Orange make it free to call

From tomorrow, Orange - the UK's largest mobile communications company - is making it free for customers to call charity and helpline numbers, and urged other operators to follow suit.

Until now, most mobile phone customers have had to pay to make calls to charity and helpline numbers. Now, Orange customers can call any of over 240 numbers supported by the Telephone Helpline Association free of charge. Orange has also made sure that calls to any of these organisations will not appear on the phone bill, giving customers in vulnerable situations a greater degree of anonymity.

William McCoubrey, Director of Regulatory Strategy & UK Public Policy for Orange, said: ""Having discussed this issue with charity bodies and the Telephone Helpline Association, we acknowledged that this was an area that needed to be looked at seriously in order to protect customers in potentially vulnerable situations.

""Now, if a customer needs to call any of these organisations to ask advice, seek help for a problem, or just talk to someone, they can do so for free. We've also taken further steps to protect them by ensuring that the call doesn't appear on their bill. That means that if they are in a vulnerable situation at home, no-one can find out that they've made the call.""

McCoubrey added: ""We're calling on all other UK mobile operators to do the same in order to create a safer environment for children and those in vulnerable situations.""

ALL INFORMATION CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS

William McCoubrey

Director of Regulatory Strategy & UK Public Policy for Orange, said:

""Having discussed this issue with charity bodies and the Telephone Helpline Association, we acknowledged that this was an area that needed to be looked at seriously in order to protect customers in potentially vulnerable situations.""