Just to express my total shock and disgust that Link Asset Services (formerly known as Capita who are renowned for 084/7/71 numbers in any call centre they have ever set up or run) are still today using an 0871 number on their main contact us page at www.linkassetservices.com/contact-us for ordinary shareholders to contact them at the top of the page.  But much further down the page they go on to show that they have an 0371 number which they say is for calls only from outside the UK.  Then they also have a normal 020 number which they say is for business calls only.

And a supervisor there called Dan who I complained to yesterday afternoon unbelievably tried to tell me that 0871 numbers are charged at "local rate" :o :-/ :'(

This is what they currently have on their web page at www.linkassetservices.com/contact-us although if they are not beyond hope (I find most share registrars phone lines to be centres of low intelligence where they are only usually capable of parrotting things off crib sheets the management gave them years ago) they may have removed the 0871 number and references before the end of today? :-/


Quote:

For shareholders in UK and Irish companies (not funds) Link Market Services: 0871 664 0300 (Calls cost 12p per minute, plus your phone company's access charge.) Call for information about: Your shareholdings in UK and Irish companies Share portals Investor information forms FAQs to help you manage your shares Email shareholderenquiries@linkgroup.co.uk  or visit linksharedeal.com to: Change your address or details Raise questions about your shares We are open from 09:00 – 17:30, Monday to Friday, apart from public holidays in England and Wales. If you are outside the UK, call +44 (0) 371 664 0300. Calls outside the UK will be charged at the applicable international rate. For Investors in funds Link Fund Solutions: 0345 922 0044 Call for information about: Fund documents Investor communications Fraud alerts and warnings Web:  http://www.linkfundsolutions.co.uk/ Email: investorservices@linkgroup.co.uk For Business Enquiries Only Contact Link Asset Services (London office) Tel: 0207 204 7570 or via the form below Note: The office will not be able to help with shareholder enquiries

So they illogically tell people overseas to call their 03 number (which can be very expensive outside the EU as Ofcom General Condition 17 does not apply to charging 03 numbers at geographic rates from outside the UK and the EU's Roaming Directive does not apply outside the EU) and not their 020 number (which would be safest from overseas as its always charged at geographic rate) but then they tell UK callers to call the 0871 number that may be charged at up to 76p per minute plus access charge from a mobile and is full  premium rate manged by the Phone Paid Services Authority (PSA) formerly known as PhonePayPlus and ICSTIS (they still have the same Chairman as in ICSTIS days).

Here is the email I have to the CEO and other senior staff members at Link Asset Services (nee Capita) as listed on their own website or on LinkedIn:-


Quote:

