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A UK landline number that is not tied to a socket in a wall. For a family with someone inside, the point is not the line — it is the number. Prisons charge by the kind of number dialled, and a landline costs them less than half what a mobile does.
To a mobile: 5.50p a minute on weekdays.
To a landline: 2.48p — about 2.1× the talking for the same money.
The part nobody explains
Kind one
You are given a landline number. The provider answers the call on that number and sends it on to your mobile. Two legs, two lines. This is how most services in this market work, and it is what “divert” means.
It works. The risk is that a prison can identify it.
Kind two
The landline number is issued to the phone itself, so a call to it is a call to you. One leg. Nothing is being passed from one line to another.
Harder to build, which is why it is rarer, and there is nothing for a check to find.
HMPPS policy requires prisons to restrict requests to add 0800 numbers and numbers linked to call diversion and re-routing services, because such numbers can be used to reach people the prisoner is barred from contacting.
A number can also be accepted and withdrawn later, once a family has come to rely on it. That is the risk to weigh before paying anyone — including us.
Interception, monitoring and security of prisoner communications policy framework, paragraph 7.9 — HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice, issued 11 August 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/interception-monitoring-and-security-of-prisoner-communications-policy-framework
The full rules, with sourcesBefore you pay anyone
An 01 or 02 number charged at the landline rate. If it is 03, 070 or 0800, the rate is not the same and 0800 is restricted outright.
Ask directly. It decides whether a security check has something to find.
Or is there an allowance, a fair-use cap, or a per-minute charge once credit runs out?
A refusal is a real outcome. Ask whether you get a fresh number, and whether you pay for it.
Notice period, minimum term, and whether cancelling takes a phone call or a tap.
What they cost
Services in this market price one of two ways. Buying minutes is cheaper if you talk a little and dearer if you talk a lot. One price a month is the other way round. There is a point where they cross, and it is worth knowing which side of it you are on.
NeatPhone at 9.6p a minute
About 6 minutes a day
Below that they cost you less than £19.99 a month, and you should buy theirs. Above it, ours.
RingYard vs NeatPhoneFoneSavvy at 8.95p a minute
About 7 minutes a day
Below that they cost you less than £19.99 a month, and you should buy theirs. Above it, ours.
RingYard vs FoneSavvyCellphone Rocks at 5p a minute
About 13 minutes a day
Below that they cost you less than £19.99 a month, and you should buy theirs. Above it, ours.
RingYard vs Cellphone RocksThere are cheaper options than any of this, and two of them are free. The honest comparison covers all of them, including the case for buying nothing.
Unlimited calls, on the phone you already have. No app, no redirects, nothing to set up.