Everything about calling NS&I from abroad
Who NS&I is, and why savers ring from abroad
NS&I (National Savings and Investments) is the UK's government-backed savings organisation. It runs Premium Bonds, Direct Saver, Income Bonds and a handful of other products, and not all of its customers live in Britain. The reasons they phone are ordinary ones. A prize seems to have gone astray. A new overseas address needs recording. A UK bank account has closed and must be replaced before the next payment. Or they have decided to cash in. Each of these touches personal details, so someone at NS&I has to confirm who you are first.
Why an 0808 freephone line fails from abroad
0808 500 7007 belongs to the UK freephone class, which covers 0800 and 0808. Inside Britain the organisation pays for the call, so it costs the caller nothing from a landline or a mobile. That arrangement stops at the border. Many foreign carriers either refuse the +44 808 format outright or play a message saying the number cannot be reached. Where a call does get through, the foreign operator can bill it as it likes, roaming included. So the number NS&I prints for UK callers is the one most likely to fail from Spain, France or Australia, and NS&I gives callers outside the UK a separate +44 number, charged at the rate of their international phone provider.
What Losali does with UK freephone numbers
Losali is an independent dialler that works in a web browser. Your call leaves your device over the internet, reaches Losali's telecom carrier and is dialled from there to 0808 500 7007. The foreign network never sees a UK freephone number, so it has nothing to refuse. You install nothing and keep your own SIM. Minutes are prepaid, there is no subscription, and the rate for the number is shown beside it. The panel at the top of this page gives the current state of the NS&I line.
- Your NS&I number and password.
- Registration for NS&I's online and phone service, which NS&I requires to manage your accounts or personal details.
- Your current overseas address, written out in full.
- The UK bank account details you want payments to go to, if they are changing.
- The UK clock, since customer services run on British time.
Phone or online: two ways in
Not everything needs a call. NS&I's contact page lists other routes, among them web chat and an online assistant, and many routine questions are quicker to settle there. The phone earns its place when an adviser has to check your identity and act on the account. That means a change of address to somewhere outside the UK, new bank details, a prize payment that has not arrived, or cashing in holdings.
The number type on this page
0808 500 7007 is a UK freephone number. It is non-geographic, so it points at no particular town and has no place in the international routing tables foreign carriers use for an ordinary call to the UK. The service behind it is the same wherever you ring from. What changes abroad is whether your own operator will carry the call, and on what terms.
Practical tips before you dial
NS&I's contact page lists a dedicated +44 number for callers outside the UK, charged at your international provider's rate. Ring within the published hours (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm at weekends, UK time, closed on bank holidays), and work out the time difference beforehand. Keep your NS&I number and security answers written down, because the adviser will ask for them before discussing any account. If you are chasing a prize, note the draw month and the Bond numbers concerned. If you are cashing in or changing bank details, have the new account details on paper rather than reading them off your phone mid-call.
What kind of number is this?
Freephone 0800 / 0808. Free to call from inside the UK. With Losali the call is billed at €0.99/min, per whole minute, prepaid, and the price is shown before the call starts.