The Smile Train UK, which provides surgery for children in developing countries with cleft lips and palates, quotes a postal address which is a PO Box. But, if you want to speak to someone, it will cost you dearly – as the only telephone number quoted starts 0870….. I always think that unfair, particularly in the case of a charity. I advocate giving an alternative ‘geographical’ number where 0870… or 0845…. are quoted, as both of them can be expensive for those who enjoy ‘free’ (or very cheap) geographical calls. If the Charity Commission wishes to telephone the charity’s HQ, it has to ring a number in New York!
This month's featured blogger: Freedom Fighter
Freedom Fighter's latest post:
I liked a letter on behalf of SSAFA. It started off by telling us that the writer was Pippa Dann" [...] Read more
I liked a letter on behalf of SSAFA. It started off by telling us that the writer was Pippa Dann" [...] Read more
The Cost of a Call
Friday, November 21st, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Comments
Comment by David Hickson. (Member of the public. About)
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Comment by Raull Harmin. (. About)
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
As all 084x and 087x numbers are “revenue sharing” many charities use these as a way of offsetting the costs of advanced telephone features. This would only be proper, in my opinion, if two important conditions were met:
Firstly, callers were made aware (wherever the number was promoted or advised) that the charity was to derive some income from their call.
Secondly, the number were used only for calls from those who are likely to be happy to pay the person called for the privilege of speaking with them.
For a line used by supporters or donors it is possible that the second condition could be met, although some would be put off (if the first were met).
For a helpline called by beneficiaries, it is vital to point out that the service is subject to a charge for the benefit of the charity (perhaps in offsetting costs). It should also be recognised that telephone companies often charge premiums to callers well in excess of that shared.
Telcos have been known to offer revenue sharing numbers as a cheap way of getting advanced services with the pretence that callers pay no more. The obsolete term “local rate” and the misleading term “lo-call rate” are known to be used. There has not been a distinct local rate for residential telephone callers (outside Kingston upon Hull) since 2004. “Lo” refers only to the fact that some numbers have a lower level of revenue sharing than others. All revenue sharing numbers are more expensive for some or all callers.
For those who feel comfortable about receiving money from callers a revenue sharing number could be worth considering, although care must be taken to understand how they work and to explain this to callers. Campaigners such as myself are working hard to get them distrusted and seen as being a “ripoff”, as they are rarely properly described. My personal focus is on getting them removed from the NHS. I can be contacted at NHS{dot}Patient {at} ntlworld {dot} com.