-------- Original Message -------- Subject:      Illegal Continued Use of 0871 Investor Contact Number Date:      5.9.2019 08:31 From:      NGMsGhost To:      anthony.okeeffe@linkgroup.co.uk Copy:      justin.cooper@linkgroup.co.uk, jackie.millan@linkgroup.co.uk, chris.addenbrooke@linkgroup.co.uk, katie.gould@linkgroup.co.uk, michael.kempe@linkgroup.co.uk, claire.young@linkgroup.co.uk, jai.baker@linkgroup.co.uk, general.enquiries@fairtelecoms.org.uk, jprowse@psauthority.org.uk, dedmunds@psauthority.org.uk, sharon.white@ofcom.org.uk, lindsey.fussell@ofcom.org.uk, jonathan.oxley@ofcom.org.uk Reply-To:      js@grenehurst.plus.com Dear Mr O'Keefe, Illegal Continued Use by Link Asset Services of Premium Rate 0871 Investor Contact Number For UK Based Callers As someone actively involved in a longstanding campaign (for which the original focus was the www.saynoto0870.com website and its related discussion forum but where some of those campaigners then formed the Fair Telecoms campaign that was initially specially focused on the abusive use of 084 numbers by GP Surgeries and various DWP benefits claiming helplines and then moved on to 084 numbers used by HMRC and various other government services) I have been very distressed indeed (but sadly not at all surprised given the well known profit over service focused mentality of your predecessors - Capita - who were also one of the principal firms in the UK to pioneer the use of these exploitative customer contact numbers) to see that Link Asset Services appears to be one of a very small hardcore band of call centre Refusenic companies who do not seem to get it that it is now completely illegal to use any 084/7 number and especially 0871 numbers - the most expensive form of these numbers directly regulated by the premium rate phone number regulator - The Phone Paid Services Authority (PSA) unlike 0844 and 0845 numbers, which none the less do still cost consumers a substantial premium to call (especially from mobiles). The government's own press release on this matter at www.gov.uk/government/news/government-cuts-off-costly-calls was issued on 13th December 2013 and the requisite regulations (in the form of statutory instruments) took effect on 13th June 2014 as set out at www.fairtelecoms.org.uk/consumer-contracts-regulations.html ;  The website at https://www.callcentrehelper.com/companies-still-ignoring-ban-on-0845-numbers-86142.htm also set out in its article on 22nd April 2016 that a small hardcore of companies were still ignoring the changes in the law in this area and were breaking the law by doing so.  Whilst it is still legal for 084/7 numbers to be used in some situations including sales lines (although most companies would not be daft enough to impede sales in this way while using 03 numbers or 080 numbers for customer service contact) that definitely does not include customer service related matters on existing share ownership and to be using 0871 numbers controlled by the Phone Paid Services Regulator puts you in a particularly hard core group of deniers that the law has changed on this matter and also applies to them. I was therefore shocked that when discussing this matter with Dan on your bereaved shareholder helpline yesterday afternoon he still tried to claim that your 0871 number was only charged at "local rate" (there actually being no "local rate calls" any more but only standard national rate calls all charged at the same rate and included in all call package bundles to numbers starting 01, 02 and 03).  I find it appalling that someone who is supposed to be there to help the bereaved would wrongly encourage them to call a number which may cost up to 71p per minute to call from a mobile plus an initial access charge of 13p as set out at https://www.area-codes.org.uk/0871-numbers.php As your company has actually bothered to secure the equivalent normal cost number of 0371 664 0300 for 0871 664 0300 as shown currently at www.linkassetservices.com/contact-us (although I suspect the 0871 will not be there for not much longer so I also attach screen shots as evidence this was still taking place at the time of writing) I think it simply reflects a culture of ostritch like ignorance about telecoms matters by senior management at Link (or especially in its contact centre, which I feel in particular quite clearly lacks an adequate calibre of well educated senior management) and/or alternatively and more worryingly still a corporate culture of arrogance and contempt that customers are easily exploited cash cows and that Link and its telecoms supplier has no intention of giving up this nice little income stream until it is forced to do so at the point of a regulatory gun or by court action.  However to reflect my concern on this matter I am also copying in senior management at Ofcom and the Phone Paid Services Regulator as I do think it reflects extremely badly on what I would call a very poor culture of customer service by some share registrars and in particular by your immediate predecessors, Capita. I therefore trust you will be investigating this issue as a matter of urgency and also altering your web page at www.linkassetservices.com/contact-us to only list your 0371 standard national rate number for contact at the very earliest possible opportunity. I look forward to hearing from you, NGMs Ghost

Two points to add:
[list bull-blacksq]

Use of this 0871 number is in breach of FCA regulations - see Financial services basic rate calls.
 

With the EE Access Charge now at 65p per minute, it now costs up to 77p per minute to call 0871 664 0300.

SilentCallsVictim wrote on Sep 5^th, 2019 at 10:13am:

Two points to add: [list bull-blacksq] Use of this 0871 number is in breach of FCA regulations - see Financial services basic rate calls.   With the EE Access Charge now at 65p per minute, it now costs up to 77p per minute to call 0871 664 0300.

Thank you for your helpful update SilentCallsVictim pointing out that in the case of financial services companies it is actually slightly later imposed FCA conduct rules that impose the requirement to only use standard rated numbers for customer service related calls.

Also thank you for pointing out that if calling from a mobile the cost of calling this 0871 number can now be as high as 77p per minute if calling on EE itself, although possibly the charge levels levied by MVNOs piggybacking on the EE transmitter network may all vary (and possibly be higher still in some cases :o)

Also SilentCalls Victim is the FCA rule breach reporting process at all effective in bringing the company in question to book or is it the usual ineffectual polite letter between members of the old boys club...........

NGMsGhost wrote on Sep 5^th, 2019 at 1:17pm:

Also SilentCalls Victim is the FCA rule breach reporting process at all effective in bringing the company in question to book or is it the usual ineffectual polite letter between members of the old boys club...........

