Just watched the news. The appeal for help for the areas hit by this awful earthquake quoted an 0870 number, I'm disgusted. Somebody wants to make money out of even this.

Saw it as well and my immediate reaction was of despair and 'oh not again'.

At least the profit  they make on the call will hopefully be going to the disaster or lowering the cost of their admin of rasing the funds. I wonder if the provider is contributing their profit on this number to the disaster - I hope so.

I wonder if the money they gain from using the 0870 number outweighs lost income from those that either can't use an 0870 number or won't because of the cost or out of principle. Hopefully it won't stop people, but if they have to hang to be answered I suspect it will.

  So glad you see things the same way I do. I'm a shareholder in several companies(in a very modest way) but I still would rather forgo extra profit for integrity. To profit from the misfortune of others is always wrong. I don't know who to contact to complain about this. I know I'm only one voice but a lot of "one voices" might make a difference. I admit I am a senior citizen who remembers when other people mattered and it wasn't a culture of "me,me, me". If anybody has any ideas please let me know. As an aside I have had my phone blocked to outgoing calls of 09.... Did you know you can do this Just look at the game channels on Sky. I don't get tempted myself. I'm just a bridge freak.

Last night and today I saw news progs and an 020 number given out , can't remember the rest of it but I thought then that they had taken notice,maybe someone else got the number and can put it on here.

I also noticed an 0800 number for donations on Teletext, but again I cannot now find it.

The statement about all money being donated to the DEC, just cannot be true, as it cann't include most of what the Mobile networks are charging us for making the calls, and not passing on to the terminating operator.

[quote author=idb  link=1129035386/0#3 date=1129038273]
The most offensive aspect, at least to me, about the use of 0870 in these circumstances is not the actual revenue payment derived from 0870 (which is probably refunded by BT anyway) but all the [b]extra [/b]revenue generated to other networks that charge forty or so pence per minute for such calls. Where will this revenue end up? Shareholders and fat-cat CEOs of course.

[/quote]

It's an NGO 0870 Bonanza for Mobile Operators from every Disaster, on the back of the Nations goodwill.

I see it's now saying "... at [b]a [/b]national rate...  "   in response to a suggestion that it [b]is[/b] expensive.  At least that's beginning to acknowledge perhaps there IS more than one, but as we all know National Rate is now a meaningless expression being used to deceive the Nation

If Gordon Brown can be so generous as to permit and actually facilitate a 28 % enhancement  on all charitable donations  through Gift Aid (tax relief), then why not legislate  for a universally free national Hotline for Emergency Fund raising.   (a bit like 999 is for  individual Emergencies).
 
Letting  Mobile Operators away with Charging for 'Freefone' ( 0800 / 0500 ) numbers is where it all started to go wrong.

   Do I feel  yet another new number range coming on, for Ofcom to consult on and administer ?

I agree entirely Smasher, and it does not even seem to matter which particular "name" of party is in power. They are all the same. As soon as they have been elected they appoint all their own cronies and feather their own nests. As the saying goes "Power corrupts" and this was never so true as it is today.

Due to the fact that all the heads of these Quangos like Ofwat, Ofgem, Ofcom etc. are appointed because they are cronies that is why we never get any proper regulation which takes the interests of the consumers (the members of the electorate) into account. I think the problem is that we never had a proper Revolution in this country. We had at least one significant Civil War, but that is not quite the same.

The offence of Treason is still on the statute book though, I understand, so why are none of these leaders ever accused with this, which is what most of them in reality commit, and brought into the Tower through the Traitor's Gate and dealt with accordingly?

To allow and condone by default this sort of exploitation of those suffering tragedy and disaster just demonstrates the true contempt of politicians towards those who elect them, as well as the fact that they have no real moral values or scruples. They see us all as pure cannon fodder.