why dont u tell the CAA at the same time to ban the 0870 for nats.
What happens if you need to call from abroad to obviously fly the plane, to say the lyinair flight your on is delayed? Sorry 0870 dont work.

mc661 wrote on Dec 8^th, 2005 at 7:55am:
I've already tried raising the 0870 issue with the CAA, but it doesn't give a toss. It, and its consumer arm, the AUC, are wholly clueless. They will not entertain my complaint because, although I am a British citizen, I live outside the United Kingdom. I can wait though. When a major air incident/accident occurs and the idiotic BAA with CAA complicity issues an NGN for a casualty bureau or similar, then, like PITO, it will have to answer for its scamming of the public. I am trying to raise the CAA/AUC issue with my MP, but he has so far failed to respond. I am not going to give up with these cretins though.

nrg710, you've actually provided me with added impetus to raise this matter once again with the CAA. I'm sick and tired of UK airports (of which I am a frequent user) using telephone numbers that I cannot call. BAA is the worst culprit, and is a cynical exploiter of the public along the same lines as the BBC. I'm not prepared to be fobbed off this time, and this will now be raised with the SofS and my MP.

nrg710 wrote on Jan 11^th, 2006 at 5:48pm:


You might find this little set of recent comments recently attributed to the Chief Executive of BT Retail, Ian Livingston, to be rather helpful in defeating the ridicuous arguments you have encountered.  The conspiracy theorists among us might also wonder why this excellent article is no longer found in a direct search on Google or Yagoo under - "Ian Livingston" 0870 abolition - but only through a reference to the article via a poster in a web forum that Yahoo still managed to locate.  If I didn't know better I would begin to believe that the forces of 0870 pushing were behind the now mysteriously hard to locate nature of the article:-

http://business.scotsman.com/banking.cfm?id=764772005

You might also like to refer them to Page 9 of BT's response to Ofcom's recently closed NTS Way Forward consultation.  This asks for all 0870 calls to be charged at geographic rates and refers to the considerable consumer discontent over the matter:-

www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/nts_forward/responses/af/BT.pdf

You might also like to point out to these numb skulls that while a 15 minute call to an 01 or 02 number in a BT phonebox costs 30p a 15 minute call to 0870 costs £1.75.  Or a 1 hour call to an 01 or 02 number on Vodafone's SmartPlus Pay as You Go tariff in the evening or at the weekend costs 15p but a 1 hour call to an 0870 number will cost you £6.00

You will also find these comments attributed to Ofcom by Ian Bottom (a member of this forum under another name) on Page 4 of his 15 page response to the recent Ofcom NTS Way Forward consultation to be helpful.  These start "Ofcom is aware that callers may experience difficulty in accessing UK non-geographic numbers from outside the UK..........."

See www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/nts_forward/responses/af/bottom.pdf

Unfortunately you have encountered the usual lies here always peddled by 084/7 abusers who continue to maintain they are just ordinary local and national rate calls and totally duck the fact that they are now listed as Special Rate Services in BT's own phone book.  Unfortunately BT is very schizophrenic on this matter as its own phone bills still show Lo-Call against many 0845 calls (otherwise they show "Local Rate" which is also untrue) and National Rate against all 0870 calls.  Yet its own Chief Executive admits the whole thing is a con!  Perhaps you might like to email ian.livingston@bt.com about this remarkable inconsistency (I know from experience that he does read all his emails personally) and why it is that BT's Head of Pricing Mr John Strutt can't get his act together to show the correct term (Special Rate Services) against 0845 and 0870 numbers on phone bills.  This is despite numerous promises from Mr Strutt to do so.

By the way TinPusher I loved your amusing writing style about Rustbucket Airways etc, etc.

Hope you become an activist in this campaign as its clear that you share our philosophy.

idb wrote on Jan 14^th, 2006 at 2:06pm:


Don't forget that nrg is a pilot.  I expect that is why the CAA feel they do have to give him the time of day.

Regarding your MP why not threaten to complain to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards if he doen't help you - www.parliament.uk/about_commons/pcfs.cfm ;  Unless he is someone you know you have nothing to lose.  Although MPs seem to have no formal duty to assist constituent in the Code of Conduct ( they have a duty not to accept bribes or be influenced financially in their Parliamentary voting) I bet such a threat would embarass him into action.

From what I understand you are still on the electoral register in his constituency and have a vote from him at the election so you are a constituent and the very reason you have a vote for him is because he is supposed to represent your concerns as a recent uk expat still needing to actively engage with the uk and its companies and government institutions.

nrg710 wrote on Jan 14^th, 2006 at 6:23pm:


Not to mention £1,400 council tax on a standard band D home down here in the South East, even if you have no kids at school and don't drive.  Also not to mention the national insurance at 10% that takes income tax up to 32% in reality.  Then Fuel Tax at about 75%, £50 passport fees for a service worth about £15 and so on and so forth.  Spiralling tv license fee way above inflation..... you name it and its happened.

Prior to the election of New Labour in May 1997 there was scarcely an 084 or 087 number in sight.  The change since that date is not a coincidence but part of their overall regime of New Labour endorsing a massive armada of stealth taxes.  Under old hard left Labour only very rich people were made poor but under New Labour the super rich escape being singled out for any special treatement whilst those on middle wages in middle mainly Conservative voting southern England are instead squeezed to the bone.

Suggest rather than writing to the CAA stonewall you might get further writing to your MP pointing out Ofcom's alleged principle duties to the uk citizen and consumer under Part 3(i) of the Communications Act 2003.  Since Ofcom is only accountable to Parliament perhaps you can ask your MP what Parliament is going to do about forcing Ofcom to act in favour of the uk citizen consumer as it is supposed to do.  See www.ofcom.org.uk/about/sdrp/

You might also care to draw your MP's attention to this Parliamentary Early Day motion opposing the use of 0870 numbers by Government Departments which has now been signed by 51 MPs.  If your MP is not yet amongst those who have signed it perhaps you can encourage him to do so.  See:- http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28872&SESSION=875

idb wrote on Jan 18^th, 2006 at 2:26am:


I suggest you also try the main people at the Department of Transport responsible for airport matters.  See this very helpful organisational chart for all staff phone numbers and email addresses - www.dft.gov.uk/structure/aviation/  Suggest you email Jonathan Sharrock, who head Airports Policy Division, and cc his boss David McMillan.

Just being a customer of the service should entitle you to complain.  You shouldn't need to be a uk citizen, let alone resident here.

An email to your MP has the status of a letter these days.  You might want to find the name of your MPs Parliamentary secretary and send the previous emails to her instead as they tend to be better organised than the MPs they serve.  All Parliamentary email addresses follow the format surnamex@parliament.uk where x is the initial of their first name.  If you have emailed him you have written to him directly.  If he isn't set up to handle this it is his fault.  If you use www.writetothem.com he definitely has no excuse as this sends the communication by fax if that is what the MP prefers and WritetoThem have agreed the arrangements with all MPs.  Ask your MP why he hasn't signed the 0870 EDM if he hasn't.   Things have moved on since your initial communication.