Watching the Cycling Wolrd Championships two events were advertised (I didn't note what they were). 2 ticket office numbers were given, both 0871, both described as Standard rate and no other price info given.

Surely this is not allowed?

Keith wrote on Mar 30^th, 2008 at 4:59pm:

Surely this is not allowed?

One would hope not but only the BBC or ultimately the BBC Trust control what is actually broadcast on the BBC.  Ofcom have no jurisdiction.

File an official complaint at www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/.   Also make sure to forward a copy of your complaint by email to frank.stock@bbc.co.uk who is investigating this issue.

When I last spoke to Mr Stock he was talking in terms of the BBC potentially adopting over-arching policy for all their programs that forbade the use of anything other than 01, 02 and 03 numbers and replacing the 0870 number for BBC Information with an 03 number.  Worryingly though I have heard nothing further from Mr Stock lately and of course Ofcom (with their decision to indefinitely postpone 0870 price changes on spurious and quite unjustified grounds) seem to have given the green light to continued lieing about 084 and 087 call charges.

You might also want to email BBC Head of Sport - roger.mosey@bbc.co.uk, Jana Bennett - Director, Vision - jana.bennett@bbc.co.uk and Tim Davie, Director, Marketing, Communications and Audiences - tim.davie@bbc.co.uk

I have already emailed a complaint, but not to that list. I will do.

Surely 0871 now comes under ICSTIS or whatever it is now called not OFCOM.

As it was a ticket office number it may not have been the BBC running it, but they should have made the costs clear - I just didn't catch what the events were exactly being advertised. I just caught that it was to book tickets, the 0871 and the standard rate

Keith wrote on Mar 30^th, 2008 at 9:20pm:

Surely 0871 now comes under ICSTIS or whatever it is now called not OFCOM.

I thought the 0871 control by PhonePayPlus (as ICSTIS is now called) was postponed at the same time that the 0870 price reduction was indefinitely delayed by Ofcom.  I could be wrong and they sure as hell don't want us the consumer to know what is going on.


Quote:

As it was a ticket office number it may not have been the BBC running it, but they should have made the costs clear - I just didn't catch what the events were exactly being advertised. I just caught that it was to book tickets, the 0871 and the standard rate

An external program making contractor no doubt but then so are most of the live sport programs the BBC broadcast.  The BBC are still in a position to impose universal rules on all program makers for the BBC about what phone numbers they can use, as Mr Stock has confirmed in his discussions with me.

I notice that Question Time also uses a very prominently displayed 0871 number these days for audiences, which again seems wholly unacceptable.  Dimbleby even goes on and on about calling the number.