SAYNOTO0870.COM - London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number

juby Full Member Offline Posts: 203 Gloucestershire Gender:	Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number Reply #315 - Jul 18^th, 2005 at 9:29pm Whatever happened to 999? juby
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NonGeographicalMan

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #316 - Jul 18^th, 2005 at 11:40pm

Quote:

Whatever happened to 999?

It became 112 Wink

I wonder if anyone tried calling either 112 or 999 to try enquiring about friends or relatives that might have been involved in the London bombings. I wonder what response they may have received.

I tried calling 112 to contact Surrey Police to report the possible theft of my credit card id by a PayPal clone scam sight. They refused to take my report and insisted thst I must call their 0845 number. They claimed this was charged at the "local rate call" Roll Eyes

I'm still waiting for my FOI request response from Pito. Has anyone had theirs yet?

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bbb_uk Global Moderator Offline Posts: 2,041	Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number Reply #317 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 3:24pm NGM, Did you ever get a reply back from voda concerning the profit, etc they made from the london bomb. Out of the four networks I emailed, its only Voda that haven't responded at all.
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NonGeographicalMan

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #318 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 3:33pm

Quote:

NGM, Did you ever get a reply back from voda concerning the profit, etc they made from the london bomb. Out of the four networks I emailed, its only Voda that haven't responded at all.

I got an email receipt this afternoon indicating that someone senior on their commercial side had just read my email again. They weren't one of my original recipients.

I think its a poisoned chalice that no one there wants to touch as their deliberate hiding of these prices from both publication on their website and in their Pay as You Go charges booklet is surely totally inexcusable.

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NonGeographicalMan

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #319 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 3:36pm

If you want to watch the webcast of tonight's meeting of Mole Valley District Council at 7pm tonight you may find that there is a councillor there calling for a ban on future use of 084/7 numbers and asking for the council to write to Stephen Carter at Ofcom asking for them to act as soon as possible.

The meeting starts at 7pm.

See http://www.molevalley.gov.uk and the link on the home page to watch meetings live online. Or you can always watch the recording later as well.

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« Last Edit: Jul 19^th, 2005 at 3:36pm by N/A »

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idb

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #320 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 3:50pm

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If you want to watch the webcast of tonight's meeting of Mole Valley District Council at 7pm tonight you may find that there is a councillor there calling for a ban on future use of 084/7 numbers and asking for the council to write to Stephen Carter at Ofcom asking for them to act as soon as possible.

I suspect this has been instigated by Julian Shersby, a Mole Valley councillor (http://www.molevalley.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=355&contactid=204). His excellent response to Ofcom's consultation is well worth a read, particularly for those new here. It shows that at least there is one individual within (local) government that understands this problem. Perhaps he is a lone voice. His response is at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/ntsoptions/Responses/jshersby.pdf (I am guessing that this Julian Shersby is the same as Cllr Julian Shersby).

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bill Full Member Offline Posts: 193	Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number Reply #321 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 3:57pm It's quite an unusual name combination so that's likely but what good can one lone local councillor in the wilds of the rural south do? What is needed is for a group of MPs to pick up the ball and run with it.
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idb

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #322 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 4:02pm

Quote:

It's quite an unusual name combination so that's likely but what good can one lone local councillor in the wilds of the rural south do?

He has access to those within central government which most of us, I suspect, do not. A local government councillor is less likely to be ignored than most of us here. He also understands the problem and he is articulate. Perhaps he is the only hope at the moment, but he seems to be the best one. MPs just don't seem to be able to grasp this one.

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NonGeographicalMan

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #323 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 5:14pm

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MPs just don't seem to be able to grasp this one.

What about former Lib Dem MP Paul Tyler. Now the new Lord Tyler. I think he seemed to be on our side and to have made quite a lot of noise lately.

Also don't forget the business from little acorns do oak trees grow etc.

The other key point with NTS is to make sure that the scam can't be repeated for chargeable premium Voip destinations (not POTS Voip number proxies) which are sure to be allowed by Ofcom at some stage.

