Directory Enquiries and Call Connection Services explained. Don't get caught out.
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Competition supposedly causes prices to fall as businesses compete for business. The reality is that companies charge as much as they think they can get away with and when one increases their prices, all of the other simply follow suit. This is seen in gas, electricity, telecoms and many other services.0
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Competition supposedly causes prices to fall as businesses compete for business. The reality is that companies charge as much as they think they can get away with and when one increases their prices, all of the other simply follow suit. This is seen in gas, electricity, telecoms and many other services.
Well, previously your call charge to 192 had to pay for the operator you spoke to and keeping the data up to date.
Now, there are 123098230 providers, each running their own call centre for this, so duplicating costs, and massive advertising campaigns. Don't forget that BT didn't even really run 192 as a profit driver, whereas now companies obviously want maximum profit from it.
Ofcom are idiots.0 -
The cheapest DQ providers remain unknown as they have no advertising budget. The most well-known DQ providers are among the most expensive with a large chunk of their revenue being ploughed back into advertising their service.
There are hundreds of DQ providers using numbers starting 118. The range of services and their costs can be explored at
- http://checkit.uboss.com/
- https://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/dialdirq.htm0 -
ASA has censured several of these 'call connection service' websites for false advertising. These include:
2012
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/prs-directory-services-ltd-a11-172929.html
2013
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/meridian-consumer-research-pvt-ltd-a13-240034.html
2014
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/search-me-ltd-a14-261870.html
2015
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/uk-phonecom-a14-283264.html
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/ctn-solutions-ltd-a14-283265.html
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/everycontactnumbercom-a14-288944.html
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/number-directory-ltd-a15-299859.html
2016
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/interact-ukorguk-a16-337725.html
2017
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/de-veritate-sums-ltd-a16-350904.html
Nine complaints in five years. Let that sink in. Thousands of people scammed every day, but just nine complaints in five years.0 -
Further ASA work has branded several sites "non-compliant".
2017
https://www.asa.org.uk/non-compliant/george-smith.html
ASA has also referred the "Sky Number" call connection service to Trading Standards.
https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/trading-standards-referrals.html0 -
PSA issues £850 000 penalty to one call connection service operator ...
- http://psauthority.org.uk/for-business/adjudications/2017/7/de-veritate-sumus-ltd-10524-track-2-5c152a53-845a-e711-935c-00155d0519d7
- http://psauthority.org.uk/-/media/Files/PSA/For-Businesses/Our-role-in-the-industry/Tribunal-adjudications/2017/Tribunal-minutes-De-Veritate-Sumus-105243.ashx
Several hundred others continue to operate.
It is becoming clear that far less than one in one thousand victims reports these scams.0 -
I find it incredible in this day and age that people have a need to call Directory Enquiries.
I haven't called it since before BT introduced its 10p charge, and the fact that even Yellow Pages is now to cease publication shows that people don't need to consult a central base for phone information.
Who exactly are these people who can afford to spend £10 to find a telephone number, whether they be scams or not?
On another issue, I find it outrageous that BT and other phone companies do not include these calls in their Premium Rate barring schemes.
Yes, Ofcom is worse than useless, and the fact that its former head is now heading the Labour Party's Brexit Team speaks volumes."There are not enough superlatives in the English language to describe a 'Princess Coronation' locomotive in full cry. We shall never see their like again". O S Nock0 -
There are many people who are unable to use the internet and a variety of situations where the only option is to call a DQ provider. There are a large number of providers, the cheapest of which have no budget to advertise their service. The range of services and their costs can be explored at
- http://checkit.uboss.com/
- https://www.telecom-tariffs.co.uk/dialdirq.htm
Call connection services are a whole other mess. These are websites offering a selection of premium rate numbers that "connect you" to a named organisation, one number for each such organisation. This is little more than a scam, one where the victim usually has no idea they have been scammed by a third party. Loopholes in regulation and lack of enforcement is letting many of these get away with it.0 -
Both ActionFraud and RSPCA issued a bulletin about fake premium rate 084 phone numbers for contacting the RSPCA:
- https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/fake-rspca-websites-advertising-premium-rate-numbers-nov17
- https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/latest/details/-/articleName/2017_11_07_PhoneScam
PSA issued a further adjudication against DK Call for non-payment of the £645 000 penalty:
- https://psauthority.org.uk/for-business/adjudications/2017/11/dk-call-ltd-13507-track-2-26456bcf-4ec5-e711-80db-00155d051355
- https://psauthority.org.uk/-/media/Files/PSA/For-Businesses/Our-role-in-the-industry/Tribunal-adjudications/2017/DK-Call-135071.ashx
Yorkshire Water issued two bulletins about fake premium rate numbers for contacting them:
- https://recreation.yorkshirewater.com/about-us/newsroom-media/call-connection-customer-warning
- https://www.yorkshirewater.com/about-us/newsroom-media/call-yorkshire-water-contact-connection-warning
The scams continue.0 -
Further ASA work has branded several sites "non-compliant".
2018
https://www.asa.org.uk/non-compliant/gfy-marketing-ltd.html
https://www.asa.org.uk/non-compliant/quick-phone-number.html
https://www.asa.org.uk/non-compliant/number-direct.html0
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