I have been reading this website for about a month now with increasing anger. I can tell you that Victor Meldrew has nothing on me !

Just felt the urge to applaud you all for your great work.

You are the type of people that are called activists. (I was called that when I spoke to a neighbour about this website).What great people you must be . You all seem to have that Bulldog spirit. Don't let the Buggers Grind you down approach. It's your sort that should be running for parliament or employed by OFCOM-Radical and practical intelligent thinkers AND DOERS.


What I would urge you all to do is to contact your M.P. and involve him/her in your justified complaint . Just before an election is a very good time  !

Personally I have been having email arguments with a number of companies. Flybe, Barclays, Tiscali,  etc. Unfortunately and very sadly most of the responses are from well trained 'Customer Service' personnelwho must be given a 'party line' to tow. I usually ask them to involve those more senior who are inevitably hiding far far away from the action (mostly in The Board Room).

In addition I have been in emailed contact with OFCOM who I believe have 800 staff. As most people now know they have been doing research on this subject.

Contained in a reply to me that I have queried was the statement to the effect that they are trying very hard to find a way to make all these kind folk ADVERTISE exactly what the calls are costing and also to find a way to record an announcement to the calleradvising" this is a chargeable numbeer"- What do you do then ? I have emailed my response asking why on earth they didn't simply CAP the amount able to charged to a reasonable (non profit making) number - so far no response.
My local M.P. copied me on a reply from OFCOM to him about one year ago full of platitudes and excuses
.
We don't seem to have moved far .....

I notice that there are nearly 2000 members of this website why don't each and every one of you temporarily cease from jeeing each other up and giving me constant high blood pressure and just send one email to YOUR M.P. - It may bring results quicker !

Luv You All

Lavillegour

I have been in continuous contact with my MP about these abuses almost since they began, but in the end it accomplishes nothing except wasting time and effort.  They just write a letter to the Minister concerned and then a pre-programmed letter is sent from Ofcom, explaining that none of these travesties is an abuse of any sort, making all sorts of pointless excuses, and completely failing to answer the question of why they have allowed the NTNP to be circumvented and its very objectives completely destroyed.

The reason for all of this is that the politicians and the government do not want any change now, because they are all now milking the system too. It has become an additional Stealth Tax to generate revenue for the government from NGN abuse.

So by all means continue and try, but I don't think from experience that you will achieve what you want in this way! I now believe that only overriding EU action can force change in this, just as with the C&E targeting perfectly innocent cross-channel shoppers. Once the government have their nose in the trough they become addicted to the pig-swill.

Quote:


See Paul Tyler MP and 0870.

Quote:
With respsect, I don't think that would be a good idea.

MPs (or more likely their staff), in common with organisations such as Ofcom, BT (and even NEG) soon realise when they're the recipient of pro forma-type letters and ignore them immediately.

Far better for individuals to write in their own style, making their own points and expressing their own concerns.

Just my opinion.

   
Herewith copy of email I recently sent to THIS MORNING
   
  To:    thismorning@thismorning.co.uk   
   
  Subject:   Scams   
   
  Date:   Feb 07 2005, 02:03 PM 
    
  Hi,

I have phoned in, but I guess too late to be counted so to speak. With regard to your less than transparent presentation (scams) I find it rather hypocritical of yourselves to point the finger at scams (although quite rightly of course) but whilst perpetrating I think 2 sorts of deception yourselves!!!

1/ Offering a diamond pendant worth you say £5000 (probably costing 50% @ trade price) as a prize for a ridiculously easy question. How many thousand viewers particularly housewives phone in @ £1 per call (or was it per minute??) I bet more than 5000.

2/ To contact you by phone requires use of an 0870 number.There is at present a move afoot to try to get Oftel to look into the massive scam in the unnecessary use of these numbers. To explain: - When BT used to charge different amounts per minute for calls from longer distances (ie National call rates) it was a fair move on the part of organisations wishing to equate the cost of contact by customers wherever they lived in the UK. Now there is no difference between the per min. charges as Local & National calls are the same price @ 3p per min.through the day, whereas 0870 numbers are charged @ 7.51p per min and in many cases up to 4.5p is actually paid by BT to the number holder!!!! If you look @ your phone bill you will now find two new categories of charge which are "National Rate" covering 0870 etc & "Lo-call" covering 0845. If This Morning gave your London geographical number rather than the 0870 it would cost callers less to contact you, unless you like making a large amount of revenue from this source& if you aren't then someone else is. To maximise benefit by the misuse of this system some of the organisations  using 0870 & 0871 numbers employ a long "menu" to enable you to contact the dept you need & then have you hold as a "valuable caller" until an agent is free!! 

In the case of, would you believe it, the DVLC in Swansea receives thousands of calls in a week say 10,000 each averaging say 10 mins then 10x10,000x4p= £4000x52weeks=£208,000pa. Food for serious thought.

Being even more nitpicky if you consider that the new tariffs charged by BT., whereby you do not pay for actual calls, exclude 08** & 09** numbers so these people pay twice.

My name is Tony B*** & my phone number is 01*** ******
More expert comment on these scams is available on www.saynoto0870.com ;

As you will no doubt have guessed these are matters I consider really serious.  Hoping to hear from you, Tony.


Any members suggestions to edit/ clarify for mass usage welcome. TonyB.

I posted this on the Watchdog sector trying to whip up a bit of group attack.

Reggie, we will never know unless we try & it dont cost too much to send block  emails to an agreed list of people to attack:- Traders  Official Bodies MPs EMPS Councillors etc. even friends & relatives

If there is a concerted effort from us all then surely  if we notify the press etc of say specific dates of action then we might just might get somewhere?

You experienced campaigners can knock 7 bells out of my effort, its a starting point.