When I asked my GP surgery how to contact them from abroad, I was given an 0870 number as an alternative to the usual 0845 one. Is it now possible to call these numbers from all other countries, and if not, how can I find out which countries it will work from?

Your GPsurgery are idiots, although I have been given the same advice before now with other orgnaisations. For most countries the 08 numbers work, but you just can't be sure. If it isn't going to work for 0845 it isn't going to work for 0870 either.

Tell them thast most organisations provide a geographic number for overseas. Tell them that you can not call any 08xx number from some countries.

Quote:

Tell them that you can not call any 08xx number from some countries.

...and even if you can, be assured that you will pay an arm and a leg for the call! Usually some 20 to 30 times as much per minute as a call to a landline.

I think the overseas telcos detest these 08xx numbers as much as we do!

mikeinnc wrote on Oct 10^th, 2007 at 8:47pm:

...and even if you can, be assured that you will pay an arm and a leg for the call! Usually some 20 to 30 times as much per minute as a call to a landline. I think the overseas telcos detest these 08xx numbers as much as we do!

And, for example,

Globe7, a VOIP provider:

http://globe7.com/rateplan.php?code=U

Rate Plan US$/min

UK  44 0.0100
UK - Local 0844  44844 0.1595
UK - Local 0845  44845 0.1595
UK - National 0870  44870 1.7050

Perhaps the 870 rate is a misprint, perhaps not.

Quote:

UK - Local 0844  44844 0.1595   UK - Local 0845  44845 0.1595   UK - National 0870  44870 1.7050

Isn't it interesting how even the overseas companies get sucked in with the misleading statements 'local' and national'. Oh well, why should they care - I expect they are copying the terms from their UK forwarding partner who obviously does know better, but doesn't want to upset the trough for all its UK piggy's snouts..... >:(

Also interesting that 0844 is quoted?

I suspect that the 0870 rate is a misprint. $1.70 per minute vs 1c per minute to a land-line - even by the standards of thievery of the NTS system that seems a tad extreme. I suspect it is 17.05c per minute ie the decimal point has been moved one place to the right. You need to be careful, though. I had a similar situation with my US VoIP provider - and it took a fair bit of effort to convince them they were misquoting (and mis-charging!!) by a factor of ten. To be fair, though, as I said in a previous post - I think the overseas telcos detest the pathetic situation that now exists with numbering in the UK as much as subscribers do. It must be a nightmare! I know they have also been very badly ripped off by the personal numbering sytem set up in the UK - so much so that the UK was lumped with certain third world countries for levels of 'telephone fraud'. I think most readers here would go along with that!  ;D

mikeinnc wrote on Oct 15^th, 2007 at 4:58pm:

Quote: UK - Local 0844  44844 0.1595   UK - Local 0845  44845 0.1595   UK - National 0870  44870 1.7050   Isn't it interesting how even the overseas companies get sucked in with the misleading statements 'local' and national'. Oh well, why should they care - I expect they are copying the terms from their UK forwarding partner who obviously does know better, but doesn't want to upset the trough for all its UK piggy's snouts..... >:( Also interesting that 0844 is quoted? I suspect that the 0870 rate is a misprint. $1.70 per minute vs 1c per minute to a land-line - even by the standards of thievery of the NTS system that seems a tad extreme. I suspect it is 17.05c per minute ie the decimal point has been moved one place to the right. You need to be careful, though. I had a similar situation with my US VoIP provider - and it took a fair bit of effort to convince them they were misquoting (and mis-charging!!) by a factor of ten. To be fair, though, as I said in a previous post - I think the overseas telcos detest the pathetic situation that now exists with numbering in the UK as much as subscribers do. It must be a nightmare! I know they have also been very badly ripped off by the personal numbering sytem set up in the UK - so much so that the UK was lumped with certain third world countries for levels of 'telephone fraud'. I think most readers here would go along with that!  ;D

My first thought was that this was a case of the decimal point in the wrong place, however I don't have any real inclination to try it out! I agree it probably is 17.05c/min. Interestingly, 0871 is actually quoted at a cheaper rate:

UK - National 0871  44871 1.6720

I cannot believe that the true rate here would be 0.16720c/min as that would be a loss to the originating telco.

Have you also noticed that on full price lists for foreign telcos, the United Kingdom always seems to have the longest list of numbering price points?

In any literature I receive from AT&T, Vonage, Verizon etc, the international rates to the United Kingdom always have a small asterisk which points out that the rates quoted are only for landline numbers, and that calls to 'other services' are charged differently.

I'm sure that the UK must now be #1 on the list for telephone fraud.

Ofcom and ICSTIS or whatever its new daft name is must be very proud of their achievemnets.

idb wrote on Oct 15^th, 2007 at 5:14pm:

Ofcom and ICSTIS or whatever its new daft name is must be very proud of their achievemnets.

