I list below a copy of my email of this evening when I discovered that one of the main Contact Us pages on the BBC website is still listing the 0870 phone number for BBC Information as being charged at the National Rate:-

-----Original Message-----
Sent: 05 March 2006 22:07
To: michael.grade@bbc.co.uk; mark.thompson@bbc.co.uk
Subject: BBC Website 0870 Number Still Incorrectly Quoted as Being "National Rate"

Dear Mr Grade and Mr Thompson,

I write to draw your attention to my severe disappointment at the BBC continuing to mislead its viewers and listeners over the cost of calling it using its various 0870 numbers.  This continued attempt to mislead viewers and listeners that 0870 calls are charged at "National Rate" can be found at www.bbc.co.uk/info/contactus/faqs.shtml  I find it particularly disappointing that this misleading information should still be shown on one of your main Contact Us website pages when other parts of the BBC are well aware that recent guidances from Ofcom, the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards all point to the fact that to make such a statement may be misleading under the terms of Part III of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

Can I please ask that this highly misleading statement be removed from your website forthwith and that you either only state the maximum cost of calling an 0870 number from a BT home landline (7.5p per minute or £4.50 per hour) or simply do not make any claims at all about the cost of calling these often disgracefully mismarketed revenue sharing non geographic call centre numbers.

In the unlikely event that you and your senior staff are not now already well aware of the public disquiet and many other issues surrounding the use of 0870 numbers can I point you in the direction of the following:-

pp33-34 of www.coi.gov.uk/documents/gcc-second-edition.pdf

and

Para 1.3 Page 1 of www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/oftel_0845/responses/leicester_cc.pdf  
 
and  
 
www.asa.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2005/Hanging+on+the+telephone+on+and+on+and+ on.htm
 
and  
 
www.asa.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2005/Stop+the+call+confusion.htm  
 
and  
 
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28872%09%09%09%09%09%09%09&; amp; amp;SESSION=875

and
 
www.cap.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2005/CAP+rings+the+changes+for+telecoms+providers.htm  
 
and Pages 5 and 6 of the below minutes from my own district council where we agreed policy to stop the future use of 0845 and 0870 numbers.
 
www.molevalley.gov.uk/media/pdf/1/s/Council_Minutes_190705.pdf  

I find it very disappointing indeed that the BBC has not managed to amend one of the main sources for the listing of its 0870 number on its website and I look forward to your confirmation that this matter will now be addressed as a matter of urgency.

I see the BBC have amazingly now changed this on their webite within just a few hours of getting my email to read "calls from a BT line cost up to 8p per minute (some operators and mobiles vary) and may be recorded for training" so it looks like they are certainly running scared on this issue.

But it doesn't say much for their compliance procedures that they didn't spot this one themselves and that I had to bring it to their attention. :o ::)

And of course they still continue to display their 0870 number only for contacting BBC Information. >:( >:( >:(

Here is my follow up message to Messrs Grade and Thompson welcoming the publication of the correct cost information about their 0870 BBC Information number but asking that they now also arrange for their website to show a geographic alternative phone number for calling BBC Information. ::)

-----Original Message-----
Sent: 06 March 2006 17:18
To: michael.grade@bbc.co.uk; mark.thompson@bbc.co.uk

Dear Mr Grade and Mr Thompson,

Firstly just a brief note to congratulate whoever it is in your organisation who has been able to arrange for the errant wording stating "National Rate" to be replaced on the BBC website within literally hours with the new wording which reads "calls from a BT line cost up to 8p per minute (some operators and mobiles vary) and may be recorded for training".  This brings the website description into line with revised BBC policy regarding these numbers already adopted for voice based announcements during radio and television programs.

Although this virtually instantaneous revision of your website to display the correct wording in response to just one high level complaint is an almost miraculous feat within such a large and normally bureaucratic organisation I expect it is too much to hope that within a similarly short space of time the BBC may also start publishing its geographic alternative Belfast phone number for reaching the call centre run on its behalf by Capita?  As I am sure BBC management must be well aware many domestic telephone users now pay as little as £4 per month for inclusive calling plans that cover all their fixed line telephone calls to 01 and 02 numbers but these plans never cover calls to numbers starting 084 or 087.  And yet a home telephone user making just 20 minutes of calls a day from Monday to Friday to 0870 phone numbers could incur no less than almost £100 per quarter or £400 per annum of additional phone charges when they have often been led to believe by those selling these calling plans to them that all their uk fixed line calls were covered by the monthly calling plan fee.

There is now a geographic alternative phone number of 028 9033 8000 listed on the www.SayNoTo0870.com website for the normal BBC Information Viewers and Listeners comments number of  0870 0100222 which I personally added some months ago to that website's database.  However despite the existence of that alternative geographic phone number the BBC still refuses to list it on its website for those with fixed price inclusive calling plans or for callers on mobile phones or from overseas (who may have to pay up to £1 a minute to call an 0870 number compared to the call often being free of charge or part of inclusive minutes if the 028 Belfast number is called).  Of course as the geographic phone number presently routes through the local Belfast switchboard of the BBC I do agree that it would make life much easier for staff on that switchboard if the BBC would publish a geographic alternative phone number for viewers and listeners comments that led through directly to the Capita call centre staff who take the BBC Information phone calls and who also seem to have their wages funded, in part at least, by the surcharge imposed via the Special Rate Services 0870 phone number.

I would be most grateful for your explanation as to why no geographic alternative phone number for the BBC's 0870 BBC Information call centre number is currently published by the BBC, especially given the unfairly high and discriminatory charges that calling the 0870 number may impose on a large number of the BBC's license payers.

I look forward to your comments.

Regards,

Bold Brilliant and Comprehensive - and that's just NGM's letter!!. Looking forward to hear more on the subject.  Right on NGM!

yes it will be good to see what thay write back this time welldone yet again sir :)