Those businesses who rely some degree of trust from their customers will generally comply with regulatory requirements, once they are made aware of them and made to appreciate their relevance.

Whilst others may have different experiences, the fair telecoms campaign tends to find that most non-compliance results from ignorance or failure to appreciate the relevance and importance of regulatory requirements.

When intervention by a regulator is necessary, one always hopes that it is the threat of penalty which will achieve the necessary move to compliance. That threat must however be thought to be real, so it could be counter-productive for a campaign group to refer to the inevitable shortcomings of every enforcement procedure, unless there were to be a realistic prospect of improvement.

Our primary campaigning objective is compliance, not the penalisation of offenders. The latter is essentially an admission of defeat, albeit that every regime must demonstrate its readiness to undertake appropriate enforcement action. We always seek to emphasise the rectitude of regulatory requirements and the need for compliance, regardless of any unhappy consequence that may result from a breach.

SilentCallsVictim wrote on Sep 5^th, 2019 at 2:02pm:

Our primary campaigning objective is compliance, not the penalisation of offenders.

Sorry but these people are share registrars who have to comply with numerous other FCA regulations on maintaining proper client records and due diligence and they have had four years to comply with and implement this part of the FCA rules.  Also since they use an especially aggravating and customer exploiting 0871 number that is a true premium rate number I am sure that its inappropriate nature will have been mentioned to their staff almost every time by callers and yet and none of Capita/Link's front line staff seem to be what I would call highly intellectually able and they are therefore apparently all content to follow their masters instructions to read from the corporate crib sheet claiming the 0871 is a local rate number even though many of their staff must know full well from their own personal experience of making phone calls that this is simply not true.

If these rules were taken seriously by the FCA and they proactively took enforcement action against seemingly deliberate and persistent offenders then clearly we wouldn't still be finding egregious breaches of the phone number calling rules like this one now.

These same corporate beings are very happy to impose numerous unreasonable charges on their customers such as the £10 charge they are trying to make for every single cheque they have issued in my mother's name with dividend payments since she died (before she died the dividends were paid electronically but as soon as her bank told them the account was closed due to her death they started spewing out regular cheques in her name and not the executors names to her home) in order to reissue them in the name of the executors.

We couldn't cash any of those cheques in my mother's name as she had died and it took a long while to get probate due to the complexity of the estate.  As neither Computershare or Equiniti have charged anything to reissue these dividend cheques that have not been carelessly lost or misplaced by us or not cashed in time but are simply uncashable as issued then why should Link Asset Services be able to penalise a deceased person's estate in this way?

You seem to be much too benevolent in your attitude towards large and frequently cynical big corporates (Lowri Beck is another major case in point of such a reckless continued misuser of these numbers with their 0844 CLI) with a bad enough attitude to the rights of their customers as this one (although no doubt all of that was mainly down to Capita in their time rather than Australian Link Asset Service who have only taken over in recent months but so far they seem to have made very few staff changes and in my view some significant restructuring of the staff is needed by Link UK to deal with Capita's very poor corporate approach to customers).

My attitude is there are endless corporates and number vending telcos who will go on abusing these numbers for as long as they can get away with it as there is plenty of money involved in doing so.  The telco providing this 0871 number will in particular have racked up large profits.

I have wasted enough of my life picking off individual misusers yet even now four to five years after the rules changed they are still doing it.

So my solution is stop hidden charging through NTS numbers completely (with their ridiculous lack of any pre charge call announcements) and close them all down and get anyone who wants to pay for services remotely to do so directly using a debit or credit card or Apple or Android Pay or whatever so that customers know and are sure they are agreeing to pay these charges in advance of using a service.

I am tired of all the endless excuses made by 084/7 using call centres that they didn't know about these numbers and thought they were local rate (which are simply not credible this much time on in 2019) and the only solution is to cut off the covert revenue charging telecoms gravy train at source by closing down these number ranges thus automatically forcing these companies to replace them with normal rate 03 numbers.

If you personally have the time to waste in your life on writing endless more letters on this subject and find this a personally enjoyable hobby to participate in well that is clearly up to you.  I personally never want to have to complain about another abusive call centre misusing 084/7 numbers again....................

