Currently, most users have a flat calling rate on our mobile phones. It is an offer that many companies offer and that customers usually purchase, although it is called less and less. But, even though we have a flat calling rate, we must know that there are certain telephone numbers who are out of this kind of special pricing and that can greatly increase our telephone bill.
Fewer and fewer users call, since today we have other, more “comfortable” solutions. We are talking about instant messaging through applications such as WhatsApp or Telegram. In addition, these applications allow you to send audio messages, among many other functions, so calling remains in the background.
Special rate numbers
You should know that flat call rates have certain numbers that are not included and that represent an extra cost on the bill. These phones are called special rate phones and can cause serious problems for the customer.
These are phones used by companies that offer specific services, such as medical consultations, legal advice, games or adult entertainment. The problem with these numbers is that they are everywhere, some companies even use them so that we can contact their technical service.
We currently have two of these special pricing prefixes. The first are the 900, 901 and 902. Possibly, you know these more, since they have existed for many years. You should know that all 900 calls have no cost for the person making the call. On the other hand, 901 and 902 share the cost between the caller and the receiver.
Newer are the premium rate telephones 803, 806 and 807. These pose a great danger to our pockets, since they can end up generating stratospheric bills. You should know about these that fully charge the billing cost to the caller. As if that were not enough, the fourth digit of these telephone numbers indicates the amount we will pay:
- Those telephone numbers whose fourth digit is ‘0’ or ‘1’ have an additional charge of up to 0.65 euros per minute. Legally, this amount cannot be exceeded
- For those numbers whose fourth digit is equal to or greater than ‘6’ we will have a cost per minute of 1.3 euros per minute onwards. Normally, telephone companies require you to expressly authorize the ability to call these numbers.
Of all these special numbers, the only one that will not cause a problem is 900. But be careful, the operators when calling this phone number can charge us the call establishment cost, which is usually a few cents.
We can say that 901 and 902 are relatively dangerous, since they will charge us a lot, although the other party will also have to pay. Without a doubt, the ones that can make the bill more expensive are 803, 806 and 807.
How do I protect myself against these numbers?
The simplest method is to avoid calling these numbers by looking for alternatives such as the page just900.org. The website offers us alternative telephone numbers for companies that usually use premium rate numbers to contact technical service or certain departments.
Without a doubt, the most effective method is to call your company and have them establish a block for these premium rate numbers. Many companies already implement this measure natively and if you want to call, a message appears saying that this service is deactivated and that you must activate it.