No, 0844 numbers are not free to call from an O2 phone – they are charged at business rate, which is like a semi premium rate cost. 0844 numbers are also not eligible for use with your free minutes allowance if you have free minutes in your O2 contact or bundle. Indeed, when calling 0844 numbers on O2, you will be charged at business rate every time.
What are 0844 numbers?
As mentioned, 0844 numbers are business-rate numbers – they are the bottom tier of all the premium-rate and semi-premium-rate numbers. 0844 numbers are typically used for services like technical support, booking hotlines, etc. They are also sometimes used for sales helplines, and are used by a great number of call forwarding services. They generally route your call to a geographic number (starting 01 or 02) which if known can save you money on your call (by calling the geographic number directly).
0844 numbers are officially charged at 7p per minute Service Charge, plus your phone network’s Access Charge. On O2 Pay Monthly, the Access Charge for calling an 0844 number is 55p per minute, and on O2 Pay As You Go, the Access Charge for 0844 numbers is 45p. Therefore, the total cost of a call to an 0844 number on O2 Pay Monthly is 62p per minute, and the total cost of calling 0844 numbers from O2 Pay As You Go phones is 52p per minute. Note though, that a minimum of 1 minute is always billed, and that these rates are subject to change.
Summary of 0844 call costs on O2
| Tariff | Total call cost for 0844 numbers |
|---|---|
| O2 Pay As You Go | 52p per minute |
| O2 Pay Monthly | 62p per minute |