Since 1st June 2015, Yes! All UK 0800 numbers are now free to call from EE mobiles and landlines alike, so long as you’re calling from a UK telephone.
Since Ofcom’s reforms took effect on 1st June 2015, calling UK freephone numbers (including 0800, 0808 and 0500 numbers) has been free of charge from all UK landlines and mobile phones. Prior to June 2015, 0800 numbers were chargeable when calling from most mobile phones (as well as payphones and some non-BT landlines), which is why we see so many mobile-friendly local-rate 03 numbers offered as alternatives to 0800 numbers to this day (even though 0800 numbers are now completely free to call and don’t eat into your free minutes allowances like 03 numbers do).
0800 numbers are completely free to call from EE phones
Landline customers
If you are an EE landline customer you would have enjoyed free calls to freephone numbers (such as 0800, 0808 and 0500 numbers) before the June 2015 reforms, and these calls continue to incur no charge from EE landlines. 0800 numbers have always been free to call from EE landlines.
Also, if you have an EE contract or bundle offering inclusive free minutes to local-rate numbers (01, 02 and 03 numbers), these free minutes won’t get used up by calling freephone 0800 numbers – they truly are completely free to call.
Mobile customers
Pay Monthly customers
Similarly, callers on an EE Pay Monthly mobile contract won’t have to pay to call 0800 numbers.
Prior to June 2015 these calls would have been charged at a rate of at least 20p per minute but are now completely free to call from EE landlines and mobiles alike. Thus, EE mobile customers are now much better off thanks to Ofcom’s recent UK calling reforms to make freephone numbers truly free to call, even from mobiles.
And if you receive free minutes as part of your regular payment plan these will not be used up when making calls to 0800 numbers, leaving you to use them as you wish for calls to eligible numbers that would otherwise have charged you for the calls.
SIM-only customers
SIM-only EE phones will also be able to call freephone numbers such as 0800, 0808 and 0500 numbers, for free. There is no distinction between the cost of calling 0800 numbers on different types of EE plans. 0800 numbers are always free to call from EE mobiles and landlines in the UK.
This level of freedom is particularly helpful for Pay As You Go customers, as they no longer need to go through the arduous process of topping up in order to make these free phone calls to 0800 telephone numbers.
Caution: calling from abroad isn’t free!
The only exception to 0800 numbers being free is when you’re calling from abroad. Calling British 0800 numbers from abroad isn’t free. But in order to call these numbers from abroad, you will probably have to dial +44800 instead.
It’s true that calling the UK from overseas has never been cheaper thanks to ever-lowering roaming rates, however, UK freephone numbers are still not free to call from outside the UK.
The exact cost of calling a UK 0800 number from overseas (+44 800) will vary depending on which country you are making the international call from.
EE call costs for each type of number
| Type of number | Cost of calling from EE mobile | Cost of calling from EE landline |
|---|---|---|
| 0800 (freephone) | Free | Free |
| 0808 (freephone) | Free | Free |
| 05 | 30p/min | Up to 15p connection, + up to 5.5p/min |
| 0500 (freephone) | Free | Free |
| 07 (mobile numbers) | 30p/min | 17p connection, + 14p/min |
| 070 (revenue generating ‘personal’ numbers) | 44p connection, + up to £1.50/min | Up to 65p connection, + up to 65p/min |
| 08 (not including 0843 and 087 service numbers) | 44p connection, + up to 57p/min | Up to 15p connection, + up to £1.54/min |
| 084 | 50p connection, + up to 51p/min | 11p connection, + up to 7p/min |
| 087 | 50p connection, + up to 57p/min | 11p connection, + up to 13p/min |
| 09 | 50p connection, + up to £4.04/min | 11p connection, + up to £3.71/min |
| 101 | 15p per call | 15p per call |
| 118 | 50p connection, + up to £4.04/min | 11p connection, + up to £3.71/min |
| 999 | Free | Free |