14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) went official with plans to abolish call charges to a series of front line national services, including child safety, emergency services and suicide prevention. According to the company, its customers would be able to call for free to hotlines like Kids Helpline, Lifeline and the SES.
Starting with March 17th, 2011, Vodafone and 3 customers would be able to make free calls to selected 13 and 1800 helpline services on the country (more info can be found at Vodafone Australia here).
“A large number of calls made to services like Kids Helpline and Lifeline are made from mobiles,” Tanya Bowes, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Vodafone Hutchison Australia, commented.
She also noted that, through offering free calls to these services, the wireless carrier is hoping to provide a helpful hand to its customers in need, while removing the financial barrier.
“Every year over a third of our calls – more than 114,000 – come from a mobile handset,” Dr Maggie Jamieson, CEO of Lifeline said.
“We are concerned that the costs associated with what is often a lengthy phone call, is acting as an inhibitor for people who are seeking crisis care. That’s why we are so pleased that Australians with Vodafone or 3 will be able to access Lifeline for free; this move will literally save lives.”
Kids Helpline, Lifeline and the SES, are only some of the services that Vodafone and Three customers would be able to call for free.
Moreover, VHA announced that it would waive call charges to its Vodafone Foundation partners’ help lines as well, such as Australian Red Cross, SANE, Barnardos, Conservation Volunteers Australia, Oxfam and Mission Australia.
“With the recent crisis events across Australia, we began 2011 with a 50% increase attempts to reach our counselling service,” Tracy Adams, CEO of Kids Helpline said.
“Free mobile phone access to young people who are reaching out for help and support is critically important. We are delighted that Vodafone and 3 have taken the step to zero rate calls for their customers to our service.”