jrawle wrote on Nov 16
th, 2011 at 11:30am:
(the ISP's landline service listed the cost as 17.5p, and apparently this is correct - so much for it always being 15p).
This is a very serious matter -
please identify the company -
if the Home Office has missed them from its negotiations, or they are breaching an agreement, the Home Office must be notified.
jrawle wrote on Nov 16
th, 2011 at 11:30am:
I have read some people's arguments, such as that it's "paying their fair share towards the cost of the service". So if, as a good citizen, I'm phoning the police to report crime or vandalism, which I could easily have just walked past and ignored like everyone else, I should pay for the privilege?
Of course it is unacceptable to be charged a fee for reporting crime or vandalism.
If you engage the services of a telephone company to assist you in doing so, the question is "Who pays for that call?".
As I see it, there are the following policy options:
1. The caller
2. The Police (funded by local taxpayers)
3. The Home Office (funded by national taxpayers)
4. The telephone company (meeting its costs from charges levied on its customers)
The handling of the call by the Police is paid for under option 2. 101 works on the basis that all callers pay the same, regardless of the duration, the type of phone and the tariff to which they subscribe.
It would be helpful to the discussion if those who object to option 1 could offer a view on which of the alternatives (maybe other than those I have listed) they would find preferable.