Post Office phones 'fair use policy' blocks my phone.

MoneyPenny_2

My PO telephone hasn't been working since before Christmas for many of the numbers I call. Dialing just produced a dead line and it took a long time to realize that the PO were blocking calls - in the New Year I started to intermittently receive a message suggesting this.

I have since rung them, but their service is bad. Firstly no one knew why the bar was happening, it was suggested I hadn't paid the bill. Then it was because I had been calling too many numbers, but they couldn't tell me when I had over used the phone - I hardly made a call in December.

They can't tell me the procedure whereby a paying customer has their use of the phone stopped, ie. how does the bar kick in with respect to the alleged over use period and when is it removed.

They say it only applies to 0845 / 0870 numbers, for which I pay for a calling package for free use at certain times. But these numbers aren't working at any time and neither are others, like 0800 numbers. These exclusions are greatly limiting my use of the phone, for which I pay them, and this action is causing me considerable problems.

The PO's execution of their process is a mess. For this reason I'm asking them to restore my service immediately, but nobody does anything. They know very little and I don't get to speak to anybody who does.

Can anyone advise me about where to take this?

[Deleted User]

MoneyPenny wrote: »

They say it only applies to 0845 / 0870 numbers, for which I pay for a calling package for free use at certain times. But these numbers aren't working at any time and neither are others, like 0800 numbers. These exclusions are greatly limiting my use of the phone, for which I pay them, and this action is causing me considerable problems.

It sounds like numbers you have used in the past have been discontinued. This is nothing to do with your service provider .

The vast majority of legitimate organisations have changed their 084 and 087 lines over to the matching 034 or 037 number. Others have chosen a new 01, 02, 030, 033 or 080 number.

Wherever you see an 084 or 087 number advertised, always try calling the matching 034 or 037 number first.

Read more about this here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5219756

MoneyPenny_2

No it's all 0845, all 0800, etc. nos. A friend can connect to the nos. whereas I can't - she checked that they still worked.

I do use other nos. where possible, but there aren't always alternatives (I know saynoto0870.com) and these numbers may not work either. What justification can there be for barring 0800 nos?

They tell me that a bar has been put on my phone because of fair use policy, but they're all to hopeless to tell me any more, and how to get it removed. I've tried to book a call back from someone in authority, but It's just the same low level customer service staff that phoned. It's all the time it's taking to get the service back that is the problem. I'm not sure who to complaint to now. Any ideas would be appreciated.

iniltous

MoneyPenny wrote: »

No it's all 0845, all 0800, etc. nos. A friend can connect to the nos. whereas I can't - she checked that they still worked.

I do use other nos. where possible, but there aren't always alternatives (I know saynoto0870.com) and these numbers may not work either. What justification can there be for barring 0800 nos?

They tell me that a bar has been put on my phone because of fair use policy, but they're all to hopeless to tell me any more, and how to get it removed. I've tried to book a call back from someone in authority, but It's just the same low level customer service staff that phoned. It's all the time it's taking to get the service back that is the problem. I'm not sure who to complaint to now. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Any Ideas ??, I would consider changing provider (unless you are within a minimum term and the early termination charge would be too painful), the PO cannot stop you changing provider even if they think your account with them is in default, they would need to sort that out after you moved, not use it as a reason to stop you moving

teddysmum

Can Ofcom help ?

Ian011

When you call 084 numbers, your phone provider has to pay out up to £4.20 per hour to the organisations that you called. For 087 numbers, this can be up to £7.80 per hour. It doesn't take many calls before they are paying out more than you are paying them for the call package.

BT is the only provider where it makes any sort of economic sense to do this. BT is the largest supplier of 0845 and 0870 numbers to businesses. BT is the recipient of Service Charge revenue when anyone calls those numbers from another landline provider or from a mobile. This constitutes more than 80% of calls to these numbers. BT can afford to waive retail call charges for the calls made to these numbers by BT customers - and then insinuate that other providers are 'expensive' because they charge for these calls. This forces other providers to offer deals which are uneconomic but which nevertheless continue to make money for BT.

BT is a minority provider of 0843, 0844, 0871 and 0872 numbers and has not got the wherewithal to offer inclusive calls to these numbers.

BT further boosts the sale of 0845 and 0870 numbers to businesses by saying calls to these numbers are 'free from BT landlines'. The separation of call charges into Access and Service has revealed the reality of what is going on.

This has also aided the introduction of regulations which ban the use of 084, 087 and 09 numbers for customer services, financial services and public services. Unless you call chatlines or vote on TV shows, there should be almost no need to call these numbers.

Virgin Mobile has recently withdrawn deals with inclusive calls to 084 and 087 numbers. I would guess that many other providers will follow.

MoneyPenny_2

This is a helpful insight into what lies behind this. I can now see why the Post Office doesn't want a customer to use this service even though they charge extra for it.

It's not just chat lines though, there are many legitimate organizations that still use 0854 numbers and more that use 0800 numbers. Not,that I'm suggesting the companies running chat lines are not legitimate. When I asked PO phones why my access to 0800 had been blocked I was told that these along side the others were premium rate numbers. Even I know that none of these are premium rate numbers, and 0800 has been free to dial from land lines for years.

For the record, the phone company have never seriously suggested that I am in payment arrears. They claim so many numbers have been blocked because I've been calling them too much. I dispute this, but they offer no dispute process, so the block will come off when it comes off! They don't tell me the process by which it works because they don't seem to know, so nothing is predictable.

Changing telephone providers and complaining to Ofcom are all useful suggestions, but they take time and I want to use the phone now. I was initially using an 0800 number, I had listed, to call PO phones when I first wanted to enquirer about the problems. I couldn't understand why the line kept going dead.

I never had much cause to ring their customer services in the past so assumed they were pretty good, as they were when I joined. But their handling of this demonstrates very poor service.

Ian011

080 numbers are free-to-caller on landlines and on mobiles. It is very odd that calls to those numbers have been blocked. Whenever you call an 080 number, the called party pays the caller's phone provider for the call.

All 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers are premium rate. The premium is the additional Service Charge paid to the benefit of the called party and their telecoms provider, but only some of those numbers are subject to additional regulation.

The Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA), formerly PhonepayPlus, regulates Controlled Premium Rate Services (CPRS). These include:
- 087, 09 and 118 numbers where the Service Charge element of the call cost is more than 7p per call or per minute,
- all chatlines, adult-entertainment and internet dialler-operated services irrespective of call or message cost or prefix used,
- numbers where the benefit passed on is more than 10p per call, per minute or per message, e.g. most 070 numbers, some 076 numbers and most five-digit mobile shortcodes.

Premium rate numbers that escape the additional regulation include:
- 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers where the Service Charge element of the call cost is 7p per call or per minute, or less,
- 070 numbers, 076 numbers and mobile shortcodes where the benefit passed on is 10p per call, per minute or per message, or less.

Usage of premium rate numbers (whether regulated by PSA or not) should be solely for chargeable services where the service is paid for as the call is being made. Most of the inappropriate usage (customer services, financial services, public services) of these numbers has now ended, but there is still more to be done.

Other numbers (01, 02, 03, 071-075, 077-079) are not premium rate.
01, 02 and 03 numbers are inclusive in allowances else 'geographic rate'.
071-075 and 077-079 numbers are inclusive in allowances else 'mobile rate'.
There are some exceptions, such as calls to landline and mobile numbers allocated in CI and IoM are non-inclusive and expensive, but this is likely to change within the next couple of years.

MoneyPenny_2

Thanks for providing this.