Save money on your Phone bill

Andy Simpson

Most mobile phone providers in the UK still charge their customers for calls to 0800, 0808 and 0500 numbers, and normally at higher rates than they charge for calling a land line, but there is a way around this. Mobile Fun recently stumbled upon 0800Buster. They operate a service that lets you call these numbers using your mobiles inclusive minutes, by providing you with a UK land line number to dial instead.

Its extremely simple to use, you don’t need to register or sign up to anything, just call their number, and when you’re connected to their automated system, you just need to dial the 0800 number that you want to call and they’ll connect you. So as long as you have free or inclusive minutes as part of your monthly plan, the call won’t cost you anything.

How to call:

  • Dial 01233 45 0800
  • Enter the 0800, 0808, or 0500 number you want to phone
  • Press # to start the call

Your best bet will be to save this number to your phone so that you’ve always got it with you.

Tips & Tricks:

If you have a free phone number that you dial regularly (your bank for example) you can save the whole number in your phone so that you don’t need to wait for the call to connect before dialling. Most mobiles come with the ability to add “pauses” to contacts which cause the phone to wait for 2–3 seconds before dialling the rest of the number. These are usually represented by a “p”, "+" or a comma. The number you store should resemble 01233450800p0800123456#.

To enter a pause:

  • Nokia
    • Press * three times (or until p appears)
  • Samsung, Motorola
    • Press and hold * until p appears
  • Sony Ericsson
    • Press and hold 7 until p appears
  • LG
    • Press and hold # until p appears
  • Siemens
    • Press and hold 0 until + appears
  • Apple iPhone 3G
    • From the phone screen: press and hold the * key until , appears.
    • From the Contacts screen: press the +*# key, and then press pause.

This service works really well, and so far I’ve not had any problems using it. From time to time though, they do change their access number, so its worth checking their their web site for any updates.

0870 Numbers:

As well as charging high rates for calling 0800 numbers, mobile networks normally charge more for calling 0870, 0844 & 0845 numbers, but there is a work around for this too. A popular site for avoiding these charges is saynoto0870.com.

Saynoto0870 list alternative numbers for many well known companies, with most of them being standard geographical numbers that will form part of your free call allowance. Companies listed include most Gas and Electricity companies, as well as most of the High Street Banks.

On the subject of Banks, chances are you’ve already got a number that you can call for free printed on your credit or debit card as most companies will display a number that you can call from abroad. In most cases, this number will connect you to the same call centre, (sometimes without the automated service!) and the call will come out of your free minutes.

To search for an alternative number, head over to saynoto0870.com and you’ll be able to search by the non-geographical number you’ve been given (0870 123456 etc.) or by company name.

If you know of any other money saving tips for your mobile phone, please let us know by posting your comments below.