Source: Sunday Express

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/122234/-Bully-firms-cash-in-on-contracts-for-TV-licences

'BULLY FIRMS' CASH IN ON CONTRACTS FOR TV LICENCES
Sunday August 23,2009
By Ted Jeory

BBC chiefs were accused of treating viewers with contempt last night after refusing to halt a multimillion pound gravy train that allows private companies to make recession-proof profits for collecting licence fees.

Call centre companies and advertising firms are raking in hundreds of millions of pounds to run a collection agency that regulators have criticised as “bullies”.

At least £120million of viewers’ money drains into the private hands of TV Licensing every year, equivalent to almost a million licence fees.

The cash is subsidising an army of enforcement officials, an unknown number of “detector vans” and last year a £10million pay, shares and bonus package for the boss of Capita Business Services, the main member of the collection consortium.

Up to £20million a year is also paid to advertising companies to run “information campaigns”, including the commercials on BBC TV channels. In a strongly worded report earlier this year, regulators at the BBC Trust called on BBC managers to curb the agency’s aggressive collection tactics. In particular, they criticised the bullying tone of warning letters often wrongly sent to elderly and vulnerable viewers.

The Trust also demanded an end to TV Licensing’s use of lucrative 0844 numbers, which it said exploited viewers. It gave the BBC three months to submit an action plan to answer the criticisms.

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To minimise costs, TV Licensing also claims, low rate telephone numbers will not be introduced until revised letters are ready for launch. Annually, 13million calls are made to the 0844 numbers, each earning Capita a commercially secret percentage profit.

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Whilst there is much to be unhappy about in what is reported here, I urge campaigners to see the positive side.

The unacceptability of 0844 numbers is strongly indicated in the views of the BBC Trust and the CMS committee and reflected in the tone of the article.

It is obviously disappointing that change is being delayed, however the reasons for that are clearly seen. It is seen to sit comfortably alongside other unacceptable practices.