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« Last Edit: Jul 20^th, 2005 at 9:05am by N/A »

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idb Supreme Member Offline Posts: 1,499 Miami, Florida, United States Gender:	Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number Reply #324 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 5:39pm Quote: What about former Lib Dem MP Paul Tyler. Now the new Lord Tyler. I think he seemed to be on our side and to have made quite a lot of noise lately. And Howard Stoate MP, who is also a medical doctor - http://www.howardstoate.labour.co.uk/ViewPage.cfm?Page=15104
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NonGeographicalMan

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #325 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 9:25pm

Quote:

And Howard Stoate MP, who is also a medical doctor - http://www.howardstoate.labour.co.uk/ViewPage.cfm?Page=15104

I thought Howard Stoate was pretty useless over the 0870 doctor's scam thing.

He behaved like the worst sort of opportunist politician by claiming that NEG moving the scam number to 0844 was a great victory on his part.

The reality is that a 5p per minute 0844 costs over 200% more than 0870 on a Saturday morning and that 0844s are still charged at 50p per minute or £30 per hour by many pay as you go mobile phone operators in the weekday peak. These are precisely the same ripoff mobile charges as for 0870.

Paul Tyler seems to have approached the scam with greater understanding and breadth. We must try and get him more involved. I can't believe that life in the House of Lords can keep him that busy now that he has dispensed with all those pesky constituents who can write 200 letters or more a week to their MP. This must have freed up a lot of spare time for him to concentrate on 0870.

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NonGeographicalMan

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #326 - Jul 19^th, 2005 at 9:31pm

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A local government councillor is less likely to be ignored than most of us here.

The email from Stephen Rimmer addressed to Cllr Shersby and merely copying in the other complainants who emailed Mr Rimmer rather suggests that those at the Home Office think a district councillor has to be taken more seriously than just Jo Bloggs. The thing is a district councillor is more likely to know other important people and/or how to work the complaints system if the Home Office simply ignores the correspondence. And ignoring the correspondence of a councillor or worse still an all powerful MP will seem like more of an act of negligence by the civil servant concerned if the complaint gets escalated further up the chain.

Fortunately this issue is one that affects all members of the community equally badly so it can legitimately be pursued as an issue by a councillor or for that matter an MP.

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« Last Edit: Jul 20^th, 2005 at 9:06am by N/A »

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omy

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #327 - Jul 20^th, 2005 at 6:32pm

In response to my MP asking BT about the use of 0870 numbers for the bombing helpline (unfortunately my MP assumed BT was the ‘operator’!), he copied me the BT response – which basically said “Nowt to do with me, guv”. Accepted.
But, in the continuing email the BT man then says:-

“In situations when BT is the operator for an 0870 number, BT’s share of the revenue is set by the regulator Ofcom and we are only allowed to recover our costs. BT makes no profit on these calls”.

Is this really true, or pure 'creative accounting'??

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bbb_uk

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Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number
Reply #328 - Jul 20^th, 2005 at 7:58pm

Quote:

..

“In situations when BT is the operator for an 0870 number, BT’s share of the revenue is set by the regulator Ofcom and we are only allowed to recover our costs. BT makes no profit on these calls”.

I can't see how thats true because the calls cost the same regardless of who the provider is. If the 0870 is provided by another provider then BT take its own small share (regulated by OfCOM) for carrying the call only and pass the rest on to the provider (termination charge). Whereas if BT is the provider of the 0870 then it would take its small share for carrying the call and the termination charge as well otherwise where does the money (termination charge) go?

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« Last Edit: Jul 20^th, 2005 at 8:00pm by bbb_uk »

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dorf Supreme Member Offline I hate Qs on Premium NGNs Posts: 575 UK Gender:	Re: London Blasts - Using 0870 as Emergency Number Reply #329 - Jul 21^st, 2005 at 1:12pm Will they now try the same trick with a new 0870 or 0871 number for the new supposed attacks or will they continue with this one?
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