Absolutely! All 0800 numbers are free to call from an O2 mobile within the UK, regardless of whether you are on a Pay Monthly or Pay & Go tariff.
As well as 0800 numbers you can phone 0808 and 0500 freephone numbers for free from any mobile or landline, where previously you had to pay to call these numbers from mobiles. This is the result of government legislation brought in by Ofcom on 1st June 2015 which was aimed at making call charges simple to understand for consumers. Before this change many companies offered “mobile-friendly” 0300 numbers, however these are now less helpful for mobiles as they cost a small charge to call and will eat into your O2 free minutes. Please note that calling 0800 numbers from payphones may still cost you money, so keep your mobile charged!
0800 and 0808 numbers are free to call from all O2 mobile phones
Pay Monthly customers
0800 and 0808 numbers are free of charge if you are an O2 Pay Monthly customer who pays for your mobile usage on a regular contract thanks to the June 2015 legislation. Nor will your free minutes be used to make the call, leaving you to use them on calling your family and friends. Before this date you would’ve had to pay 20p per minute to call a “freephone” number which would’ve quickly added up if you had to make regular calls to a customer service team for example.
Pay & Go customers
Don’t panic if you are a Pay & Go customer as you are also able to call 0500, 0800 and 0808 numbers for free under your SIM-only deal. This means you won’t have to go down to the shops to top up your phone before calling these numbers, which is especially important if you have to make a call to emergency numbers such as the National Gas Emergency Helpline 0800 111 999.
Watch out: calling 0800 numbers from abroad isn’t free!
Unfortunately 0800 and 0808 numbers are not free to call from outside the UK, regardless of whether you are with O2 or any other mobile network. You should also note that you will probably have to dial +44800 instead of 0800 to make an international call to these freephone numbers from overseas. However cheaper roaming rates have come into effect over the last few years particularly in other European countries so these calls may still be fairly inexpensive. You should also be aware that the exact cost of calling a freephone number from abroad will depend on which nation you are calling from.
Call costs for each type of number on O2
| Type of number | Call charges |
|---|---|
| 0800 | Free |
| 0808 | Free |
| 05 | 45p/min |
| 0500 freephone | Free |
| 07 (mobile numbers) | 45p/min |
| 070 (revenue-generating ‘personal’ numbers | 66p per call |
| 08 (not including 084 and 087 service numbers) | 55p connection, + up to 57p/min |
| 084 | 55p connection, + up to 51p/min |
| 087 | 55p connection, + up to 57p/min |
| 09 | 55p connection, + up to £4.04/min |
| 101 | 15p per call |
| 118 | 55p connection, + up to £4.04/min |
| 999 | Free |
Source:
www.o2.co.uk/help/account-and-billing/other-numbers-and-charges