jim.orrell wrote on Dec 15
th, 2009 at 8:55pm:
It struck me that this is just the sort of information that would fit comfortably on the SAYNOTO0870 site. Any chance? I note there was a similar request for email addresses that seemed to get nowhere.
This could be a most interesting idea for re-development of this site, which has been looking for a wider focus since revenue sharing on 0870 ended in August.
It would be of great interest to learn more about the idea. Are these Freepost and email addresses provided or confirmed as contact points for identified purposes by the addressees, or are there simply addresses that people have come across which may provide targets for spam and other unimportant communications, e.g. rants to senior executives? Freepost addresses provide a most suitable target for protest campaigns, as a mass mail-in of protests costs the organisation money as well as inconvenience up to the point where the service is shut down. (This technique has been seen to work, although perhaps unintentionally, with some alternative telephone numbers.)
Both freepost addresses and un-advertised email addresses may however provide a less suitable alternative than alternative telephone numbers for serious everyday communications.
With a telephone call, its interactive nature allows one to know if one has been connected with someone able to represent the called organisation in the way that one wishes, even if the number dialled is not directly offered for that purpose. All unverified numbers published on this site implicitly carry the qualification that they may not be appropriate, and numbers are removed if found not to be so.
If writing to an address that has not been directly offered as an appropriate contact and is not the registered business address, one may have no assurance that the letter or message will be dealt with or returned if found to have been inappropriately directed. Increasing use of external contact centre services to deal with a limited range of activities may mean that one has not actually written to the correct organisation, despite the name on the envelope (or the domain in the email address).
I am perhaps in a minority here in believing that every organisation has the right, indeed a duty, to manage its incoming communications effectively, for the benefit of itself and those who communicate with it. It is therefore free to choose not only where to direct communications and the form in which it accepts them, but also how and when it meets the full cost of such communications or offers access only at a premium. That is why I campaign fiercely against those who chose the latter course when it is inappropriate. I could be drawn into supporting a campaign for greater use of the former if I became aware of suitable points of focus that offered some prospect of success. I am aware that many have strong views about which form of communication they prefer to use and where they would wish it to be handled; I see that as a matter for each individual case and hold no general views on the matter.
I fully respect those who are in the business of offering money-saving tips and tricks, however I see that as a separate type of activity from that in which I am engaged. It must remain neutral on wider matters of principle (other than promoting the interests of site users as consumers), whatever may be pretended. There are overlaps and it is great that this forum is able to exist on the back of that enterprise.
There could be a strong affinity between the money-saving aspects of saynoto0870.com and the lists of freepost and email addresses referred to. If it were to be decided that "0870" were to replaced by "communications that are more expensive than they could be" (in some abbreviated form) then these lists could well become an integral feature of the new site. The reputation already held by the brand would help generate relevant traffic that has clearly not be found to be of benefit to, or has not been secured by, "rpoints". Depending on the strategy and marketing approach for the new site, I am sure that this idea could be of interest and may represent a most worthwhile venture.
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