SAYNOTO0870.COM - NHS premium & national rate phone lines ban

NonGeographicalMan

Ex Member

Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba
Reply #45 - Feb 27^th, 2005 at 10:35pm

Quote:

I am concerned about the £500 payment mentioned in the official press release issued by the Department of Health. This does not sound right to me - to say the least.

Make sure you send an email to david.colin-thome@dh.gsi.gov.uk to let him know that you think the £500 payments are quite wrong and are also at the expense of responsible doctors surgeries who have not entered into these reprehensible arrangements.

Tel Dr Colin-Thome that you think the doctors concerned shoud actually be paying each of their patients £5 (so about £10,000 in total) in compensation for the additional costs that each of those patients have been forced to incur through their telecoms policies.

Also point out that 0844 numbers to be used by NEG will cost more than 0870 in the evening and at the weekend from home phones and at all times from BT Payphones.

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kk Senior Member Offline Posts: 354 Gender:	Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba Reply #46 - Feb 27^th, 2005 at 10:42pm Hi NGM Yes, all the points you made have been included. I may expand on the £500 issue. kk
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Tanllan Supreme Member Offline Posts: 797 Gender:	Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba Reply #47 - Feb 27^th, 2005 at 10:50pm and perhaps copies to Ofcom and to your MP - to maintain the pressure.
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kk Senior Member Offline Posts: 354 Gender:	Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba Reply #48 - Feb 27^th, 2005 at 11:50pm I agree - I sent one to my MP on Friday plus three others.
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idb

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Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba
Reply #49 - Feb 28^th, 2005 at 1:25am

Quote:

When you say "Alistair Campbell works for NEG" do you mean the "Alistair Campbell" of Blairite spin doctor fame? If so no wonder he imagines he can spin people into believeing a premium rate 0870 call costs no more than a standard geographic national rate call.

I think this Mr Campbell is entirely different to the one who used to work for the government:

http://www.idealmarketingcompany.co.uk/contacts.php

He seems to work for a company known as "The Ideal Marketing Company"

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kk Senior Member Offline Posts: 354 Gender:	Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba Reply #50 - Feb 28^th, 2005 at 11:45am Re reply #41 etc Alistair Campbell of NEG, in not the same as the one at No 10
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NonGeographicalMan Ex Member	Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba Reply #51 - Feb 28^th, 2005 at 11:51am Quote: Re reply #41 etc Alistair Campbell of NEG, in not the same as the one at No 10 You mean he is not the same as the one who used to be at No 10?
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kk Senior Member Offline Posts: 354 Gender:	Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba Reply #52 - Feb 28^th, 2005 at 3:47pm Dan Saladino, of You and Yours, is on Holiday this week. Any emails can be sent to: YouAndYours@bbc.co.uk
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NonGeographicalMan

Ex Member

Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba
Reply #53 - Feb 28^th, 2005 at 4:03pm

Quote:

Dan Saladino, of You and Yours, is on Holiday this week.

Any emails can be sent to:

YouAndYours@bbc.co.uk

Does this mean that you work for the BBC then kk? Or just an avid listener of the program?

melanie.abbott@bbc.co.uk and winifred.robinson@bbc.co.uk are probably also relevant people at You & Yours to email at the moment.

youandyours@bbc.co.uk only seems to get read by classic customer service department types.

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« Last Edit: Feb 28^th, 2005 at 4:04pm by N/A »

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kk Senior Member Offline Posts: 354 Gender:	Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba Reply #54 - Feb 28^th, 2005 at 4:22pm No, I do not work for the BBC. I just telephoned them and they said Dan Saladino was on holiday. The following contact points may be of interest to members. David.Colin-Thome@dh.gsi.gov.uk DH fax number: 0207 210 5523 and 0207 210 5454 dhmail@dh.gsi.gov.uk
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idb

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Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba
Reply #55 - Mar 1^st, 2005 at 1:01pm

Phone storm surgery must scrap number

Source: http://www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk/news/index/articles/article_id=21875.html

>>>

THE surgery at the centre of a telephone storm is being forced to scrap its national rate phone.

The Edenfield Road practice ditched its 01706 number in favour of an 0870 number which cost patients almost seven pence a minute a call instead of the previous four pence.

Doctors said they had changed numbers in response to patient complaints over the old phone system but the move angered patients.

The practice will now have to change back to a local rate number this spring after the Department of Health announced a ban on GP surgeries, NHS dentists and opticians using national or premium rate numbers.

The government will also make about £500 available for practices currently using the national rate systems to switch back.

Dr Richard Verity, one of the GPs at the surgery, said: “If the government has decided to ban the numbers then we will go along with it.

“But the Department of Health have done a complete u-turn because, at the time of us introducing the new number, they were suggesting this was a good thing and they use the numbers themselves for helplines.

“We introduced the new system in good faith and, so far, we’ve had as many people in support of the new system as those against.

“We’ve signed a five-year contract with the company so it will be a case of negotiating the change.”