It seems PhonepayPlus is now fully operational - http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/default.asp

It still hasn't published the responses to the 871 consultation:

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/news/consultation_papers/2007CondocClosed.asp

Launched today:

http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/pdfs_news/PhonepayPlus%20Launch%20Consumers.pdf

Embargoed until 00.01 Monday 15 October 2007
PHONEPAYPLUS SETS OUT TO BUILD HIGH
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN PHONE-PAID SERVICES
ICSTIS, the phone-paid services regulator, has today become PhonepayPlus and has set itself the
task of boosting public awareness about how to use services safely and how it can help people
who encounter problems.
Phone-paid services – the goods and services that we can buy by charging the cost to our phone bills and
mobile pre-pay accounts – have moved from a niche market to become a mainstream part of everyday
life. The list of services available is as long as the range of information and entertainment on offer is wide,
with the public spending a staggering £1 billion a year on services such as helplines, voting, competitions,
downloads, news alerts, charitable giving and interactive games.
Although the vast majority of services are run responsibly and enjoyed by thousands of people, consumer
confidence in the industry has taken a knock following this year’s high profile problems involving TV
phone-in competitions. According to research published by PhonepayPlus today, almost two-thirds of the
UK population have a distinct distrust of phone-in competitions, while 60% admit to having little faith in chat
and entertainment services. The research also showed that 76% of people would not consider using a
phone-paid service in the next 12 months.
Commenting on the findings, Sir Alistair Graham, Chairman of PhonepayPlus, said: “After the headlines of
recent months, there is no doubt that the public’s trust in phone-paid services has been dented. While we
don’t underestimate the size of the task ahead, we are confident that confidence in phone-paid services
can be restored. As well as knowing that there is an organisation out there making sure services are being
operated fairly, consumers need to know where to go if they need advice or have a specific problem.
“The first step in this process for us has been to change our name. Changes in the services we regulate
and the way in which we do it brought us to the point where re-branding was essential. ICSTIS was no
longer an accurate description of our organisation. As our research showed, the name had low awareness
among the public and was a significant barrier in terms of people knowing who we were and what we did.
We needed a name that gives a real sense of what we do. PhonepayPlus – coupled with our ‘Regulating
to build consumer trust in phone-paid services’ strapline – is much more meaningful and memorable for
consumers.”

PhonepayPlus will focus on pre-empting and preventing problems – the key, it believes, to effective longterm
consumer protection. It wants to have the right measures in place to build an industry-wide culture of
compliance where services are offered responsibly and consumers get a fair deal. PhonepayPlus will seek
to pre-empt problems through research, sensible rules and by working with the industry on safeguards. It
will seek to prevent problems by giving the industry practical advice on compliance with its Code of
Practice, and by working with others to give equally practical help and guidance to the public so that they
can use services knowledgeably and safely. Finally, it will always be ready to use its enforcement powers
to protect the public from irresponsible conduct or worse.

...

...

In addition to its existing activities, PhonepayPlus will be offering a full range of support initiatives for
consumers and the industry over the coming months:
• www.phonepayplus.org.uk will be revamped to make it easier for both the public and the industry
to find the information they want.
• www.phonebrain.org.uk, PhonepayPlus’ successful, interactive children’s website, will be refreshed
and promoted throughout the UK.
• A new leaflet, helping consumers to understand how phone-paid services work, how to recognise them
and what to look out for, has been published and will be distributed throughout the UK. Copies of the
leaflet can be downloaded at www.phonepayplus.org.uk/publications/consumer_publications.asp.
• A new SMS text service will be launched to allow the public to report problems at their convenience
using their mobile phones.
• A programme of ongoing, active collaboration with other regulators and relevant protection bodies will
begin. Consumers need to know where to go with a problem and need to be properly advised about
who will be dealing with their issue. Material has already been produced to help phone network
customer service departments deal efficiently with their customers.
• A specialist Compliance Team has been set up to advise all those who provide phone-paid services to
ensure that services comply with the regulator’s rules from the outset.
Please see www.phonepayplus.org.uk for further information about PhonepayPlus.
For further information, please contact:
Rob Dwight (020 7940 7408) or Sarah Icken (020 7940 7415) at the PhonepayPlus Media Office
Dominic Shales (020 7404 6691) or Jonathan Hooley (020 7404 6691) at Paratus Communications

NOTES TO EDITORS
• About the research All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 4,044 adults.
Fieldwork was undertaken between 2 and 5 October 2007. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been
weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
• Phone-paid services offer some form of content that is charged to your phone bill or mobile pre-pay account. The
money paid by users for services is shared between the telephone company carrying the service and the
organisation(s) providing the content.
•
PhonepayPlus regulates the content, promotion and overall operation of services through its Code of Practice. It
investigates complaints, and has the power to fine companies and close down and/or bar access to services if the
Code is breached. It can also bar the individual(s) behind a company from running any other services under any
company name on any telephone network for a defined period.
• Services can be accessed by landline or mobile phone, fax, interactive TV (for example, by using the red button on the
remote control) and PC (for example, in e-mails or on the internet).
•
Most services are advertised on either 09 dialling codes or, in the case of text services, four or five-digit short code
numbers followed by a descriptive key word (for example, 11111 VOTE). Services offering adult entertainment must
only be advertised on 0908, 0909 or 098 numbers and on mobile short code numbers beginning 69 or 89. Directory
enquiry services are advertised on six-digit numbers beginning 118. From early 2008, we will also regulate all services
offered on 0871 numbers.
• Calls vary in cost depending on the type of service you use and the way in which you access it (for example, landline
or mobile phone). Calls to 09 numbers from landlines vary in cost from 10 pence per call to £1.50 per minute (plus any
network set-up fees). Calls to 0871 numbers cost up to 10 pence per minute from landlines.
• Calls to 09 or 118 numbers from mobiles will vary in cost depending on your phone network. However, they will
generally cost more than the advertised landline rate. Calls to 0871 numbers cost up to 35 pence per minute from
mobiles. Text services on mobiles (for example, TV voting) will be charged at a fixed rate (for example, 25 pence per
text) plus your usual standard network charge.
• Many text services (for example, football goal alerts) work on a ‘reverse-billed’ basis, where you will be charged for
receiving texts rather than paying to send them. Typical costs for a single text message received range from 25p to
£1.50. If the service is subscription-based, companies offering these services must make this clear to you, as well as
the cost per text, how many texts will be received and how you can end the service by sending the word STOP.

[end]