http://www.bbc.co.uk/foi/docs/organisation_and_management/how_the_BBC_is_Run/Use...

Doesn't need explaining.

Any other firms offering justification?

The document is simply what the Beeb's master - Capita - has told it to say. Capita is laughing all the way to the bank, fleecing the general public to the tune of millions per year. When Capita says 'JUMP', poor old Auntie says 'HOW BLOODY HIGH'. Instead of independence, the poor old W1A lapdog has to do what it is told or suffer the consequence.

Interestingly, our major networks here - NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX, and similarly in Canada, seem to manage quite well without the need to use telephone extortion. Accepted that they, unlike the Beeb, are generally funded through advertising, but so is ITV, and that also uses scam numbers. All television voting here appears to use toll-free numbers!

Capita is a great example of the worst kind of excesses that have been allowed to prosper by HMG and the spineless regulator Ofcom. Its rationale is to extract every drop of revenue from the caller without a care in the world. Executives' salaries and shareholder profits are paramount, and if that means charging premium rates for everyday calls, so be it.

What a wonderful country!

That kind of decision might have some ground back in 1998, but this is 2006, and the telecoms and technology sector have evolved.

Pity the same living in the dark ages attitude doesn't apply to the licence fee.  I wouldn't mind paying 1998 prices!!  However the BBC are bang up to date on how much to charge.

Pity the same can't be said about cost of calling them.

And of course, they believe the usual "0870 numbers allow us to divert calls" nonsense.  What it actually means is "We can divert calls using geo numbers, but Capita doesn't allow this, so 0870 is the only choice"

And "We don't receive revenue from calls" is admitted as "We don't get a rebate from Capita as we don't want to be seen as greedy, but instead let Capita keep the money for their own gain, and the revenue we would get, is taken into account when setting the licence fee"

However at least in that document they ackowledge the opposition to these numbers, and Watchdog for instance has adopted a London number.

It's a bit misleading when they get responses saying people are satisfied about the cost of calling their call centres.  Perhaps these surveys only question the help that was given by the call centre agent, and it's up to the person filling in the survey to add comments about 0870 in the "any other comments" section

Dave wrote on May 13^th, 2006 at 8:34pm:


Or over a 1p per minute at all times 0844 number or an 0800 number.  Especially as the BBC does use 0800 numbers for some of its phone calls.

Tanllan wrote on May 15^th, 2006 at 2:05pm:


With a stamp you pay a third party body just for the cost of moving the letter to the body it is being sent to and they don't return part of the cost of the letter stamp to the body the item is sent to (mind you better not to give Capita any such ideas like that!)

The correct comparison is with walking into a shop to browse their goods or to complain about goods you have previously purchased from the shop.  No such shop attempts to charge you for this facility and this is the correct comparison with 0870 call revenue being used to prop up the call centre you are calling regardless of whether or not you buy any additional services from them.

gdh82 wrote on May 15^th, 2006 at 5:54pm:


Very likely they will have to change as companies getting 03 numbers will broadcast they are part of inclusive call allowances whereas 084/7 are not, especially as taking this option will cost them more money (or loss of free kickbacks etc).

Once 03 is launched there will be overwhelming pressure for the DVLA, Inland Revenue and BBC to move across to it.

Of course much will depend on how much Ofcom does to advertise or properly explain the launch of the 03 code and why it is necessary.  However the retention of National Rate 0870, Free 0800/0808 and premium rate 0844/0845 and 0871 all on the same code seems to be deliberately designed to ensure the public remains as uninformed and baffled as ever.

Ofcom and its overpaid telco favourable regulatory climate promoter Stephen Carter are a disgrace.  The sooner Mr Carter goes the same way as Charles Clarke the better as far as I am concerned.

bbb_uk wrote on May 15^th, 2006 at 6:10pm:


At the meeting I went to at Ofcom in November (the one you could have gone to bbb if I had given you more notice or you had taken a day sick off work)  Marc Michael from the Central Office of Information was very clear that what they wanted was a number that gave all the call handling feature of 084/7 on older non voip phone systems but without callers having to pay more than for a normal uk phone call.  They didn't like 0800 numbers because they involve the government call centre also being ripped off by the call companies and attracted crank calls and hugely increased average call length compared to any call where the caller was paying for the cost of the call.  And for huge government agencies like Inland Revenue rerouting calls around all their call centres for certain services using old phone technology was not possible using 01/02.

So personally I expect to see all government department lines move to 03.  The big question is about government agencies like DVLA that see themselves as a separate revenue centre.  I am sure the Inland Revenue will get 03 numbers though as its difficult enough being the tax collection authority without putting taxpayers off calling you about paying their taxes!


The good thing about 03 is that it is the company receiving the calls who will pay for the additional features and as they have major purchasing power (unlike individual consumers) they will be able to shop around and drive prices down.

bbb,

I think some of these issues are unclear from the proposals in Ofcom's Review of Numbering and so you must demand in your response that companies only pay for the call handling features and do not pay a per minute charge etc for every call diverted using an 03 NTS number.

NGM