Am I the first user of this website to discover that one of our moderators (Dave) has had the absolutely splendid idea of registering the domain name www.ofcon.org.uk and linking it to the home page of this website (www.saynoto0870.com).

Many congratulations to Dave for this very amusing send up of Ofcom.

I see that www.regulatoryfatcats.org.uk is still available.  I must say I'm vaguely tempted..............

Only if Ofcom choose to challenge it legally as "passing off" etc.  And I'm sure they could do without providing an opportunity for further extensive press coverage of the www.saynoto0870.com campaign.  Where we could then mention special Ofcom labelled bottled water!

And so far as passing off is concerned let us not forget that Ofcom has done nothing about the obvious scam 118866 scam directory enquiries number aiming to ripoff 18866 discount call customers.

derrick wrote on Mar 18^th, 2008 at 9:33am:

If you misdial by one digit you pay a high fixed minimum connection fee to this DQ service without any warning message about it or opportunity to hang up before you are connected and have to pay the charge.

Also the charge by this DQ service on 118866 is far higher than on their main 118 number which offers precisely the same service but is not there to scam 18866 customers.

Is this the same Derrick who believes that all calls to 0845 4647 are a scam?

andy9 wrote on Mar 18^th, 2008 at 11:59am:

It may not have been its original intention but it does seem to be now.  Why is this company's main 118 number much cheaper to call for precisely the same service.

Also why is there no pre-announcement of the connection fee (which is high on many 118 numbers) before you are connected.

I know it must be because automated burglar alarms can't cope with dialling them.

Do they when some are charged only in pence per minute (although I suppose those may now be rounded up by the minute thanks to recent BT led changes in telecoms pricing) and others have a connection fee and the amounts vary wildly.

Surely all they know is that they are ringing a DQ service (many may not even not still even associate 118 with that).  The product seems to be aimed at the price insensitive and most of the advertsing avoids mentioning the cost of calling and instead focuses on fuzzy warm feeling brand values (eg 118 and telephone yellowpages tv ads).

So you clearly believe the excessive charges levied by most voice based directory enquiries services are justified then (along with their ripoff attempts to connect the call at the same high per minute rates).  Another member has suggested to me that your recent staunch defence of mobile phone cash back deals may mean that you perhaps work for some part of the telecoms industry.  Of course I agree that is speculative and may be wrong.

I would always avoid these exorbitant charges myself by using 0800 100100 from a phonebox or using some form of internet browsing facility.

It seems to me that you are the one who is actually not sticking up for protecting the consumer against being ripped off by the 118 industry.

P.S. These recent posts are now way off topic and so should be removed from this thread in to another thread about 118 DQ charges for that reason.

NGMsGhost wrote on Mar 18^th, 2008 at 9:53am:

Don't answer the question without the rest of the quote, (Where is the scam?
If I remember correctly, 118866 was in existence before 18866!), as it gives a false answer!
As I said, (and so have others after my post), 118866 came before 18866.

Re the 0845 4647; yes you know I do, especially as the there is no price indication.

andy9 wrote on Apr 20^th, 2008 at 2:00am:

Thank you once again No.9 for showing in such detail your obsessive credentials as the resident forum stalker and troll.  You are so filled with a vitriolic hatred of me and a determination to discredit me by hours of research of any possible logical inconsistency in my past posts that I can only assume you must be one of Ofcom's longstanding gravy train merchants.

Is your real name by any chance Steve Unger or Geoff Brighton?

Please not that unlike you I am not a number but am a free man.