How to save money on expensive calls within the UK from a mobile or Skype

Frequent visitors to the UK will know that just about every large British organisation has a telephone number that's free to call or that costs the same as a local call on a UK landline. 

But these numbers aren't free from mobiles -- and some of them aren't included on Skype Unlimited, which is limited to giving free calls to landlines. Here's how to reduce your phone bill by finding an alternative number to ring.

First, though, an explanation of what you'll be charged for calling various numbers in the UK. We'll try to keep this brief. 

The UK has a complicated National Numbering Scheme that, in theory, tells you what to expect the call to cost based on the number's prefix.

01 & 02 numbers

Numbers starting 01 and 02 are normal landline phone numbers. These are usually included in mobile phone package inclusive minutes and in Skype Unlimited.

03 numbers

These are relatively new, introduced in 2007. By law, they must cost the same as normal landline numbers, and be included in inclusive minutes. Skype has confirmed that these are also included in Skype Unlimited.

07 numbers

These are mobile numbers, and are counted as inclusive minutes on mobile phones. They are not included in Skype Unlimited and are currently charged at 17.1p a minute.

0800, 0808 and 0500 numbers

These are toll free "freephone" numbers, free from a landline and from Skype, even if you don't have Skype Unlimited. 

From mobiles, though, these are often charged at premium rates -- we've been charged up to 25p a minute in the past.

And be warned: companies think nothing of having long wait times for these numbers because they're "freephone". 

Other 08 numbers

These are "revenue sharing" numbers, where the owner of the number gets a kickback from their phone provider for having you waiting on hold. (Ridiculous, right?) 

The cost to call them varies significantly. From UK landlines, the cost to call these varies from 4p/minute to 10p/minute. From mobiles, it's worse: up to 40p a minute. And they don't count as landlines on Skype, so you stand to be charged up to 15.5p a minute.

That sounds expensive!

Yes -- holding the line for British Airways customer service or to tell your hotel that you'll be running late could end up costing you a fair amount. 

And since the actual cost of the call is incredibly difficult to find from your particular mobile, and varies on Skype, your credit can run out even before you're connected to a person on the other end of the line. Your blood is probably boiling just reading this.

Right, so how do I cut the cost of calls?

The first thing to do is to check whether there's a number for callers from outside the UK. If a London hotel's number starts with 0844, they may well offer a number for callers outside the UK that starts with +44 20. (The Heathrow Terminal 5 Sofitel's is +44 20 8757 7777, for instance.

That's an 020 number in disguise, with a country code and missing the first 0. You can just paste that number straight into Skype -- it's a landline number, which is included in Skype Unlimited. To ring that number from a UK mobile, drop the +44 country code and add a 0, to get 020 8757 7777.

But what if there's no +44 number listed?

Let's say you need to call Qantas, which lists its UK number as 0845 774 7767.
Open up your web browser and head to www.saynoto0870.com. Here's what you'll find:

Click the (rather unobtrusive) link on the top left that says "Search to find an alternative number".

Type in the company name -- in this case, "Qantas". Here's what you get:

Now you'll have a list of numbers for Qantas, including freephone and geographical. If you have Skype, you'll want the freephone number, but if you have a mobile, freephone numbers will still cost you. You want the number under the "01/02/03" column instead.

Top tip: many British companies have different numbers to ring for different departments. British Airways has separate numbers for its Silver, Gold and Premier frequent flyers, for example. The website will list all of those too:

We recommend that you bookmark the website in your mobile device to make sure you have it to hand when needed.

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.