A bunch of 21st century Shylocks, even our local crime line has moved to 0845. Have written to my MP. Will advise in due course.

Received the following from ASA a few weeks ago after complaining about a VOSA leaflet, but don't expect to much as I complained about the same thing about 3½ months ago, and got the same reply.


ASA
Advertising Standards Authority
Mid City Place 71 High Holborn London WC1V6QT Telephone 020 7492 2222 Fax 020 7242 3696 Textphone 020 7242 8159 E-mail enquiries@asa.org.uk Online www.asa.org.uk

Please Quote: A0

9 May 2006

Dear Mr

Your Complaint – VOSA

Thank you for sending copies of the VOSA leaflet you object to, on the basis that it describes an 0870 number as "national rate".
Because I agree with you that this is a problem under our Code, I have passed your letter to our Compliance team, which will follow it up.
As you know, the Compliance team will not respond to you or publish the result of its investigations, but please be assured that they will note your comments and deal with the problem.
The Advertising Standards Authority website, www.asa.orq.uk, contains information about the ASA and the work we do, including the results of our investigations into recent complaints about advertisements.

Yours sincerely,^

Marie Almond Complaints Handler

We shall use the information you have given us, together with other information from or about you, to deal with your complaint. We may contact you to assess the quality of our services or to give you information about our activities, which might interest you. If you do not want to be contacted for that purpose, please let our Data Protection Officer know at the above address or by e-mail at data.protection(5)asa.org.uk. For further information about our Data Protection Policy please refer to our website www.asa.orq.uk .

Chairman Lord Borrie QC • Director General Christopher Graham
ASA council (Non-broadcast) Jean Coussins • Christine Famish ■ Sunil Gadhia ■ Mike Ironside • Colin Philpott • David McNair • Susan Murray ■
Dan O'Donoghue • Martyn Percy • Diana Whitworth ■ Donald Trelford • Neil Watts
The Advertising Standards Authority Limited, registered in England No 733214, Mid City Place, 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6QT.

Had my dear old car MOT'd yesterday and received (the first I've seen) a new-type MOT certificate (which isn't really - it's just an official-looking notice to tell you that 'on the computer' there's a record of whether the car in question is MOT'd or not).

I was also supplied with an explanatory 'Vehicle & Operator Services Agency' (another quango) leaflet (a VOSA/MOT Comp/1226/Nov 05 SBSEVL) which told me that all calls to their 'MOT Enquiry Unit' on 0870 60 60 440 would be charged at the national rate.

As I pay 3p connection and 0p per minute to national 01/02 numbers using 1899, it's reassuring to know that'll be what I'll be charged if I call them.   

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I complained to Trading Standards months ago about a company describing its 0845 numbers as being the "Price of a local call" on its website. I provided links to the pages on the ASA website, the guy at my local TS completely agreed that it was misleading. Just checed the company's website again....and it's still there.

What's the point in complaining? I think we can safely say that there is enough work chasing companies lying to customers about the rates of their numbers to keep TS busy.

Hi Barbara,

I thought you would appreciate this email which I sent to the DVLA's senior management and their main IT contractor (IBM) after their website was down all day last Wednesday when I wanted to order a tax disc online.  Basically they only send out the notice that lets you renew online 14 days before it is due and then even if their website is up it takes them 5 working days to print out the tax disc and get it in an envelope.  Yet issuing tax discs online must save them at least a quid or two a time compared to paying the Post Office to do it.

Below is the email to Mr Nic Walters who works in some kind of link role between the DVLA and their highly incompetent website IT contractor - IBM.

Clive Bennett is the DVLA's CEO.

-----Original Message-----
Sent: 21 June 2006 22:34
To: Nic Walters
Cc: clive.bennett@dvla.gsi.gov.uk; graham.pritchard@dvla.gsi.gov.uk;
richard.ley@dvla.gsi.gov.uk; simon.humberstone@uk.ibm.com
Subject: Online Tax Disc Relicensing System Down All Day Today - June
21st

Dear Mr Walters,

Finally I get an "Invitation" from the DVLA to renew my tax disc online (even though I managed to renew it online in January without receiving an "Invitation" to do so) only to find that your whole tax disc website licensing area has now gone completely down the tubes and had some pathetic apology and advice displayed to call the DVLA's appalling ripoff 0870 number (which breaches COI guidelines and Best Practice advice and also guidances from Ofcom and the ASA) for most of today when I tried to access it.  Although it now gives the appearance of being back online the site then crashes after the first stage when you have put in the Invitation number from the tax disc renewal form.

Is this the usual multi billon pound software contract agreed by the government with some incompetent and lethargic large software development company that knows it can get away with murder with a government agency where business profitability is not at stake?

What incentive is there for the public to renew their tax discs online when it is no cheaper, the site does not work reliably and/or at all and the 5 business days taken to despatch the disc (but then finally first class) are a sad joke given that customers can only apply to renew the disc no more than two weeks before it expires.

Also the nearest Post Office shown on the renewal form in Dorking High Street was incorrect as my nearest tax disc licensing post office is actually at Carters Garage in The Street in Capel.  Or doesn't the DVLA like to assist the small number of sub post offices who have tax disc licensing status?

Yours in extreme dismay.

Regards,

Well done NGM!  I have extracted Mr Beenett's email address from your post & will now forward to him my original email & reply from his staff & see if we get any reaction at all.   (I have not yet taken this to my MP as I have had to call on his assistance for other, non-telephone related matters a few times recently so I don't want to overdo my calls on him as he is extremely hard working and dedicated, as well as being  deputy speaker.

Have just received a reply to my email to Clive Bennett- apparently he receives too many emails to deal himself so this response was from the Operations Manager.   Following my complaint about the use of 0870 nos (see earlier post for details) he is contacting the COI again for claification!   Will keep the site updated on this.   Wonder if NGM has had a response to his email yet?

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Which makes me wonder why you didn't go there in the first place NGM!

(yes, I live in a village too).