5 Questions to ask your current Non-Geographic Number Provider
Do I own the number ?
Most telecoms providers will answer No to this question and this is wrong and unfair, but still so many people will be fooled into purchasing something they never own.
It is essential that you make sure that you own the number you have purchased ! Imagine your provider going bust and you losing all of your business telephone and fax numbers.
Owning your own number will also allow you to port it to different providers to make good use of new offers, promotional rates or just better service.
Am I paying a Rental Charge ?
There is absolutely no reason why should be paying a rental charge to own a non-geographic number, do not be tricked into paying any kind of monthly service fee, gold number charge or monthly rental. All non-geographic numbers should have a one off charge for their purchase, then potentially some recurring call costs (in the case of 0800 or 0808 numbers only !)
Am I receiving a Rebate for calls made to my number ?
If you are using an 0870, 0871 or 0844 number, you should be receiving a regular rebate for all calls made to your number, prices will vary from provider to provider, but you should be looking to receive a minimum of a penny for every minute you receive calls.
Remember, 0800 and 0808 numbers will not issue a revenue share and you are likely to be charged for every call received.
Do I have to pay a charge for calls made to my number ?
Both 0800 and 0808 numbers will cost the receiving party money to receive the call. With both of these numbers, the caller doesn’t pay a penny to make calls (with the exception of calls made from some mobile networks)
You should not be paying any money for calls received on 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871 numbers.
Can I view call statistics for calls made to and from my number ?
Most Non-Geographic Number providers will supply you with web-based statistics that will allow you to view call volumes, call times and the lengths of calls as a minimum.
Many will go one step further, offering advanced analytics, call trends and dozens of other reports that can help to analyse your businesses calls.