Service number
0870 Service rate numbers UK
0870 numbers cost the caller an access charge plus a service charge of up to 13p/min. Once common for customer-service lines, most have been replaced by 03 or 0345 numbers under Ofcom's cost-transparency rules.
About 0870 numbers in the UK
The 0870 prefix is part of the UK National Telephone Numbering Plan administered by Ofcom and falls into the Service number family. 0870 numbers cost the caller an access charge plus a service charge of up to 13p/min. Once common for customer-service lines, most have been replaced by 03 or 0345 numbers under Ofcom's cost-transparency rules.
Ofcom allocates 0870 number ranges to UK communications providers (Range Holders) in 1,000- or 10,000-number blocks. The table below lists every currently-allocated block we have ingested from Ofcom’s weekly Numbering Data feed. Click any Range Holder to see their full UK portfolio, or paste a specific number into the lookup form above to see the originating provider, the allocation status, and a live AI internet check for any public reports about that exact number.
For a deeper explainer on how UK number prefixes are organised, see UK area codes explained, How Ofcom allocates UK phone numbers, and the UK phone number format guide. If you have received a 0870 call you are unsure about, our who-called-me UK guide walks through the safe identification routine in under a minute.
0870 ranges currently in the Ofcom data
Our most recent Ofcom snapshot lists 200 individual number ranges currently allocated on the 0870 prefix, spread across 52 Ofcom-listed Range Holders. The top 5 holders by allocated block count are Vodafone Ltd (C&W) (59), GCI Network Solutions Limited (21), TalkTalk Communications Limited (12), Colt Technology Services (12) and Digital Space Group Limited (12). The dominant allocation status across 0870 blocks is Allocated (100% of the visible ranges).
Spotting a fake 0870 call
- Check the Range Holder column below: a 0870 number that doesn’t map cleanly to one of the UK-licensed providers listed is the first amber flag. Genuine UK callers on this prefix come through one of the carriers Ofcom has actually allocated the block to.
- Watch the script. Legitimate 0870 callers — whether banks, delivery firms, public-sector services or commercial brands — don’t pressure you into reading codes from a text, keying in passwords, or installing remote-access software while still on the line.
- If you weren’t expecting a 0870 call, hang up and ring back via a number printed on the organisation’s website or a recent letter, not the CLI that just rang you. Most 0870 scams collapse the moment you switch to a verified channel.
- Paste the exact digits into the lookup form above for a live AI internet check. If the number has been mass-reported on consumer forums, that surfaces in the per-number result alongside the structured Ofcom Range Holder data.
Allocated ranges starting with 0870
Related lookups
- 0800 Freephone
- 0808 Freephone
- 0345 UK-rate
- 0333 UK-rate
- 0843 Service rate
- 0844 Service rate
- 0845 Service rate
- 0871 Premium service
- 0900 Premium rate
- 070 Personal numbering
- 076 Pager
- 07 Mobile
- 0303 Public sector
- 0306 Charity
- How 0800 freephone numbers work in the UKCornerstone guide
- 0808 numbers UK — what they costCornerstone guide
- 0345 numbers explainedCornerstone guide
- 0345 vs 0800: which is cheaper to call?Cornerstone guide
FAQs about 0870
Are 0870 numbers safe to answer?
Service number numbers like 0870 are not inherently dangerous, but service number prefixes can be (and are) abused by scammers. Use the lookup above to see who Ofcom allocated the specific block to and read the AI internet check.
What does 0870 cost to call?
0870 numbers cost the caller an access charge plus a service charge of up to 13p/min. Once common for customer-service lines, most have been replaced by 03 or 0345 numbers under Ofcom's cost-transparency rules.
Can I block all 0870 calls on my phone?
Most modern UK mobile networks let you block by prefix in their My-Account app. iOS and Android also support a "Silence Unknown Callers" option. Truecaller and Hiya offer prefix-level blocklists.