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Liz LynneLiberal Democrat MEP for the West Midlands 1999-2012 |
EURO-MP'S CRUSADE AGAINST PREMIUM PHONE RIP-OFF
August 8, 2007 12:00 AM
West Midlands MEP Liz Lynne has again spoken out against commercial phone numbers such as 0845 and 0870 which are lucrative for businesses but costing their customers a packet.
Having taken up the issue on behalf of constituents in the past, and fallen foul of the numbers herself, Liz has had enough and is launching a campaign against their ongoing high prices and lack of transparency regarding pricing.
Liz said: "The biggest insult for customers is that so many of these numbers are helplines for products they have already paid for, such as BT Broadband Internet, that customers haven't managed to get working properly."
"These numbers ought to be free of charge, yet many businesses continue to prey on the fact that most people think these numbers all cost the same as a regular call or are free."
"Now that excessive mobile roaming charges have been addressed, we must tackle premium commercial numbers. A BT peak-time national call typically costs 3p per minute but 0845 numbers can cost up to 5p and 0870 up to 10p. Businesses often take a cut of this extra cost and are reluctant to give customers non-premium alternatives."
"Ofcom has standardised the prices customers pay, but despite their recommendations, many commercial numbers give customers no warning of the high charges before calls are connected."
"I am campaigning for these costs to be forced down and for free customer warnings about the charges before connection. This would give greater transparency and better value for money for the consumer."
"I shall be writing to BT and Ofcom to complain and will also continue to raise this issue in the European Parliament when possible. However where customers are misled, it is the job of the national regulator to enforce the rules, which at the moment is not happening."
Ends
Editor's Notes:
1) The original idea behind 0845/0870 numbers was to allow companies to save their callers money by sharing the cost of the call. With competition driving down basic telephone rates, the numbers now regularly cost more and are used as a way of making money for the business called.
2) Many companies on the internet still list 0845 numbers as Lo-Call, the name launched with 0845 to indicate it was the same price as a local number.
3) Liz Lynne submitted a question on the 11th of May 2006 to the European Commission about the fact that 0845/0870 numbers have been advertised as low or standard rate numbers, and was informed that telling customers that a premium-rate number cost the same as a local call would constitute a breach of the Misleading Advertising Directive.
Ofcom have so far refused to accept that these are premium rate numbers, despite the European Commission's recognition that they are, and so have not obliged businesses to inform customers of the cost before the call.
4) An independent website, www.saynoto0870.com, lists alternative, non-premium rate, telephone numbers for consumers.
5) There is also a petition to stop 0844 numbers being used by doctors' surgeries and other medical services at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/NGN-use-by-GPs/. These are also revenue generating numbers, are much more difficult to remember than a 5 or 6 digit local number and often cannot be accessed from abroad. These therefore penalise vulnerable members of society who need these numbers the most.
ENDS
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