Calling 0844 numbers from abroad

Telephone numbers using the 0844 prefix belong to a range of numbers known as non-geographical numbers or NGNs. 0844 numbers are used by a variety companies and organisations to generate an income from those making the call, because of this they are usually more expensive to call than a standard geographical number (such as those beginning 01, 02 and 03). Since the UK Calling system was launched on 1 July 2015 call charges to NGNs have been standardised to ensure that call charges are easy to understand and customers know what to expect in terms of cost when calling from a landline or mobile phone from within the UK. Like most other telephone number ranges in the UK, the use of 0844 numbers is legislated by Ofcom, and they set the levels of call costs too. This has been done by splitting the cost of the call into the ‘service charge’ set by the organisation you are calling (between 0p and 7p for 0844 numbers) and the ‘access charge’ set by your landline or mobile phone provider (you would need to contact your provider for specific details of their access charges). If you would like to find out more about the cost of calling 0844 numbers, visit our guide here.

How to call 0844 numbers from abroad

International phone calls rely on agreements between national telecom companies. While calls to standard geographical numbers in the UK are consistently available internationally, the complexity of the charging system for NGNs has resulted in few international agreements for this type of call. As a result of this it can be with very expensive to dial an 0844 number from abroad, if not completely impossible.

It is, however, usually still possible to call the organisation you wish to contact from abroad. All 0844 numbers ‘map through’ to a standard geographical number and this is usually the number to contact if you are abroad. Many companies using 0844 prefixes have a separate ‘if calling from abroad’ number. An example of this can be found on the reverse of most credit and debit cards in the section that explains why to do if the card is lost. If you visit the ‘contact us’ section of the relevant company website there is often an alternative number given for use when contacting them internationally. If you would like to purchase an 0844 number, our team will be able to talk you through all of these kind of implications- this is the same for any 08 number. The standard geographical numbers can also be found through websites such as saynoto0870.com and through apps such as 08 Wizard. Once you have found the standard geographical number for the company simply dial the international code for the UK ‘0044’ followed by the telephone number but omitting the first 0. For example, to call 01234 123 123 from abroad you would need to dial 0044 1234 123 123.

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