The Fair Telecoms Campaign (fairtelecoms) is here! - www.fairtelecoms.org.uk

fairtelecoms aims to address many of the concerns expressed in this forum, focusing the campaigning energies of contributors.

The name and the organisation will aid public attention and focus for campaigning activities on a range of topics. The misuse of 084 numbers sits at the top of that list.

The campaign is lead by David Hickson and Dave Lindsay, two long-time campaigners who will combine their respective tallents and energies.

Please register your support on the site. Please also share your thoughts on issues and possible activities.


Today, fairtelecoms will be heard on BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme, just after midday. The topic will be HMRC and the simple measure it could take to stop callers paying premium charges to provide it with a subsidy of around 18 pence per call.


See also the media release (PDF) about the launch of the campaign.

That's great news!

Have you also sent a copy of the press release to the Rip Off Britain BBC TV programme? Seems like this would be right up their street!

catj wrote on May 12^th, 2012 at 2:52pm:

Have you also sent a copy of the press release to the Rip Off Britain BBC TV programme? Seems like this would be right up their street!

That's a good idea, thanks.  :)

---

David Hickson of fairtelecoms was interviewed on Money Box earlier on and the programme is now available to listen to on BBC iPlayer.

We have added some pages to the fairtelecoms website:

• There is a news feed giving links to news stories on topics that the campaign is interested in, as well as news releases from the campaign itself.
   
  
• We have published a document that compares the cost of calling geographic (01/02/03) and 084 numbers. This includes copies of providers' pricing literature with notes to explain how to interpret them and addresses for viewing them online. It affirms the point that calls to 084 numbers ARE more expensive than calls to geographic rate (01/02/03) numbers.
   
  
• NHS 084 numbers - Evidence of call charges does what it says on the tin. Its centrepiece is the document referred to in the bullet above. It concludes with a long list of telephone packages on which calls to 084 numbers do cost more.

I passed the site on to my sister who hoepfully will register her GPs 084 number there.

Following a major item in Series 1 and a plug for SayNoTo0870 in Series 3, I understand that BBC Rip-Off Britain is still keen to cover this issue in Series 4 (which is currently being prepared for broadcast in the late Autumn).

Rather than a full item however, the plan is to cover the issue in the context of the "Pop up" shop being held in Gateshead on Sat / Sun, 16 / 17 June.

Although there is a genuine "walk-in" element to this, the producers are very keen to hear from people who are able to attend the event and are ready to be filmed talking about how they have been ripped-off, with "an expert".

Anyone keen to contribute should contact the BBC via the contact us form on the Rip Off Britain web page, as soon as possible.

(Timing is important as some of the show content is prepared in advance.)

I have together a newsletter outlining what the campaign has been up to and what is expected to happen in 2013. It is quoted below, and is also available to download in PDF.

If you would like to receive updates on how the campaign is going, please register your support via our website.

---

About fairtelecoms

fairtelecoms campaigns for workable solutions to unjust and “rip-off” practices within the industry. Issues can be anything and so aren’t limited to a pre-defined list.

We are here to harness and support the campaigning energies of everyone who shares our views. If you’ve been working on something that might be of interest, or can help in any way, then get in touch.


fairtelecoms news

You can keep up-to-date with the fair telecoms campaign by viewing our news feed. You can also receive e-mail updates or follow it using an RSS reader. The feed contains links to:

• The postings on our blog, which includes briefings, news releases and other comment.
   
  
• News items from the media that are of interest to the campaign. If there are any stories that you have come across that we haven’t included, please let us know.

In this newsletter

• Nuisance calls
  More and more people are being pestered by nuisance calls. The Sunday Post is running a petition which we ask that you sign. We are also calling for an agency to be set-up to take reports from consumers, investigate and take steps to eradicate these types of calls.
   
  
• 084 numbers in the NHS
  Despite being outlawed nearly three years ago, many NHS GPs continue to pass on part of the cost of their phone systems by using these numbers. We continue to draw attention to the issue and celebrate cases where, albeit belatedly, surgeries and other NHS organisations change numbers.
   
  
• Reform of 08/09 numbers
  It’s been eight years since Ofcom admitted that 0870 numbers were “premium rate, but by another name”. In the next month or so we expect it will announce radical changes to these ranges which will cause the level of benefit that users enjoy brought out into the open.
   
  
• Consumer Rights Directive
  The EU has decided that the UK must “say no” to customer service lines that charge anything more than the basic rate. We await BIS’ statement following the consultation and we hope that this will see the end to much widespread misuse of 084 and 087 numbers.

Nuisance calls

They are a growing annoyance and the powers that be are doing very little. Please sign the Sunday Post petition which calls on the government to act.

At the moment it is down to Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office to police this area. They choose to draw-up “policies” that fleet around the edges and explicitly permit practices such as Silent Calls.

We propose that there should be a “nuisance calls agency” set-up to investigate and work pro-actively towards eradicating this practice.

084 numbers in the NHS

Gloucestershire Hospitals and PCT have recently replaced their raft of 0845 numbers with one beginning 0300. It is great news, but there are still many more NHS providers using 084 numbers.

Some practices have opted for a local number to run alongside the 084 one, albeit that it gives the engaged tone if someone is using it. This disgraceful breach of the NHS creates a two-tier system.

Reform of 08/09 numbers

These numbers are a widespread rip-off with SayNoTo0870.com being a popular destination for consumers who loath them. There are many organisations that use 084 numbers that shouldn’t and which couldn’t sustain them should “the truth come out” – that they enjoy a petty subsidy.

In the New Year, Ofcom will announce its statement and a further consultation on the reform of the 08 and 09 number ranges. It is anticipated that this will mean that users will have to declare how much they benefit from calls (the Service Charge element), as well as call providers publishing how much they add on (the Access Charge element). This is expected to be referred to as the “Unbundled Tariff”.

In our response we said that this will introduce much needed clarity. Currently the two elements are bundled together in a single charge which means that users aren’t open about how much they benefit or how much callers are likely to pay.

Consumer Rights Directive

The EU passed the Consumer Rights Directive which the UK government must enact into law. It requires companies to provide customers with numbers that charge no more than the basic rate.

In our response to the recent government consultation on this we said that 084 and 087 numbers certainly do not fit the bill as “basic rate”; only 01, 02, 03 and 080 numbers should be permitted.