You should split the number using the format 07817 11 11 11, as that for me flows easier to read ( British mobile phone user :) ) But of course just my opinion ;)

Karl

07816 111 111
or
+44 7816 111 111
but not
+44 (0)7816 111 111

All the details you could ever need:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_telephone_numbering_plan

although i find it easier to remember in the 077 1111 1111 format

Thanks for all the replies!

I guess I go with
++44 7816 111 111

I believe much of it is down to personal opinion, as I have not found any hard rules for it...

You're right, there are rarely hard rules when it comes to making information easy to read, but there are basic rules about which part of a phone number is 'area code' and which part is 'subscriber number'.
A London number has a three-digit area code and an eight-digit subscriber number.
Most towns have a four or five-digit area code and a six or seven-digit subscriber number.
Some small towns have a six-digit area code and only a four-digit subscriber number.

Nothing like keeping it simple ...

As long as you keep your UK mobile phone 'area code' together (07816 or 7816 for international), it wouldn't really matter how you arrange the subscriber number;
xx xx xx would suit some numbers more than the more usual xxx xxx.

it may have been a typo in your post but you only need one '+' to denote an international number

Oh, yes, thanks, only one ‘+’.

Thanks for all the additional info, too!

but not
+44 (0)7816 111 111

why not? i think that's the normal way of showing a UK number in an international context?

I’m with Elliot on this.

Tim

From the Ofcom Telephone Numbering Plan (via that Wikipedia link above):
"It is very common to see the + notation being misused — +44 (0)xxx xxx xxxx is not an uncommon occurrence even in official documents. For international callers the number between the brackets is dropped. For callers within the United Kingdom the +44 is dropped and the number between the brackets used. Calling +44 0xxx xxx xxxx will not work from most operators, and the +44 (0)xxx notation is incorrect and should not be used. The correct usage of the + notation in this example of the three-digit geographic code is +44 xxx xxx xxxx."

As more people start to use mobile phones as their primary telephone, it makes sense to use the correct international number – no (0) – so that you can dial it from anywhere in the world without having to add or remove digits. If you dial +447816111111 on a mobile phone it will work in the UK as well as globally.

I noticed that some pages on the Ofcom site – including the contact page of the Welsh language version – use the numbering scheme: (+44) (0)20 7981 3033 so it's clear that these are only guidelines and even the regulators can't stick to them.

I don't think it really matters if you prefer to use the (0) but I was glad to read that it is unnecessary as I always found it cluttered and a little ugly.

More information here:
http://paulm.com/how_to/write_a_phone_number.html

My initial comment
but not
+44 (0)7816 111 111

was really in response to maxack's request for the 'correct' way. I was working on the assumption that it's good to know the rules so that you can break them well ...

(sorry for the rambling essay, I need a cup of tea)

I’m sure you’re correct, it is difficult to persuade clients that that is the case, the response is normally along the lines of ‘well, so and so use +44 (0)…’ maybe pointing them to your links will change their minds, although we are used to using numbers beginning 0.., that they might have a point.

Tim

Tim,

I understand your dilemma. I would (almost) always defer to the client in these circumstances. When they hear but disregard my opinion there's nothing left to do.

If you are keen to drop the (0), I guess the best thing to do is find a broad range of high-end firms who don't use it and use them as examples. That may not be an easy task but here are two probably-evil, large companies who drop the (0):
The World Bank UK Offices
Barclays Bank
and a couple of not-evil but still large organistaions:
Friends Of The Earth
WWF (linked page contains an embedded autoplay video of parrots and rainforest destruction ... just in case that sort of thing is NSFW where you are)

It would be a lot easier if the powers that be just dropped the leading zero or (a cheaper option) if international numbers retained the zero. I'm not sure why it has to be removed anyway ...

Mr Accident, your citations are dubious. The World Bank leave the (0) in their Paris office number, Barclays numbers on that page are only for international use, and the FOE shows both 020 and +44 20 forms of their main number.

I suspect for the moment at least, the man in the street is likely to be confused by a UK number in the +44 (0)x format and even more by +44 x. Not everyone makes international calls.

How are my citations "dubious" ... the links I gave were specifically to illustrate international standards for UK numbers. So, for all the reasons you point out, those links were good examples of that. The fact that some sites used different standards for national calls is probably to avoid the confusion you mention in you post* and the phone numbers for other countries may follow the numbering conventions specific to each country.

Those were not links in an attempt to prove that "I'm right", just links for Tim if he felt like he needed examples to back up his designs for a specific client.

I have no agenda here. I am happy to concede that the most common way to format international numbers in the UK is +44 (0)... but I was only pointing out that while the (0) is a convention, it is not necessarily correct.

*I chose the FOE link precisley because it used both +44 20 and 020 numbering. The aim of contact details are usually to make the information clear and easy to understand; sometimes dual numbers for local and international customers is easier to understand than one hybrid number that is correct for neither.

Crumbs! I feel like I am on the defensive about telephone number formats ... I am (thankfully?) not an expert, I was only trying to help.

I'll get my coat.

Sorry, I admit that was rather abrasive.

It's too late ... I am deeply wounded.

You should both be forced to wear vests, shorts, wigs, moustaches and sideburns.

Tim

You should both be forced to wear vests, shorts, wigs, moustaches and sideburns

I think dressing up as my Dad may cause even more trauma ...

(but your image of 118 118 harmony is still an option)

One alternate way to write this would be +44 (7816) 111111. While not so useful for mobile numbers, it becomes useful when using geographical (+441XXX_, +442X_) numbers in some applications like Microsoft Outlook. I specify the national access code as '0' and the international code as '00' (so area codes should be, for example, '121' and not '0121'). This method makes it crystal clear the international, national and local parts of the number.