A taxi driver going about his day-to-day business has been receiving unusual Lotto inquiries to his 0800 number.

Thomas Morgan owns a ‘double hundred’ phone number that also happened to be an 0800 number Lotto New Zealand had listed on its website.

“I can get two or three phone calls a week. Callers think I am the Nelson Building Society, the Southern Cross health people, or another bank. And now it seems I can be Lotto,” Morgan said.

“I’m quite happy to let Lotto have it, but they would need to win Lotto to pay for it.”

Morgan said he had owned the number for 25 years.

“Way back in the day they were handing out 0800 numbers like confetti, so originally, I got the number for fun.”

Toll-free numbers, also known as freephone numbers, allow customers to call someone at no cost to them, with the receiving business covering the charges.

Toll-free numbers begin with 0508 or 0800 in New Zealand, with the most used prefix 0800 first used in November 1985.

Screen shot of Lotto New Zealand website. Thomas Morgan owns the 0800 'double hundred' number which NZ Lotto had listed on their website for reaching their communications team.

In New Zealand, businesses were quick to take up the opportunity to also brand their business using 0800 numbers, making it easier for customers to reach them.

Examples are 0800 SUNLIVE (0800 786 548), 0800 HERALD (0800 437-253), 0800 THE HITS (0800 843 448), 0800 DIALZM (0800 342596), 0800 004 COAST (0800 004 262), 0800 Hauraki (0800 428 7254), 0800 800 GOLD (0800 800 465), 0800 4 FLAVA (0800 4 35282), Western Bay of Plenty District Council 0800 WBOPDC (0800 926 7321) and the National Poisons Centre 0800 POISON (0800 764 766).

Morgan said the 0800 X00 X00 “double-hundred combinations” were quickly snapped up when launched in the 80s. Examples are 0800 100 200 (AMI Insurance), 0800 300 400 (Genesis Energy) and 0800 100 300 (NZ Mortgages).

“There are only 80 versions of this combination of numbers with the double-hundred combination,” Morgan said.

Morgan, who is looking forward to spending his retirement years at Pāpāmoa, grew up in Rotorua while holidaying at Pāpāmoa beach each summer.

He had originally planned to use his 0800 number for a business idea.

“I’ve had it valued by an IT lawyer about 10 years ago for $80,000 and I reckon it’s now worth $100,000 for a retail business that’s advertising on television or radio.”

Fortunately, Morgan’s 0800 number isn’t the main Lotto Customer Support contact number, but the number listed on their media releases page for contacting their communications team.

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention — it’s now been corrected, so hopefully Thomas gets fewer unwanted phone calls in his day,” a Lotto New Zealand spokesperson said, after being notified of the 0800 number mix-up by SunLive.

“We’re glad to hear that Thomas took it all in good spirits,”

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused Thomas or anyone trying to reach us.”