Whilst you come across as a reasonable person, and your sentiments seem genuine, the total cost for making a call to an 0870 number is excessive, your company may not be raking in all of it but the company you lease the number from is, and it is quite likely that except from an initial outlay, it costs you nothing to run those lines (not including staff wages), so the benefit is not just the pittance you receive but the saving of no business rate line rental.
Anytime I see an 0870 number for a service that I need I avoid it like the plague as I see it as greed, this may be an unjustified point of view, as judging by your post some companies have a legitimate reason for using it, but the damage has already been done by your predecessor's and can't easily be undone.
That aside, well done for binning the auto queue.

If everyone was as reasonable as Landshark then there might be no grumbles (well, fewer) but as the last writer says the damage has already been done. My previous employers use the system I described and, except at times of crisis, employ enough staff to answer promptly - but of course it's at times of crisis you most want them and when any failure is most annoying. Parcelforce (and I don't apologise for naming them again) are disgraceful. They fail to deliver goods and don't seem to employ any staff, nor do they tell you can arrange re-delivery by the internet until you've been hanging on for age. Another firm doesn't respond to email/written complaints and you're hanging on the phone hearing their irritating message for ever. I sued the latter and it was a great pleasure not just to get them to repay what they owed plus the fee but also an extra £20 for the cost of the calls etc. Wish I could do the same to them all!

Well, I for one will bear Sharky's comments (thanks for those, mate) in mind for the future, but I still refuse to call AOL (for example) on an 0870 number. Or an 0845 one.

Not going to happen!

Cat

Dear Cat
My sentiments exactly but the alternative is e mail. I await the day that a monolith says your complaint is valid and I've just pressed a button that immediately refunds your call charge as a start. I appreciate Landshark's point but he obviously answers calls pretty fast.

Agreed, Franc. I've posted about my AOL trials over on the broadband expert forum!!

You don't want to get me started on all that again!!!

Cat

Dear Cat
"You don't want to get me started..." You er.. strike me as a self starter. If not I take it you have recorded instructions available as to how to get you started on a GEOGRAPHIC number!

Dear Franc - are you asking for my phone number???? ;-))

Cat

Cat,

You got yourself a stalker now then?

Dave

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Dave

P.S. I feel obliged to point out, I am speaking from experience and my own personal views above - I am not an advisor, nor an expert.

Dave, I am gutted and heartbroken!!

I though you were my stalker!!!!!

Cat ;-))

That's why I am worried - I dont want somebody trying to steal my prime spot in the bushes, I am getting quite comfortable in there.

Dave

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Dave

P.S. I feel obliged to point out, I am speaking from experience and my own personal views above - I am not an advisor, nor an expert.

hi i always try and track down a geographic number. sometimes i've called the 0845 number and if it's answered quickly i ask for a geographic with some success. there's a list on a website which i've forgotten the name of, of 0845 numbers and alternative geographics for quite a lot of companies.

the best way to get revenge is to go to www.saynoto0870.co.uk It has geographical numbers for many companies and service providers, even passport offices!. Even my own bank, phone company etc advertise 0845 numbers, but I refuse to use any number that uses these expensive numbers. Hope that helps. Karen

ty karen, much appreciated.

One way I get round the 0845 & 0870's for regular numbers that I have to call e.g. the bank for instance, is to say to them that you are going abroad and will need to call them whilst away, therefore you need a geographic landline number as non-geograghic numbers don't work from abroad. Once you've got it, use it with say 141 infront if on a landline, so they think you are abroad everytime you call them, this stops them getting confused if your number comes up at their end.
The only one I've struggled with is the Alliance & Leicester, does anyone have a geographic landline number for these please ???
For a small charge, which is OK if you know it's going to be a long call and you can speak to someone virtally straight away, you can always get them to call you back !!!

why should these companys that we pay for there services to start with and the reason you are usually calling is to dispute one of there computer errors or blah blah blah. I got a t.v licence in my name my partner bought the t.v and they contacted
him asking why he hadn't applied and to call an 0845 or 0870 number chancers the lot of them. surely the must have this on record that i have one at the address i didn't let him call it but he was worried about it why should he when we have one