“Local rate” - “National rate” deception.

For all practical purposes and for 99.9% of BT customers, no cost distinction exists between the so called “local rate call” and  “national rate call”.  As members of this site will know, a telephone call made to London, Leeds, Manchester or Glasgow, costs no more than a call made to next door - even from a payphone.   The same is true for the 40% or so subscribers who are not with BT and pay even less for calls.

A comparatively infinitesimal number of customers are on BT’s special rate “low user tariff”. On that tariff a cost difference does exist between local and national calls, they pay the so-called “standard call rate”.   Although the rate is comparatively rare, the “standard rate” is nevertheless quoted by organisations to justify the high cost of 084x and 087x numbers.

We are left with the Orwellian situation:-  99.9% of customers have a rate named “special options rate” and 0.1% of customers have a rate named “standard rate”.  It’s all in the name.

Ofcom now has a consultation on the strategic review of telephone numbering, if you think sanity may be coming, think again.  In that consultation (option 3a), Ofcom come up with the bizarre notion that the proposed “non revenue sharing and non-geographical” class of number beginning with “03", could have a sub range of “034" and “037" for local and national rate numbers respectively.  How daft is that?  The consultation document often refers to local and national rate; aiding and abetting the fiction.  This may well give the reader a clue as to how well thought out the proposals are.

BT should be honest and transparent and name the tariff rate of the 99.9% of customers as the standard rate and rejig the low user scheme.  BT could publicise the fact that all UK call rates are the same, irrespective of location, a fact not fully appreciated by most subscribers. They may be surprised by the money to be made from the extra call volume.

The HSBC quote above has now been expanded to include the bit about the cost to the bank.

kk wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2006 at 8:47pm:

They mean "customers pay nothing extra to [have] their call ... answered" in India.

kk wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2006 at 8:47pm:

It's "simpler and cheaper for our customers to call us" on a UK number than calling India directly.

kk wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2006 at 8:47pm:

... and our profits would be even more huge if we did not have to bear the cost of stupid customers wanting to speak to us.

kk wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2006 at 8:47pm:

"HSBC does not receive an income from telephone calls" after paying the cost of forwarding the calls to India and paying for all the necessary equipment.

... If only it weren't for these demanding customers who keep wanting access to their money ...

A very good view of the BBC's attitude to this question will be derived from "Listen Again" to BBC Feedback on Radio 4 today.

The latter part of the programme.

juby