Will all providers comply with Ofcom's new rules from 1 July 2015?

derrick

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian011
Ofcom does not permit variable charges for 03 numbers. Their rules require that 03 numbers are charged the same as calling 01 and 02 numbers and count towards inclusive allowances on landlines and on mobiles in the same way.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian011
....The regulated rates are currently:
- up to 0.21p per minute for calls to 01 and 02 geographic numbers (not including calls to Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man)
- up to 0.56p per minute for calls to 03 non-geographic numbers
.........

You cannot state the above then say there is no contradiction when there is a 0.35p difference between 01/02 & 03.

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Ian011

Origination costs include both transit costs and termination fees. After transit costs of 0.1p to 0.4p per minute are taken into account, the cost of originating a call to an 01, 02 or 03 number is nearly identical.

By 'nearly identical' we are taking about 0.1p per minute differences. The quoted termination rates are the maximum allowed amounts. There will be differences in termination rates on calls terminating with different providers. Not all of them charge the maximum. Transit costs will also vary depending on exactly how far the call is routed and which transit carrier is used. Carriers have different prices as they compete for business and different prices on different routes.


All of this detail is hidden from the caller. You simply sign up for BT Anytime at £7.99 per month plus line rental, BT Home Phone Saver at £20.99 per month including line rental and anytime calls, some other deal with Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin or whoever, or a deal with a mobile provider. That provider sets their retail prices such that the overall cost they incur in handling the calls is less than whatever you paid for the deal.

Ofcom allows the possibility for providers to charge less for 03 calls than for 01 and 02 calls. There is one landline provider that still charges 01 and 02 calls as 'local' and 'national' and charges 03 calls the same as a 'local' 01 or 02 call.

Ian011

Two months after phone providers were required to implement Ofcom's new call charge system for 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers, Sainsbury's Mobile is still advertising non-compliant prices for many of those prefixes.
https://www.phoneshopbysainsburys.co.uk/pay-monthly-out-of-allowance-charges

Ian011

It seems that the non-compliance with the new regulations has not gone un-noticed.

See: tiny_url.com/OfcomLetter

Ian011

It's now six months since the deadline passed for compliance with Ofcom's 'Clear Call Rates for Everyone' regulations (found in Ofcom's General Condition 17) and a number of telecoms providers appear to still not be complying with the new rules.

It's now very clear that some telecoms providers haven't got a clue what they are doing.

zagfles

Ian011 wrote: »

It's now six months since the deadline passed for compliance with Ofcom's 'Clear Call Rates for Everyone' regulations (found in Ofcom's General Condition 17) and a number of telecoms providers appear to still not be complying with the new rules.

It's now very clear that some telecoms providers haven't got a clue what they are doing.

So how much have Ofcom fined them? Or are they not bothering to enforce the new rules?

derrick

zagfles wrote: »

So how much have Ofcom fined them? Or are they not bothering to enforce the new rules?

OfcoN & any other telco regulator = toothless tigers.

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Ian011

Unfortunately, a website showing non-compliant prices isn't complete proof that callers are being charged incorrectly for the calls that they make. It could be simply that the website hasn't been updated.

As the customers of those networks have made zero complaints to Ofcom about being incorrectly charged, Ofcom has nothing to work on.