0871 984 4412 is the contact number for customers order line. I was under the impression that 0871 numbers were not used in customer service any more.

Aa I recall the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown stood up in the house of commons and outlawed their use.

I would appreiate it if a member could let me know the full legality in this regard. 

Where a telephone number is offered for contact about something you have bought, the number must begin 01, 02, 03 or 080. This is covered by Regulation 41 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and applies to retailers, traders and passenger transport companies. The rules came into force on 13 June 2014.

In the event of non-compliance, Regulation 41(2) gives the right to a refund of any call costs incurred over and above whatever an equivalent call to an 01, 02 or 03 number would have cost. Non-compliance can also be reported to Trading Standards via the Citizen's Advice national Consumer Helpline on 0345 404 0506.
 
Sales lines and pre-sales enquiry lines can continue to use 084, 087 or 09 numbers but new Ofcom rules introduced on 1 July 2015 require the Service Charge to be declared in close proximity to wherever the number is advertised or promoted. Callers need to be clear that they are being asked to ring a premium rate number.

http://www.bhsdirect.co.uk/content/contact.asp complies with the rules on declaring call costs but does not comply with the Consumer Contract Regulations.

bazzerfewi wrote on Nov 11^th, 2015 at 12:17pm:

The call cost information appears to be correctly presented, however a 0871 number cannot be used for customer service enquiries.

Enforcement of compliance with this rule is the responsibility of whichever local Trading Standards department handles BHS Direct. As stated by Ian, the Citizens Advice Consumer Service -  0345 4 040506 - is the reporting point for breaches.

Along with ourselves, Ofcom advised the Department for Business on the forming of the regulations, but it has no role in the enforcement of compliance.

bazzerfewi wrote on Nov 11^th, 2015 at 1:35pm:


I am inclined to disagree. I see this page - http://www.bhsdirect.co.uk/content/CustomerService.asp as inviting telephone calls for customer service, with no alternative number being offered.

If the number shown at the top of the page is ONLY for new orders, this should be made clear - it is not!

Phonepay Plus  the premium rate regulator warned providers of such services using 0871 and the telcos  running them  about  the effects of the changes here.

https://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/for-business/code-of-practice/code-compliance-up...

The original supplier of the service was Vodafone (Energis) it could have been ported on.

BHS proper complies http://help.bhs.co.uk/system/templates/selfservice/bhs/#!portal/1003/article/265...; having switched from 0844 to 0344 nationwide.

CJT-80 wrote on Nov 12^th, 2015 at 10:26am:

This is interesting. There is nothing on the "Buy it direct" webpages to suggest that post-contract enquiries by telephone are invited. Unlike with BHS Direct, the 0871 number is clearly marked as being a "Sales" line.

The question of whether (especially given the level of Access Charge imposed by the mobile telcos) it makes sense to recover a little of the cost involved in taking orders by telephone through use of a 087 number is a separate issue in itself. The fact that the level of the charge now has has to be declared is a step forward, but greater awareness of the disproportionate level  of the "handling charge" added by telcos is probably required.

(N.B. The need for the Access Charge to be clear precludes the possibility of it being made proportionate to the Service Charge.)

A Service Charge of up to 13p per minute (including VAT) on a 084/087 number goes nowhere near offsetting the cost of an agent handling the call. I see it as nothing more than telcos making their services appear cheaper to businesses, whilst overall they make more from the calls.

Customer service is expensive and the costs have to be reflected in retail prices. Whilst consumers demand lower prices, level of service must suffer. As indicated above, use of 084/087 numbers only offered a modest cost offset, but one effect of its prohibition is to make this method of dealing with customers even less attractive. We therefore had to expect that the Consumer Contract Regulations could cause more telephone helplines to be withdrawn.

It is difficult to argue that an on-line retailer who is dealing only with those who have access to the internet (i.e. email and other means of on-line communication) should inflate its prices so as to be able to offer telephone support. Obviously, we always want the most for the least, but we cannot always get everything we want.