There is only one STD code for London
I hate people who give out London phone numbers - especially in their email footers - claiming they start 0207 or 0208. NO THEY DON'T. There is only one STD code for London and it is 020. You can dial any 020 number from any other 020 number without dialling the 020 at all. BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL IN THE SAME AREA CODE - 020. So your number is 020 XXXX YYYY.

HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?????

BG
(beergut, Fri 1 Apr 2011, 21:12, 7 replies)

I'm with you on this one
Hanging's too good for them I say.
(Nitrous Nitrous, Fri 1 Apr 2011, 21:28, closed)

I got an STD in London.
I required a lot of antibiotics to get rid of it.
( flake has nothing against your right leg, Fri 1 Apr 2011, 21:50, closed)

Clear,
but wrong, to everyone who remembers what is was before 020.

I would go on, but I've forgotten.

You're still wrong, though.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Fri 1 Apr 2011, 22:32, closed)

Not wrong
Alas the history of the London phone number is something I know too much about.

First 01 was the dialling code for London.
Numbers were 01 XXX YYYY

In 1990 it was decided that London was too big and the split happened so Inner London became 071 and Outer London 081.
071 XXX YYYY and 081 XXX YYYY

In April 1995 ("PhONEday") these numbers became 0171 and 0181 respectively.
0171 XXX YYYY and 0181 XXX YYYY

In June 1999 (so almost 12 years ago now) London had a single dialling code, and the 7 or 8 was moved across to the second group of numbers, allowing additional numbers in the future
020 7XXX YYYY and 020 8XXX YYYY

Since late April 2000 (almost 11 years ago) the unification was complete and anyone with a London number can ring any other London number (whether it starts with a 7, 8 or even a 3 (or any other numbers that might get added)) without dialling the 020 prefix. It is also worth bearing in mind that this re-unification also now means that there is no geographic importance to the first digit of the local number any more.
(phyphor, Fri 1 Apr 2011, 23:53, closed)

I know.
The difference is, I really don't give a fuck. And I find it all the more amusing when Londoners burst a blood vessel over it.
( jim_bob can herd cats., Sat 2 Apr 2011, 0:14, closed)

In Leeds we still get places claiming the STD is 01132. It wasn't when it changed from 0532 (in 1994, for crying out loud) and it still isn't now. This isn't just nitpicking. My old phone number used to begin 0113 230 44xx which was fine until a new mental hospital opened up and one of the ward numbers began 0113 304 4xxx. It got to the point where I set up a voicemail message with the right number and letting the call fall through if I didn't recognise who was calling. After ticking off people for a while I found BT's nuisance calls bureau were very helpful and they gave me a new umber very quickly. It also stopped the calls I was getting in Arabic for the person who had the flat before me. Double result.
(mhoulden, Sat 2 Apr 2011, 1:46, closed)

Same thing happened to me in Leicester, oddly enough
The number written on our (BT) house phone was spaced 01162 XXXXXX when it should have been 0116 2XX XXXX - apparently due to the fact that the old number had been XXXXXX and the 2 was added when the area code changed. Lots of people thought the area code was now 01162.
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Sat 2 Apr 2011, 11:16, closed)