0871 Consultation - Important News

derrick

Kaliko_Pete wrote: »

Please dont forget that there are genuine 0870 numbers out there too.
My company fax line and telephone numbers are 0870's so that I get all my faxes as emails and collect them wherever in the world I am and similarly my answering service can forward my calls to me. My customers always get their faxes replied to and because I return their telephone calls we all save money particularly when I am abroad. We are not all bandits!!

Whats wrong with using 0845? they are half the cost to the caller and have the same facilities
You could use an 0844, I believe they go down to as little as 1ppm!

What are you going to do when revenue sharing ends on 0870? migrate to 0871?

Admit it you are in it for the revenue share

Paul_Varjak

Kaliko_Pete wrote: »

Please dont forget that there are genuine 0870 numbers out there too.
My company fax line and telephone numbers are 0870's so that I get all my faxes as emails and collect them wherever in the world I am and similarly my answering service can forward my calls to me. My customers always get their faxes replied to and because I return their telephone calls we all save money particularly when I am abroad. We are not all bandits!!

But why should your customers pay directly for a service that you want? Move to 0800 and you can get the same services and your customers don't pay for it!

bbb_uk

bunking_off wrote: »

It's also inaccurate to say that there's no limitation on the amount of time that you can be kept on hold. What they haven't done is lay down an absolute quantitative limit. Their proposed approach is that if you feel that you've been kept waiting for too long your first recourse should be to complain to your telephony provider who is obliged to consider your complaint within 30 days. If you are still unhappy, then ICSTIS can investigate (as per 09 numbers) and if profiteering has been going on - versus just a company running an understaffed callcentre - take action.

ICSTIS have taken the easy route out. ICSTIS, like Ofcom, are putting companies first before the detriment of consumers.

ICSTIS could have given a time limit and then said that it was subject to change but instead, from how I read it, ICSTIS have basically said that there will be no consumer protection like there is for 09x except price transparency will be improved and if we receive loads and loads of complaints then we may have to put consumers first instead of the revenue that companies can earn.

You can tell ICSTIS is more on the company side than us consumers because they mentioned that companies may only be using it for the advanced network features like call routing, etc. What they haven't mentioned is that if a company needs advanced network features, etc then why not use a lower priced NGN like 0845, although not ideal is better than 0871.

Therefore, it can easily be said that any company using an 0871 is concerned about the revenue moreso than advanced network features.

I've said this before that many consumers aren't aware that revenue is being earned from 08x unlike 09x where many consumers are aware that it's a premium rate call.

ICSTIS kindof contradicts itself as they said that 0871 is worth a lot (can't remember exact figure) but they can't estimate how much more it could be worth once companies migrate over but then they say that little consumer detriment is likely to happen and that scams aren't really likely to happen simply because it's 10p/min (from a BT landline)!

Any company using an 09x now charged at 15p/min or say 25p/min where they most likely can't charge until call is actually answered, is likely to earn more revenue by moving from 09x to an 0871x simply because in most cases the longest time on the phone is stuck in a queue so therefore 0871 can be seen as being more profitable for them.

How hard is for companies to have just a ringing tone when consumers ring them like what happens now for 09x numbers. Instead they put automated or other voice things in so that the phone is answered and you are then being charged whilst kept in a queue

credit-card-tart

I have my own 0871 number, and give this number as opposed to my normal 01 number to compaines I deal with (friends and family use the normal 01 number). So every time these companies want to call me, it's costing them money.

BritBrat

ICSTIS have basically said that there will be no consumer protection like there is for 09x except price transparency will be improved and if we receive loads and loads of complaints then we may have to put consumers first instead of the revenue that companies can earn.

Well thats easy, every time you have to phone an 0871 complain.

Time to make a new macro.

diamonds

i'll be doing it in 10 mins ! bloody ofcom !

bbb_uk

This consultation is by ICSTIS, not Ofcom although Ofcom are just as useless when it comes to consumer protection!

conti_2

Firms like sky.com who have 0870 numbers, I send them an e mail message saying "they have lost a customer for using a scam 0870 no." If other people do the same the message may get through.

MSE_Martin wrote: »

Many of you will be familiar with the problems surrounding 0870 numbers which are called National Rate, but are in effect disguised premium lines much more expensive than normal calls.

Beat the 0870 trap

There are two ways to beat the system, first find an alternative non-0870 number and secondly if you have to call via 0870, do it more cheaply. Full details of how to do both (as well as details of the changes) are in the saynoto0870 article.

Worrying 0871 developments

Ofcom has announced it will clean up the 0870 system, yet 0871 numbers (which are similar) won't be dealt with and it's likely that many companies will simply migrate to 0871s.

One of the biggest concerns is over call queuing. With premium rate numbers the amount of time you can be kept on hold is regulated (as they make money the longer you're on hold), while the proposal is that with 0871s the queue time won't be regulated. This means companies could make profit by keeping us on hold, even if we're just calling to make a complaint.

Frankly this is a nightmare. The Ofcom consultation on it ends very soon. The 0870 campaigning website (which this site supports) has a document on how to send your feeling to Ofcom and suggested answers to explain it. I'd urge people who believe it won't be correctly regulated to write speedily.

Details of how to enter the 0871 consultation

Martin

Picnic_2

Both universities that I have studied at (York and Essex) have your university accommodation room phone set up as an 0870 number. I wonder how many other universities have this setup in place (the majority, I bet!)

And at Essex, if you try and phone via the "Essex area code" university switchboard, you are unable to connect to university bedrooms (although you can connect to office staff and lecturers) and the university have disabled the geographic landline phone numbers corresponding to the rooms - if you try and dial the Essex area code, followed by 87 (to connect to the university network) followed by your internal room extension, you get a "This number has been disabled" message. (But again, this method works for contacting lecturers and admin offices, it's just the study bedrooms that it doesn't work for).

As if studying at university isn't expensive enough, parents if they want to talk to you have to pay extra in phone call costs, (or ring your mobile which is just as expensive)

My friend from America gave her room number to her parents without realising it was a premium rate number and they ended up paying a fortune.

shoi

My suggested 80% solution to all phone rip-offs

Once you dial the call, your service provider, the one you pay your phone bill to, must have a robot message saying 10pence per minute, or 2p, or 50p, whatever. Even before the ring tone.

That introduces transparency to not just 08nn 09nn ripoffs, but also high overseas call charges, high charges to call other networks and all the rest of the scams

It's entirely possible, I know one company does it (18866 a low cost overseas calls company)

Steve

PS Ofcom - I complained once, jumped through all the hoops, finally got a brushoff from them, but actually the day they replied BT changed the information page I was complaining about. They actually collude!