Davey wrote
Rod Speed wrote

Nope, it's only the american system that does that

[charges the receiver for incoming calls or texts]

and that is because they don't have a unique series of
numbers for mobile phones and mostly do have free
local calls, so they have the terminally stupid system
where the receiver of the call or text pays for receiving
them all, even if they don't want it or its spam etc.

However, the advantage of the American system is that, to a caller,
a mobile is the same as any other 'phone, so when somebody gives
out his mobile number as a contact point, the caller is not charged
extra for connection to a mobile, as is the case here.

Sure, but the modern reality is that most get their calls to mobiles
included in their mobile phone plan, so there is no marginal cost
to call you at all, whether you are called on your mobile or landline.

Here, I contact somebody with a view to having him do
work for me, he gives me a mobile number, and it costs
me extra to call him just because he is using a mobile.

But not if you have a mobile plan that includes
a number of calls or a dollar value of calls.

And yes, I know this can be mitigated by selected
Calling Plans or calling from another mobile,

In fact you can get the call to that person for free that way.

but that is not always so simple,

Yes, I choose not to have one of those plans myself.

But even when I don't, I normally get short calls for a lower cost
than I would have paid if he had a landline number instead.

it is the basic principle that annoys.

There is no basic principle, just a variety of ways of doing things.

I'd be much more annoyed at having been charged
every time some damned arsehole calls me claiming
to be Microsoft or trying to flog me solar panels.

If anything, as it is his choice to use a mobile,
it should be him that pays the extra cost.

And he can do that if he has a full time
divert of his landline to his mobile.