Introduced in March 2017, 0333 numbers for small businesses and for general use are used by several businesses and charities. They are not subject to your geographical location and also are free from landlines, which includes Virgin Media. You have to pay on some mobile accounts, but fortunately not Virgin Mobile is not one of them.
Please note that have been cases of some people being wrongly charged by Virgin Media, the difficulty being that people confuse 03 numbers with 01 and 02, the last two are certainly free but 03 is a new thing, which could be why people have been wrongly charged. If you find that you have been wrongly charged, you should of course challenge it. The refund could be free internet minutes as well as £5, so it is well worth doing.
So, in summary: How much does it cost to call a 0333 number on Virgin Mobile?
Answer: It is free for both Virgin Media and Virgin Mobile as long as it is included in your monthly minutes
Number starts with | Description | Cost from landlines per minute (approximate) | Cost from mobiles per minute (approximate) |
---|---|---|---|
0333 | UK-wide numbers | up to 9p | 3p to 55p |
An 0333 number is a number that is used by large businesses, government departments, or by third party organisations such as charities. An 0333 number is special because it has no specific geographical location associated with it and therefore calls from this number can come from anywhere inside of the UK.
Calls to an 0333 number, or any 03 number, are treated as an ordinary call to a landline like those to an 01 or 02 number. The charges associated to this number depends if you are calling from a landline or a mobile and the type of deal that you have for the appropriate device. If you have a monthly allowance for minutes the duration of your call to the 0333 number will simply be subtracted from your monthly allowance of minutes. If you are using a pay as you go system the call will be charged at your network operators per minute access charge, which will then be taken from your overall pay as you go balance.
The access charge for Virgin Mobile is 40p per minute when using their ‘starter tariff’ deal. If you top up £10 per month then you are eligible for the ‘big talk tariff’ and can be rewarded with unlimited calls to UK landlines, which includes 03 numbers and so you won’t be charged anything for calling an 0333 number. If your mobile is already on a contract payment scheme then calls to 0333 numbers will simply have their duration removed from your monthly allowance and any calls outside of this will be charged at 50p per minute, with a minimum charge of 50 pence.