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It was a further good item where what was covered was basically entirely accurate although there was some detail that was missed in the name of simplicity.

For instance they compared that a geographic national BT call now costs 3p per minute compared to "about 8p" for 0870 but they neglected to mention that for BT Option 3 customers the difference is actually 0p per minute versus "about 8p".  Also they neglected to do a comparison with say Call18866 where the difference for 30 minutes could be 1p for a geographic national number compared to £2.70 for an 0870 number.

They also failed to ask why when there is such acute and massive price competition for calling geographic numbers there is almost no such competition in the cost of calls to 0870 numbers and how is it that BT and others have managed to so successfuly stifle normal competitive forces.

Lastly they deservedly took the DVLA to task and did some interesting calculations on what they may be making but they failed to do an equivalent job on BBC Information who probably have one of the largest call volumes and make some of the biggest profits from 0870 numbers of any call centre in the uk.

We don't just need tv coverage (this is a story Panorama could cover if they really put their mind to it) but also a tame MP or two to start asking questions on this item in the House of Commons.  Unfortunately I know my MP is not the right man as he is not a guy for detail and this is a detailed and complex issue.  Does anyone have any ideas on this?

Another report on You and Yours yesterday. Very interesting. Listen here.

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Yes it was a fairly good item but they still failed to do a price comparison between the rate charged by the cheapest calls supplier for uk geographic phone calls (call18866) and the 0870 call price charged by that same supplier.  They also continue to miss the point about 0870 numbers being excluded from BT Option 3, given that in the BBC model of the world everyone is unfortunately still assumed to be a Mr and Mrs Jo Average BT loving drongo on some BT call package or other.

Also its a little strange that they didn't hit on how much money one of the other biggest abusers of 0870 (BBC Information) is making out of all this and then rather pathetically had to justify their own 0870 number by saying but we can call you right back. But I already have on record from the IT systems guy at Capita in Belfast (who run the BBC Information call centre) that Cable & Wireless can set up any BBC program they like with an 0800 number at the drop of a hat if they ask for one (and if profit grubbing BBC management agree that this is appropriate).

The guy from the company selling the doctors phone systems was a real charletan.  He could have justified the benefits of the death camps on behalf of Adolf Hitler and also the productivity value of extracting all those gold fillings from the dead bodies.  He was also lying by claiming that 0870 calls cost little more than geographic calls because call times were shorter??!!, but again he was totally ignoring BT Option 3 customers.

What about the BT response to the NTS Options for the Future proposals to be found here?
www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/ntsoptions/Responses/?a=87101

Does anyone know what BT means by the BT Retail geographic local and national call rates?  I wasn't aware that they actually has such a rate.  They only have BT Option 1, 2 and 3 call rates and BT Standard rate which is not the same thing at all.

I had to get BT to correct its mistake in their original submission that they wanted revenue sharing ending on 0871 numbers when they meant 0870.  Perhaps the whole topic has got so confused that even BT now hasn't a clue what its talking about.

Lets go with Ofcom Option 4 in their proposals I say - that is ban all 084 and 087 revenue sharing and reclassify all pay as you go 0844 and 0845 dial up numbers under 04 or 06 number prefix access codes (the latter is my additional suggestion).

Why don't some of you send an email to kath.embleton@bt.com and ask her what she means by the BT Retail Geographic Local and National Rates.  She hasn't answered my question on this so far.

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Try sending a fax to your MP and MEPs.
This can now be done on www.faxyourmp.co.uk and on www.writetothem.com which are web sute that also monitors the number of times MPs etc fail to respond to their constituents - and publishes it complete with their voting record

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web.archive.org is your friend!

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Did you see last night's Test The Nation major calls money making scam on ITV?

This was an IQ test but where responding to the questions via the internet was not allowed.  They only accepted text messages to an 07 number or phone calls to 09 numbers.

Except there was some part of the process where they suggested you could register by calling an 0870 number "at the national rate"!!!!!

Are these people just shameless liars or are they really that thick (my money is certainly on the former conclusion and not the latter).

What rate per minute do you think you may get on an 0870 number called by 100,000 viewers?

There is a way to defeat Onetel's cost of 0870 calls. If you have signed up to call automatically (carrier pre-selection) via Onetel, but still pay your line rental to BT, you can 'revert' to BT for a specific call by dialling the prefix 1280 before the call. This will route the call via BT and so you will be charged by BT - not Onetel. This means you can at least take advantage (if that is the right term!  ) of the cheaper rates that BT charges at various times of the day.  I did this all the time when I lived in the UK, and the 0870 charges then appeared on my BT account. Obviously, wherever possible, I chose to make the calls at a time when the cost was the least!

The advantage of this is that BT have their charges regulated - the other telcos don't. It's still an incredible rip-off, but at least it is one way to partially offset the cost. 

Thanks for that.

A statement in the Surgery Line is:  NEG Surgery Line™ is completely self-financing!

Well it is not is it?

Shouldn't that read:  NEG Surgery Line™ is completely patient financed!

J