category: Billing

Why am i now being invoiced for my aql 0870 number?

Recent changes regarding 0870 numbering

In April 2006, Ofcom put in place new regulations determining that 0870 numbers should be billed at the same price as geographical numbers (0113, 020, etc). Following on from this, ICSTIS announced in September 2006 that they were proposing the same changes to the 0871 numbers. These changes are due to come into effect during February 2008, but this was postponed to the 1st of August 2009. Therefore, you may have received a bill from aql for line rental starting from the 1st of August 2009.

The reason we can no longer offer free rental or forwarding to landlines is because Ofcom have mandated that there can no longer be sufficient rebate on these numbers to cover operator running costs.

Details of these changes can be found in the article Ofcom confirms changes to 0870 calls

If you have any queries about any of our services and pricing then please consult the aql site or call us on our aql geographic number 011 33 20 30 40

To confirm. For your 0870 number to remain functional after the 1st August, you need to log on via the aql site and (1) make payment of any line rental invoice and (2) also ensure you have call credit on the account to fund the forwarding of the call to your existing landline or mobile number.

Please note - Ofcom is trying to phase out the use of 08* numbering and we recommend, that in order to be "future proof" that you choose an aql 01 or 02 geographic number - Please click here to choose a new number. Please note you can also order 0844 numbers which can still, under current Ofcom regulations, allow free forwarding to landlines. Again, please click here to order.

Ofcom announcement regarding 0870 and how this affects aql customers

From 1st August 2009, following Ofcom rules, the cost of calling an 0870 number will be reduced to the same price as a national number. The result of this will be that there will not be any revenue mechanism to fund the forwarding of any calls to 0870 numbers to any onwards number. aql will also be charged for receiving calls on any 0870 number and will need to pass these charges onto you, the customer.

As a result, as of 1st August 2009, any aql customer with an 0870 number will be charged an inbound fee plus a 2p + vat per minute forwarding fee for onwards routing of calls to a geographic number.


Monthly Rental.

Up until now, all 0870 numbers were free of rental charge. However, in order to cover the overhead imposed by the Ofcom changes, each 0870 number will now be subject to a £10 + vat monthly rental charge in addition to the forwarding charges. The new monthly charge will be applied to 0870 numbers *only* and is to contribute to the large financial outlay required by aql to perform the network engineering to re-route our 0870 traffic in a manner so that it can be billed for.

If you do not want to be billed for your 0870 number or do not require the number any longer, please let us know by logging on to your aql.com account and clicking on "raise a new support query". We can then remove the number from your account prior to the commencement of the billing cycle on the 1st of August.

Important - Forwarding Charges

Please note - after 1st August, all 0870 numbers will forward to a destination number only if pre-paid credit has been added to the number in question, by logging in, choosing the number and adding credit via the aql website. Post-pay is available subject to credit check, but to avoid any loss of service, we advise all customers wishing to continue using 0870 numbers forwarding to a remote number to add credit to the numbers as soon as possible.


Quicktelecom customers - Please read

aql acquired the goodwill assets of quicktelecom in late 2007. In order to accomodate the Ofcom changes, we will be migrating your service to the new aql billing platform. Please don't be alarmed!

What to do next - Alternatives to 0870

If you don't want to incur the costs associated with forwarding of an 0870 number to your landline, now may be the time to choose an 0844 number on which you will receive an outpayment per minute of call received, which can be used to cover the cost of forwarding your call to a landline (Subject to £100 setup fee - please contact us for more details and we'll act quickly to assist). We can also be reached on 011 33 20 30 40.


Looking to move away from 08 numbers? A more future-proof solution would be to choose an 01, 02 or one of the new 03 numbers and deliver these calls directly into your existing systems over IP. In many cases this can be acheived over high capacity leased lines at very low cost. If you would like to find out how much a 100mb/s leased line into your premises would cost, simply send your postcode by reply and our account team will provide a subject to survey quotation within a few working days.


At aql, we understand that the Ofcom changes may seem confusing and unfair and we appreciate that they will cause expense and annoyance, but we're here to help guide you through the process of changing your number or dealing with the routing of your existing number in the most cost efficient manner. Please understand that none of these changes are our idea, but are the result of changes in Ofcom Rules and we must comply with the new Regulations. We'll try to make the process as painless for all concerned, however, please bear in mind that we have thousands of clients using 08 numbers and we'll be working hard to make sure we look after everyone!

More help available from technicians via our online support system.

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