From this site,  http://www.ukpassportadvice.com/

" Calls to 08719189073 are charged at standard BT National Rate at all times, calls from mobiles may cost more"

This site appears at first glance to be the official passport office with its title and Union Flag at the top

Sounds like a scam.

The real Passport Agency site is at http://www.passport.gov.uk/

Although that does contain an 0870 number without qualification >:(

Surprise, surprise, 0871 918 is not one of the less-expensive 0871 number-ranges.

It's 10p/minute at all times!

Con merchants!

derrick wrote on Jan 30^th, 2007 at 3:03pm:

From this site,  http://www.ukpassportadvice.com/ " Calls to 08719189073 are charged at standard BT National Rate at all times, calls from mobiles may cost more" This site appears at first glance to be the official passport office with its title and Union Flag at the top

See my email to them below.  No reply so far of course and as its a website we can't get the ASA to adjudicate until they change their rules.


Quote:

-----Original Message----- Sent: 30 January 2007 18:05 To: info@ukpassportadvice.com Subject: 0871 Not National Rate "Calls to 08719189073 are charged at standard BT National Rate at all times, calls from mobiles may cost more." 0871 is not "National Rate" and nor is 0870 but 0871 is by far the more expensive of the two.  Get it changed or face a complaint to Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority.  The correct description is "calls cost 10p per minute at all times from a BT landline". See the following:- The view of a county council trading standards department Para 1.3 Page 1 of http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/oftel_0845/responses/leicester_cc.pdf and the view of the CEO of BT Retail, Ian Livingston http://business.scotsman.com/banking.cfm?id=764772005 and two recent guidances from the Advertising Standards Authority www.asa.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2005/Hanging+on+the+telephone+on+and+on+and+on.htm www.asa.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2005/Stop+the+call+confusion.htm and the Parliamentary Early Day motion deploring the use of 0870 telephone numbers by government departments http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28872%09%09%09%09%09%09%09&; amp;SESSION=875 and Another guidance from the Committee of Advertising Practice of the Advertising Standards Authority 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 And the most recent ASA guidance saying that Inclusive call packages must not fail to disclose that 084/7 calls are excluded from them. www.cap.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2006/Ringing+the+Changes.htm

Of course I suppose I should copy every one of these mails to Ofcom's board members.

I also e-mailed them just after putting this post on here, as to date, no response, I have a tag on my e-mails and up to now it doesn't appear to have been opened.

They have now removed the illegal wording.

derrick wrote on Feb 5^th, 2007 at 3:37pm:

They have now removed the illegal wording.

But without replying. :-? :-/

I have just had to expend further energy with the governments's Leaseholder Advisory Service (www.lease-advice.org.uk) who I persuaded two years ago to remove their 0845 number in favour of their 020 geographic number.

But now two years later some other idiot had been maintaining the website and put the 0845 number back as their only number on their home page.  After emailing their senior management the 0845 number has now been deleted and the 020 number restored.

However without Ofcom's regulatory backup and a big public advertising campaign by Ofcom to try to explain the UK telephone numbering system (made almost impossible by some of their own bizarre recent decision on NTS numbering) its all pushing water uphill and as fast as we stop one number being misdescribed a new one springs up.

The whole thing is an utter shambles and an absolute disgrace of misselling and Ofcom is the body almost solely to blame for not doing anything about it. >:( >:( >:( :'(

I just loved the small print at the bottom of their home page - in a pale brown text making it very difficult to read:


Quote:

Calls to 09050090842 cost £1.50 per minute from a BT landline, calls from mobiles may cost more. 18+ bill payers only. Service provider PPI, PO Box 6734, Derby, DE1 9EP, email info@ukpassportadvice.com, tel 08719189077. This service is not connected with the Identity and Passport Service or the UKPS. PPI recommend that you contact the UK Passport Service for any information relating to UK passports. This service is provided by PPI without any warranty or guarantee as to it's accuracy, or fitness for any particular purpose, and usage of this service or website is at your own risk.  It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any information be fit for your purpose and we cannot be held liable for any loss or damage arising from usage of this service or data associated with this service.

Well, that about covers everything then!

NGMsGhost wrote on Feb 5^th, 2007 at 4:06pm:

derrick wrote on Feb 5th, 2007 at 3:37pm: They have now removed the illegal wording. But without replying. :-? :-/

No I did not receive a reply, not even from my tag saying the message had been opened, so maybe I cannot take any credit for the removal of the rate claim?