BT has dropped its charges for 0845 and 0870 phone numbers for its customers if they have a call package, it has been announced.
The decision could ease pressure on the estimated 1,000 GP practices in England alone that use an 084 number – a decision which has prompted much criticism from patients whose call packages do not cover such numbers, forcing them to pay more to call their doctor.
More than 1,000 practices use 0845 numbers, which provide extra functions such as queuing for unanswered calls.
From Friday (Jan 16), patients will be able to phone around 300 practices that use 0845 numbers for free.
The change, however, does not include numbers beginning with 0844, which is the more commonly used prefix for GP practices, but it is hoped that this will, in time, also become included in BT’s call packages and those of other phone service providers.