# 37 (2013) Illusive Phone Numbers

(source)

One of  the annoying things about living on a tight budget and not having a landline phone is how to deal with customer service call centres. I have a fixed price contract for my mobile phone and it does not allow for calls that cost me over and above my free monthly allocation.

And so overpriced 0800 numbers and their variations that keep you on hold can quickly cost a lot of money and are definitely over and above my budget. And I don't see why I should be forced to use them when there are cheaper options available.

Even more annoying is that some of them make their email addresses too illusive for you to find and use. Not only is email the cheapest way for me to communicate with these firms, it also gives me a written record of my conversations with them and therefore proof of whatever has been said.

It took me over an hour to find, in a roundabout way, an email address for Virgin to inform them I was terminating my contract in two months time. And in just over 24 hours they had replied so these addresses do work.

You can of course find the cheaper geographical landline numbers for many of these call centre numbers. Yes, they do exist. Websites like saynoto0870.com will help you find alternatives that are cheaper or will be free if you're on a mobile contract.

It's worth taking the time to find the alternatives. They could save you a lot of money in the long run.