40p a minute to ring Job Seekers Direct
Jon Rees and Tom Harper, Mail on Sunday
16 August 2009, 12:11pm

Reported in TIM and Daily Mail: The Government has been slammed for making money from unemployed people who have to pay as much as 40p a minute to call its official jobs helpline to ask about vacancies.

HELD IN A QUEUE: Job seekers line up outside a Jobcentre - but those who have to wait on the phone for advice face stiff charges.

   * It's cheaper to call US than local hospital
   * Number's up for 0870 rip-off

Job Seekers Direct, the Jobcentre Plus service run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help those looking for work, can only be called using an 0845 phone number, in defiance of guidance from regulator Ofcom.

See http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=489690&in_page_id=2

It probably doesn't matter (although, on a well-respected site like www.thisismoney.co.uk it's very disappointing) but that article has a heck of a lot of errors regarding BT calls charges.


Quote:

People who call Job Seekers Direct from a mobile are charged up to 40p a minute. Calls from a BT landline are charged at almost 4p a minute, with a 7p 'call set-up' charge. Other providers may charge more. If the service could be contacted on a normal landline number, calls from a mobile would cost no more than 20p a minute and calls from a BT landline no more than 2.55p.

(2p, 8p and 4½p per minute respectively have been accurate)

Quote:

The use of chargeable numbers rather than cheaper or even free alternatives drew strong criticism, especially as the Department of Health is reviewing their use by doctors' surgeries after an outcry by patients.

The DWP, notably the new minister, has been receiving its own share of attention. This reference to the DH is a positive indication that hard campaigning work in one area may deliver benefits in others.

There is no explicit reference in the article to the 03 range, however the quoted sentence makes the point that there is no need for the taxpayer to incur the full cost of all telephone calls through use of 0800 numbers. We (or rather, I) simply say that claimants and job seekers should only have to pay their own phone bills, not contribute towards paying those of the DWP.

Outragous!!!

Government departments should be forced to use the 03 range, come to think of it why aren't they forced to use the 03 range. If the goverment don't do it right what chance have we got.

At least then callers will be able to use a mobile at a reasonable cost, most of these clients only have mobiles anyway

Is it worth lobying No 10 or the relvant minister with a survey in this regard

Baz

Baz, there is already a petition that is relevant. It is the top ranking petition on the No.10 site. It petitions that Brown should resign. Since he is the one who has allowed and clandestinely encouraged all of these abuses to generate additional revenue for government departments. This is the predominant reason that Ofcom will take no proper action over these abuses. The government has its snout in the trough.

If Brown granted that petition the problems would soon be solved. I hope you and others have already signed that petition. If not do it NOW!

I have already done my bit in this regard, just thought another may be needed

Baz

dorf wrote on Aug 22^nd, 2009 at 8:46am:

If Brown granted that petition the problems would soon be solved.

Political comments may be ruled out of order in this forum. I respond to that made from a position of no loyalty to any party.

Whatever may be the merits of a new leader of the Labour Party or a new government, I fear that "the problems" will not be solved so readily.

There may well be reason to celebrate the work done by Oftel to prevent the introduction of revenue sharing and premium rate numbers, before these came in as this Conservative creation was replaced by the allegedly corrupt agent of New Labour. Sadly my knowledge of the detail of these matters does not go back that far, so I must defer to more senior members. If a Conservative government is to return to power we have been invited to consider the prospect of quangos like Ofcom being totally abolished, rather being returned to their former state. This would mean that such market intervention as there is will be made directly by government departments.

The Conservative leadership is trying hard to have throw off the ultra-liberal cloak of Thatcherism to leave its ragged remains being worn by New Labour. I cannot, however, take the prospect of a Conservative Trade Minister making an announcement about new telephone call charge price controls that seriously. Furthermore, I do not believe that this is what is being sought by many of those who have signed the petition.


As for the money taken by public services, can we really expect for net public spending to be increased by abandonment of the subsidy from revenue sharing under any future government? Whatever measures are taken to cut costs and save money in other areas, that would be the effect on the public finances of giving up revenue share; any compensatory cost saving measures that may be proposed should surely be taken anyway.

We have a very tough battle with the present government, I see no reason to suppose that on this particular issue it will be any easier with any government likely to be formed next year.