Just noticed this on the Bank Of Ireland website –
If calling from your mobile, the new number for Bank of Ireland phone banking services is 0818 365 365. If you are calling from a landline, however, you can still use 1890 365 365.
From 8th September 2010, customers will only be able to reach us from a mobile by using this new number – 0818 365 365, while landline users will still be able to use 1890.
Since calls from mobiles to a 1890 number are significantly more expensive to operate, the Bank has followed other major companies and introduced a new ‘telenumber’ to cater for these calls. In most cases there will be no difference in cost to customers calling from their mobile since mobile operators generally charge the same for a 1890 call as a 0818 call. However, you should check with your mobile service provider for more information on your own charges.
To paraphrase Bank Of Ireland here:
We’re using an 0818 number instead of 1890 for customers calling from mobile numbers (the growing majority of our customers since numbers of landlines are falling) so that we can make money off our customers even as they call us for our help.
It costs businesses to provide an 1890 number, but businesses make money for themselves from an 0818 number. So, in theory, the longer you’re held on the phone when they make this change, the more money they’ll make for themselves.
It’d be interesting to see if there’s a longer wait time for Bank Of Ireland clients from September 8th.
Don’t forget though, that the geographical alternative for the 1890 or the 0818 numbers is still 01 404 4000.
Would a complaint to the ASAI saying that the description of lo-cal numbers is missleading the correct term is “Shared Cost Number” according to Comreg, could the term Lo-cal be banned when it is plain that it is misleading.And where a number is used to generate money it should be stated as such.
The term is technically correct based on the original definition of lo-call numbers. The low calling cost refers to the standard cost of calling one of these numbers compared to the standard cost of calling a land line with your own service provider.
So, the base costs may be a little more on mobiles – but those costs will be the same as if you were to call a land line number on the mobile also.
The issue here is more to do with ComReg than the ASAI. Mobile companies are not including these numbers within calls that are deducted from numbers bundles with your standard mobile phone packages.
Nor are they obliged to – there’s nothing from ComReg that says they should do so.
It would only be ComReg that could fix this issue – and that would be by forcing mobile phone companies to deduct these minutes from bundles rather than excluding as they are now.
But since minutes bundles and offers are a method of doing business, that would possibly be as step too far from ComReg and would be interfering in how the mobile companies are doing business – i.e. they don’t have to provide minutes bundles at all, so regulating them would be too much, in my opinion anyway.
Thanks for the alternative number, now I can ring Bank of Ireland as part of my landline package for no extra charge.
Yes, me too. I always ask a company what number does a person dial if they’re out of Ireland. Then they give me a normal 01 number, which, like Tracey, I can ring as part of my package with my landline and mobile. Once you get into dialing 1890 or 0818 god knows what your mobile provider will charge you. Catherine