http://www.wiltshire.police.uk/appeals/appview.asp?id=550&admin=y

In its appeal for information relating to an individual's whereabouts, it provides the following:

Anyone with any information relating to Hugo Quintas is urged to telephone:

International: 00 44 8701 566345

This number is also given out in the Spanish and Portugese language variants of the appeal.

Do they simply not realize about international termination or are they just too stupid to even check?

Which scam company is behind the rip-off number for Wiltshire police?

Looks like they havent been given the big picture by there supplier.The one call they could be waiting for that turns him in may not get through cos of this.I wonder who the supplier is.

Hugo Quintas was arrested this morning in Spain. See BBC News.

It is sick that Wiltshire Police have such a number in place. There is absolutely nothing 'value added' about this 'service'. It also shows that the Department of Health's ban is only the tip of the iceburg.

It's similar to Thames Valley's 0870 after the rail crash. See here.

wrote on Jun 21^st, 2005 at 12:40pm:

Which scam company is behind the rip-off number for Wiltshire police?

The number prefix 0870 156 is allocated to Cable & Wireless.

wrote on Jun 21^st, 2005 at 2:29pm:

The number prefix 0870 156 is allocated to Cable & Wireless.

Thanks - I also looked up the allocation about an hour ago and wasn't too surprised by the result - C&W is a serial abuser of 0870 numbers. I noticed the designation "allocated for migration only" - perhaps C&W will soon be taking over the police exchange and change all the numbers to rip-off 0870.

I find it morally disgraceful for Wiltshire police and/or C&W to use revenue generating numbers in response to the murder of someone. It shows that there are no boundaries left for these premium numbers to cross. Ofcom should be shamed into taking action.

The contrast with what happens here (US) in response to appeals by the police couldn't be more stark and just demonstrates the rip-off culture that sadly now exists in the UK. Even police forces are not immune to being complicit in this scam.

I e-mailed Wiltshire Constabulary:
Quote:

Apart from alienating your public because calls cost more than two and a half times as much as a call to an ordinary (01 or 02) number, I think you have failed to realise the wider implications of using 0870 numbers - see the below link (the link was to this thread so the're no point leaving it in here).

and received a reply:
Quote:

Thank you for your feedback regarding our appeal regarding the murder of Hayley Richards, of Trowbridge, Wiltshire. We have subsequently placed another press release on our website noting that Mr Quintas has been arrested in Spain. We have withdrawn the appeal requesting information on 'the whereabouts of ...' and the relevant telephone numbers in the light of this fact. I am however concerned regarding the comments you make regarding charging/costing mechanisms. I am looking into the background of using that specific telephone number and should know more tomorrow. However, Wiltshire Police is part of a national mutual aid arrangement with a number of other Forces which utilises this number to deal with situations where there are vast numbers of calls, potentially from a wide number of sources.  You will also find other telephone numbers prominently shown within our releases and on our correspondence and publicity literature as well as our website are several other telephone numbers, including the standard 01380 735 735, 999 for emergencies, and the Crimestoppers telephone number (which is an 0800 number and generally free of charge to the caller when a standard landline is used (not a mobile). You will see the Crimestoppers telephone number displayed at several points within the release if you have saved it within your files. The whole issue of telephone numbers for the Police Service nationally, and for individual Forces is under review and regularly discussed to find the best options in order to carry out our business effectively and efficiently, and you will find more information about this in several of the recent Government White Papers, including a very recent one on Contact Management, and another one on Neighbourhood Policing. The Home Office website is a good starting point for this. I hope the above information assists. Elizabeth Marginson PR Manager