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Before the UK Calling changes, calls to ‘Freephone’ numbers were generally free when called from a landline, however mobile users were usually charged for calling them. The 1 July legislation made all calls to 0800 and 0808 numbers free for consumers to dial from mobile phones, just as they are from landlines. [7]
0800 was Tongue (TO0) – numbers were transferred to 0847 (ELNS) [notes 14] 0800 later used for BT Freefone numbers - usage of BT 9-digit 0800 numbers continued after the Big Number Change; all new 0800 allocations have 10 digits and multiple operators now issue 0800 numbers. 01801 — unused
The 1 July changes also saw ‘freephone numbers’ 0800 and 0808 become free to call from both mobiles and landlines. 0500 numbers remained chargeable as previously from mobiles (free from landlines, also as previously), but these numbers were migrated to a new 0808 5 number range in June 2017, and are free from mobiles.
Gaps were left within each of those new 10-digit number ranges to allow for the older 9-digit 02 to 09 numbers to migrate in the Big Number Change. Freephone numbers were an exception. Older 9-digit 0500 and 0800 numbers, as well as newer 10-digit 0800 and 0808 numbers, all remained in use after the Big Number Change.
The 0800 range can have NSN length as 10, 9, or 7 digits. The 0845 range can have NSN length as 10 or 7 digits. The 0500 range had NSN length as 9 digits only, and was withdrawn from use on 3 June 2017. All other UK numbers have NSN length of 10 digits. There are no telephone numbers in the UK with an NSN length of 8 digits.
Major mobile phone operators went through a period of charging callers to dial most freephone numbers from around 2005 onwards - but this practice largely ceased on 1 July 2015 as 0800 and 0808 numbers became universally free to call from mobiles and landlines due to changes in Ofcom legislation.
In the Netherlands, the prefix "0800" is used for toll-free numbers. Calling 0800-numbers from fixed and mobile phones is free by law. UIFN's "00800" are generally free from fixed lines and charged for the airtime from mobile phones. UIFN access is not enforced by law, causing certain phone providers not to honor the standard.
Spy Dialer is a free reverse phone lookup service that accesses public databases of registered phone numbers to help users find information on cell phone and landline numbers and emails.