Are you like me in that you try to save money here and there, where ever you can then to see some percentage of it slip through the net as you are placed on hold whilst having to contact someone through a Premium Rate phone number. Now is the time to hit back and hit back in a two fold way.

As i continue to try to develop Money Saving Extreme a thought occurred to me with regards to guidelines companies try to adhere to in respect to answering the telephone. A quick google.co.uk search revealed to me that 15 seconds seems to be acceptable but i cannot find any guidelines as to how long they feel it is necessary to keep you on hold once you have been connected to the usual " press 1 for this, etc " the reason why is

IT MAKES THEM MONEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So what do i mean when i state above " hit back in a two fold way " ?

I feel that these companies need to be named and shamed so with this in mind i am creating a league table of response times based on your experiences. The initial " Call to Arms " can be read on the latest addition to the Money Saving Extreme bandwagon through this link UWA8 Who knows what may come of it, probably nothing but it will at least give some indication of their failings. The actual table is being designed and will be available to view very soon but with that in mind please submit your experiences.

So that's the first part of the " two fold way " whats the second ? well ask yourself this, What is the sole purpose of Premium Rate Numbers ? it's not to ease congestion on the phone lines or speed you enquiry along, it is purely an unseen means to earn revenue. Even Doctors surgeries are cashing in on it, and if you want proof then read this Disgraceful there is No need whatsoever for your doctor to need a Premium Rate Number but its happening.

So my final sting in the tale is to acquire on of these Premium Rate Numbers myself. " What " i hear you say ! that's right i have acquired an 0871 Premium Rate Number, and here's the best bit.......it's FREE. How will this benefit me ? well firstly i have contacted every Bank, Building Society, Utilities company and all manner of companies even down to giving the Premium Rate Number out to double glazing sales men, all through the Internet so it didn't cost a phone call as that would have defeated part of the object, and informed them that this Premium Rate Number is my new contact number. So every time one of these companies decides to ring me they will get a taste of their own medicine as the Premium Rate Number diverts itself through a server and re-routes itself to your home phone number thus resulting in the company paying for the privilege of speaking to me. The calls do not cost you or your friends and family anything as they will still continue to ring your normal landline number.

There are many websites offering this service for FREE, one being PRIMEX this link is to their information page about 0871 numbers. I have had my number for over 3 months now and although it hasn't made a fortune i get great pleasure in knowing that where once i would be paying the boot is on the other foot. My best example of this was a fitted kitchen company who cold called me after i had made an enquiry via the Internet, evening time is not when you wish to be discussing fitted kitchens, double glazing etc, you just want to relax in your own home.
So when they rang i politely asked if they could hold a minute as i had to take a boiling pan off the cooker, this was entirely false but all i did was placed the phone down and went and sat in the living room, ten minutes later i went back and they had hung up. When i checked my online statement from the provider of the 0871 number they had been on the phone for 7 minutes before hanging up earning me £0.22 yes i know it's not a massive amount but this wasn't an experiment in earning a large revenue,

It's back to the dripping tap philosophy of the Money Saving Extreme site.

There was another added bonus...........I've never been telephoned from that fitted kitchen company since.

As ever, this post will be added to the MoneySavingExtreme website forum for open discussion.