a cap on the cost of these calls or force providers to reduce their charges. We have already seen some providers, such as BT, go a step further and make these calls free as part of bundle packages. Hopefully the regulation from Ofcom and the decision from BT will spur providers into similar moves and we will see costs to these numbers heavily reduced or better still abolished."