Clive Entwistle, a patient at the surgery, said: “The ban is excellent news. Common sense has prevailed and this is a victory for the patient.

“I suspect the surgery didn’t understand or think through the implications of the system when they signed up to it.”

Health Minsiter John Hutton, who announced the ban on Thursday, said: “Sick people and their families should not be asked to pay over the odds to contact local NHS services. The use of premium and national rate telephone numbers is an unfair additional cost for many NHS patients.”

Ian Mello Baron, associate director of primary care, said: “Rochdale Primary Care Trust commends the Department of Health for banning GP practices from introducing telephone numbers that charge the public national rates instead of local ones.

“We welcome this announcement, which supports our initial advice to GP practices in the area to avoid using numbers with the premium rate ‘0870’ prefix.

“The PCT believes the ban will protect Rochdale patients from being charged over the odds to call NHS services in their local area.”

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NonGeographicalMan Ex Member	Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba Reply #56 - Mar 1^st, 2005 at 1:13pm But 0844 x pensive is not returning to an ordinary "local" call. Its 233% more expensive than making an 0870 call on a Saturday morning. Doh, whats the use. When the majority of the population and of journalists are apparently such financially illiterate morons they probably deserve everything they get.
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pud

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Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba
Reply #57 - Mar 1^st, 2005 at 1:34pm

Quote:

But 0844 x pensive is not returning to an ordinary "local" call. Its 233% more expensive than making an 0870 call on a Saturday morning.

Doh, whats the use. When the majority of the population and of journalists are apparently such financially illiterate morons they probably deserve everything they get.

e-mail to the Rochdale Observer 1330 1/3/05:
Quote:

I read with interest your 'Phone storm surgery must scrap number' article.

Unfortunately, you have been misled about what is to happen now. The practice will NOT now "have to change back to a local rate number this spring after the Department of Health announced a ban on GP surgeries, NHS dentists and opticians using national or premium rate numbers."

They are to be made to change to an 0844 number - which is NOT 'local rate' (BT scrapped the differentiation between local and national calls on 1/7/04 and standardised the cost of calling any number with an STD code starting 01 or 02 at 3p per minute during the day, so the expression is meaningless). The range of 0844 numbers chosen are charged at 5p per minute at all times from a BT residential landline.

Although a reduction from 7.51p per minute (for 0870 numbers) to 5p per minute is welcome, how can it be acceptable to make patients pay 5p per minute to call their GP when a normal call (to the former 01706 number) would cost a maximum of 3p per minute?

Indeed, many people use a provider called call18866.co.uk and pay 1p per call (NOT per minute) for a call of any length, at any time, to any UK 01 or 02 number.

A well-kept secret is that charges from BT call boxes to 0870 and 0845 numbers are exactly the same - 10p connection and then 10p for every 55 seconds - with a minimum charge of 30p. Even a 5 minute call at such prices would be excessive for many people on low incomes or pensions.

BUT IT GETS WORSE STILL.

Charges from BT call boxes to 0844 numbers are 10p connection and then 10p for every 43 seconds - with a minimum charge of 30p. A 5 minute call costs an incredible £1.50 - EVEN MORE THAN FOR A CALL TO AN 0870 or 0845 NUMBER! It seems NEG (the supplier), the NHS and GPs are determined to penalise the poor.

It is bad enough government departments and agencies using 0870, 0845 (and even 09xx) numbers but allowing the NHS to do so is a scandal.

Mr. Hutton's announcement has done nothing to correct this extension of 'rip-off Britain'.

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dorf

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I hate Qs on Premium NGNs

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Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba
Reply #58 - Mar 1^st, 2005 at 1:50pm

I begin to feel the same as Non-Geographical man about this. I feel this is the root of the problem with the whole NGN abuse issue, not just by GPs. Most members of the public can't seem to understand how they are being conned, or their level of basic mathematical understanding is so low (or both) that they are totally apathetic to the whole issue.

There are some people you just cannot help. Just as the majority of the people in this country get the politicians they deserve because of their own ineptitude, so they will be targeted by those who have determined that they are such simpletons that they are easy prey for scams of all types!

Members of this site are in a distinct minority and we have to ask the question - can the majority of telecoms consumers be helped out of their own lethargy; do they want any help. The answer may well be "NO".

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Ofcom are completely ineffectual

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Dave

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Re: NHS premium & national rate phone lines ba
Reply #59 - Mar 1^st, 2005 at 2:20pm

Quote:

Phone storm surgery must scrap number

Source: http://www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk/news/index/articles/article_id=21875.html

>>>

...

Ian Mello Baron, associate director of primary care, said: “Rochdale Primary Care Trust commends the Department of Health for banning GP practices from introducing telephone numbers that charge the public national rates instead of local ones.

...

What does he mean by ‘local’ and ‘national’ rates?

I suspect that the issues here haven't been drawn and coloured in clearly enough. Roll Eyes

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