Premium Rate & 0800 Phone Services

Premium Rate Numbers
Rules 22.1-22.8 of the BCAP code apply.

Advertisements that include premium rate telephone numbers or short codes/texts must comply with the Phone-paid Services Authority Code of Practice.

Clear pricing information is paramount. If the premium rate telephone service generally costs 50p per call or more, pricing information must be included in advertisements.

Advertisements must state the name of the service provider or the information provider.
If not included in the advertisement, radio stations must retain, and make available on request, a non-premium rate telephone number for customer care services (unless PhonepayPlus has exempted the service from this requirement).

Advertisements for premium rate services (excluding live or virtual-chat services) which normally last at least five minutes must include a warning that “use of the service/s might involve a long call” (or similar wording).

“Fixed release” calls (i.e. calls which are ended automatically after ten seconds) do not need pricing information but stations may wish to warn listeners of the likely cumulative costs following repeated calling.

0800 Numbers
0800 numbers are now free to call on mobile networks. As a result, these numbers can once again be described as “Freephone” and/or accompanied by text such as “call free on…”

Other Non-geographic Numbers
These rules apply to all 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers across the UK.

Ads for such numbers need to give the service charge and make clear that a further access charge applies.

E.g. “Calls cost xp [or xp per minute] plus your telephone company’s network access charge.”