http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_headline=---consumers-swarm...Consumers swarm to website that fights 'rip off' 0870 lines
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AGGRIEVED consumers have flocked to a website showing how to avoid heavy charges for phoning 0870 telephone numbers.
While many households now enjoy free landline calls as part of their phone packages, phoning 0870 numbers - used by many companies as their main number - can still cost them up to 9p a minute on their bills.
But the
www.saynoto0870.com has been sharing the secrets of less-well publicised cheaper numbers for companies, some of which are based in Wales.
The Welsh Consumer Council last night hailed the site as a welcome example of "people power".
Rhys Evans, deputy director for the Cardiff-based watchdog organisation, said, "What I find disappointing is when you get 0870 numbers for customer services.
"They're effectively making money out of customers who have got a problem with their services.
"People are unwilling and unhappy with that.
"Forcing customers to pay through the nose on a 0870 number if they're after help and advice doesn't create a good image."
He added that businesses that failed to publicise numbers only created further frustration - both for consumers, and the staff who had to deal with increasingly irate callers.
He added, "I like the idea of the website. The more you empower consumers the better. Businesses are competitive and if they see an advantage in providing these cheaper numbers you may well see businesses responding.
"This offers a good way of being able to gauge that demand from consumers for a cheaper phone rate."
Among the high-profile companies listed on the site are household names such as British Airways, which advertises its general helpdesk as an 0870 number despite the fact the same service can be reached on a local number.
It is a similar story with Ticketmaster, while Barclaycard's well-publicised card protection service can be reached not only on a local number but also on a freephone number.
In Wales the Whirlpool Service Centre covering the south of the nation can be reached on its ordinary Barry number in addition to its 0870 number, Alcatel Telecom can be contacted on its 01633 Newport number as well as its more expensive alternative, while several 0870 services for Admiral Insurance can be reached by dialling numbers with a Cardiff telephone code.
The whole issue of 0870 numbers has come under scrutiny in recent years for allowing the businesses themselves to profit by as much as 4p a minute from each call.
But companies such as British Airways have defended their actions, saying that charges help with the cost of running UK-based call centres.
More than 10,000 people search the saynoto0870 site every day, potentially generating total savings of £1m a year for consumers.
The man behind the site, a secretive computer expert known only as "Daniel", told reporters, "Calling 0870 is the biggest rip-off in telecoms. I started the website so I could keep my own list of cheaper numbers. Then I let people add their numbers and it has taken off. Doing the site takes up all my spare time but I do it because it's rewarding.
"I get emails all the time saying, 'Thank you - you have saved me so much money'."
But time could be running out for his website's usefulness after industry regulators announced a clampdown on these numbers earlier this year. A spokesman for Ofcom confirmed that the cost of 0870 calls would be cut during 2007 in a move that will prevent companies making a profit from such numbers.
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