Also HMRC are already trying to impose ridiculous penalties at £100 a week on tax returns I told them I didn't have all the records to complete yet and they know I have never been an executor before.  The government aren't benevolent towards people not paying road tax or who forget an MOT so why do you think we should be so benevolent towards call centre professionals for whom this is their main business four to five years on from these numbers (especially 0871 numbers which show a far worse corporate attitude to customers in the first place) having been banned by regulations?  I think it must be because you enjoy feeling that your own personal letter or email has managed to get that wrong phone number finally changed?

Playing Devil's Advocate with myself the one possible reason to take a benevolent approach is that Link Group of Australia as the new owners (who bought the business from Capita only a few months ago) may well have a much better corporate culture when it comes to their attitude to customer service and it may be that they will be appalled to have inherited this situation and want to put it right.

To this end I have now emailed the Managing Director and other relevant senior directors of the parent Australian company with a copy and explanation of my earlier email to the CEO of their new UK subsidiary.

Of course as the 0371 number already exists it may well be that this issue is fixed in terms of future rule breach by the end of tomorrow (the UK staff appear to be having a meeting about it tomorrow morning), although it is still disappointing that such a substantial organisation specialising in complying with the rigors of company law and corporate actions should have allowed such a rule breach to persist for so long in the first place.

But if Link express proper abhorrence for the existence of the 0871 number and the Australian senior management also join in with this and suggest they are undertaking a thoroughgoing review of the newly acquired UK business then I may well be convinced that they have taken all possible reasonable steps they can to put matters right.

I see Link (nee Capita) are still listing the 0871 number today (Saturday 7th September) post their meeting yesterday (Friday 6th September) so either they must still believe that 0871 is "local rate" in spite of all the evidence presented to them to the contrary or their internal or external web page developers need more time to make a very simply change of text content on the existing web page.......

Its not like they have to go to their telecoms supplier and request an 0371 number and have it go live.  They already have the 0371 number connecting to precisely the same IVR system (I have dialled it and spoken to them on it and contrary to the false lies given to them by the greedy telco who sold them the 0871 number it does work perfectly fine from a UK mobile number) as the 0871 so why is it taking them so long to fix this problem.

It certainly doesn't inspire any confidence in their other abilities as a business and indeed none of their front line contact centre staff on their so called "bereavement" line inspire any confidence at all in that regard either.........

Also no reply from any of the senior management at Link in Australia either (I have a read receipt from the Australian finance director) to assure me they are on the case and very concerned to hear about this matter. So do they perhaps have almost exactly the same kind of amorphous corporate structure as Capita did...........

I see I'm also finding 0871 numbers still listed for the following companies shareholder information lines and I suspect it would not be a bad guess that many of them will turn out to have Link (nee Capita) as their registrars.  Especially as there is the same old rubbish that the non 0871 geographic number is for call from outside the UK only. These are as follows:-

Santander

See https://www.santander.com/csgs/Satellite/CFWCSancomQP01/en_GB/Corporate/Shareholders/Shareholders-UK/Useful-Information/Contact-us.html

Countrywide

See https://www.countrywide.co.uk/corporate/investor-relations/shareholder-information/

Cafe Direct

See https://www.cafedirect.co.uk/shareholder-information/

Majestic Wine

See https://majesticwineplc.co.uk/investor-centre/shareholder-services/

and in fact numerous others on multiple Google pages.

Also I'm disturbingly also finding an 0871 number listed as an information line for the shareholders of Equiniti - a rival registrar to Link!!!

See https://selector.equiniti.com/Pages/Contactus.aspx

Computershare (the other major share registrat) are also showing an 0871 phone number on this curent form for Aviva at http://www-uk.computershare.com/Content/download.asp?docId=%7BD520E5E1-3A7A-4510-903E-96ED4E587EAC%7D&cc=UK&lang=en&bhjs=0&fla=0&theme=cpu

But of course SilentCallsVictim will assure me it was all some innocent little mistake by these registrars and even though they are tasked with accurately maintaining company share registers and complying with the law on that we can't expect them to know that 0871 numbers were banned by the FCA four years ago??????!!!!!!!!!!! >:( :o :'(

Clearly Link's morals and quality of management are even worse than I feared as an email to the CEO and the directors have not done the trick and the 0871 number remains firmly listed on their website as the method of customer contact.

Also their so called head of Business Quality Assurance appears to have simply forgotten her commitment to send me a further final response on this matter within a few days of her previous holding emails.

Clearly a company that cares only about money and not about the quality of the customer service experience! :o >:( :'(