http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and_radio/points_of_view/index.shtml

I know that calling 0870 "national rate" is a no-no --- so why is the BBC calling 0870 local rate??

James

Has anybody ever thought of contacting Watchdog about the BBC 0870 scam? Could be quite interesting!

James

Dave wrote on Jan 24^th, 2007 at 8:44am:



And another one sent

Dave wrote on Jan 24^th, 2007 at 8:44am:


Rather than sending an email direct to the staff of Capita Money Grabbers Inc (who will be the ones who will receive your email addressed to pov@bbc.co.uk and reply with the usual lies and half truths) It would be more to the point to email terry.wogan@bbc.co.uk and the board members of the BBC Trust that oversees the BBC that has replaced its Board of Governors

See www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/about/bbc-trust-members/index.html

All firstname.lastname@bbc.co.uk

Also email the BBC's Exec and Non Exec Board Members on the continued issue of the BBC's widespread use of 0870 for contact with all the issues of social exclusion involved and especially the fact that the BBC Information call centre run by Capita still trains its staff to lie to customers that 0870 is charged at BT National Rate.

See www.bbc.co.uk/info/running/executive/biographies.shtml

All firstname.lastname@bbc.co.uk

You might also care to email board members at Ofcom highlighting how their continued failure to publicise 0845 and 0870 not being local and national rate is allowing these abuses to continue.

See  www.ofcom.org.uk/about/csg/ofcom_board/

All firstname.lastname@ofcom.org.uk

Also its Consumer Panel Chairman

colette.bowe@ofcomconsumerpanel.org.uk

Emailing the Points of View program itself is not going to achieve much.  They are sure to come up with all the usual twoddle about having genuinely believed it was a National Rate number etc, even though they know perfectly well it is no such thing.  The BBC's extensive use of 0870 as a public body and against Central Office of Information Guidelines is nothing short of a total outrage.  The BBC Trust are the people who have the power to tell the BBC's Management Board that it is getting this stuff wrong.

Oh and any letters should quote the following references as to why 0870 is not a National Rate number:-

The view of a county council trading standards department

Para 1.3 Page 1 of www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/oftel_0845/responses/leicester_cc.pdf

and
the view of the CEO of BT Retail, Ian Livingston

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

and

two recent guidances from the Advertising Standards Authority

www.asa.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2005/Hanging+on+the+telephone+on+and+on+and+...

www.asa.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2005/Stop+the+call+confusion.htm

and

the Parliamentary Early Day motion deploring the use of 0870 telephone numbers by government departments

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28872%09%09%09%09%09%09%09&...; amp;SESSION=875

and

Another guidance from the Committee of Advertising Practice of the Advertising Standards Authority

www.cap.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2005/CAP+rings+the+changes+for+telecoms+prov...

and Pages 5 and 6 of the below minutes from my own district council where we agreed policy to stop the future use of 0845 and 0870 numbers.

www.molevalley.gov.uk/media/pdf/1/s/Council_Minutes_190705.pdf

And the most recent ASA guidance saying that Inclusive call packages must not fail to disclose that 084/7 calls are excluded from them.

www.cap.org.uk/cap/news_events/news/2006/Ringing+the+Changes.htm

You might also want to contact your MP and MEP about the continued failure of Ofcom to fulfil its primary duty to protect citizen consumers by properly informing them about the costs of calling 084/7 numbers.  You can do this using www.writetothem.com

jimjim wrote on Feb 4^th, 2007 at 12:53pm:


You need to email Director General mark.thompson@bbc.co.uk, jana.bennett@bbc.co.uk (head of television), tim.davie@bbc.co.uk (head of audiences), caroline.thomson1@bbc.co.uk (Chief Operating Officer) and all the members of the BBC Trust shown at www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/about/bbc-trust-members/index.html (firstname.lastname@bbc.co.uk for each of them) and copy in ed.richards@ofcom.org.uk, sean.williams@ofcom.org.uk and tessa.jowell@culture.gov.uk if you want to get anywhere with this.  Also if you have a recording of the program and can check the credits copy in the producer and director of the show (firstname.lastname@bbc.co.uk.)  Oh and you also might like to forward a copy of your email (cut and paste it after using the forward button) to your MP via www.writetothem.com asking for him to ask the BBC about its inappropriate use of socially excluding phone numbers.

While writing you might also like to dwell on the general problems of social exclusion for the most disadvantaged members of the community caused by the high cost of calls to 0870 numbers used by the BBC, especially from BT Payphones and mobile phones.  Also dwell on the illogicality of the BBC's overall phone number structure with 0500 used for Radio Five Live phone ins but 0870 for most other things including incredibly the digital switchover number where they are surely specifically targetting the elderly and socially excluded members of the community.

You might also like to submit a Freedom of Information Act request asking for the total range of 0870 and 0800 and 0500 numbers used by the BBC, the number of calls to each on a typical week, their telecoms partner and who the revenue share goes to.  Also ask if they are aware of new Ofcom 03 numbers and what are their plans regarding using those for contact in the future bearing in mind the COI (Central Office of Information) guidance for government contact centres and that the BBC is in the public sector and not a private business.