I have just also received the same load of meaningless waffle from the 10 Downing Street website in response to my signature of the petition.  What an insult considering the number of signatures involved.

They say:-

Quote:


I fear the problem is going to be with the definition of a local priced call and that BT and others are currently manipulating their call rates specifically to make the price of a daytime call to an 0844 doctors number and an 01/02 number for BT Option 1 customers much closer together.  Also note they are abolishing the 5.5p for one hour evening period in favour of per minute charge for geographic numbers to pay for "free" weekend calls.

Where they have more difficulty weedling out of it is on BT Option 3 or equivalents with other companies that huge numbers of phone customers are now on where 01/02/03 clearly has no marginal call cost and 0844 costs 5p per minute plus connection.  Ditto  on mobiles 0844s are never inlcuded in bundled minutes in calling plans.

I expect there will be some pathetic excuse made like these "discount plans" not being the standard price of a local call etc, etc.

I fear the problem is going to be with the definition of a local priced call and that BT and others are currently manipulating their call rates specifically to make the price of a daytime call to an 0844 doctors number and an 01/02 number for BT Option 1 customers much closer together.  Also note they are abolishing the 5.5p for one hour evening period in favour of per minute charge for geographic numbers to pay for "free" weekend calls.


If you sign up for a year you get free evening calls as well (Up to an hour)

NGMsGhost wrote on Apr 8^th, 2008 at 3:47pm:

I have just become aware that the next step in this game is that these (for BT Together Opt2 at least) will now be "rolling" contracts whereby after the 12 months (or 18 months) the contract must either be renewed for 12 months or go elsewhere, or possibly they will allow you to step down to Option 1 and, yes you guessed it, even though it won't be a rolling contract, at that point you will have to sign up for 12 months.

See this thread on MSE:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=843751

NGMsGhost wrote on Apr 8^th, 2008 at 3:13pm:

Indeed. It quotes the familiar re-iterated part of Mark Britnell's letter of 3 March but fails to refer to the fact that Britnell indicated that further guidance to PCTs may follow shortly.

There is a danger that this response may indicate that it is all over for now and we have to return to educating PCTs in a subject on which they are alleged to have specialist local knowledge. I believe that PCTs may be persuaded to demand something clearer to support the action they would need to take.

SilentCallsVictim wrote on Apr 8^th, 2008 at 4:01pm:


So far as I am aware the numerous UK telecoms operators mainly all charge the same call prices for calls to all parts of the  UK even though each provider has their own varying car tariffs.  However the BT Light User Scheme and In Contact Plus charge artificially inflated prices for calls to 01/02 and 03 numbers for longer distance calls (over 56km) which they then discount back to a lower rate for calls to 0845 numbers.  Of course no one who makes any number of calls per quarter is on these plans, especially given that most outrageously of all you cannot have one of these plans if you also have broadband on the phone line.

The key point which the 084 NTS charlatans cannot avoid is that 01/02/03 numbers qualify for unlimited free calls (up to 60 minutes) with numerous major telecoms provides including BT on numerous popular tariffs and the same is true that they qualify for free bundled minutes with all contract mobile phone operators.  Whereas 084/7 numbers are always excluded from such plans because they are far more expensive to the phone companies at a wholesale level and so they cannot possibly afford to inlclude them in their unlimited calls or bundled minutes calling plans.

As a vast percentage of UK phone customers (especially elderly and disabled people based at home and thus making  lots of phone calls from home) now have unlimited call plans it is self evident that calling an 0844 number costs most of these people 5p per minute +6p connection compared to nothing per minute if the number began 01 and 02.

The comparison of 0844 against BT Option 1 is a red herring.  The comparison must be done against call plans that provide unlimited 01/02/03 calls from landlines or a set number of minutes to 01/02/03 from mobiles in order to give the true picture of the real cost of 0870.

Vodafone recently texted me to tell me that they are increasing the minimum call charge on my Pay As You Go tariff to 15p from 10p on June 1st (before that there was no minimum charge 18 months or so ago) but that is the last reminder I will ever get of that fact because as a Pay As You Go mobile phone customer Ofcom allows a regime to exist where I am not entitled to any access to itemised call charges, even online where there would be almost no marginal cost to Vodafone in providing the service.

bbb_uk wrote on Apr 8^th, 2008 at 7:00pm:


I think this needs to be the subject of an FOI to Ofcom, who I feel quite sure can put their hands on the requisite breakdown.

It also seems self evident that BT's latest marketing policies are designed to virtually blackmail all their customers to move on to a plan that includes some free calls.  This has been done by making the minimum connection charge on a non inclusive calls plan 80% higher than it was a year or so ago.

I disagree with all stealth-tax (or stealth-revenue) numbers. To me, they are "premium-rate" numbers. Seems to me the Trades Description Act lost its teeth along the way.

Why not a petition to ban ALL public-sector and commercial usage, except for premium-rate services? Is there such a petition out there?

Can't see the point behind a piecemeal approach like just going after doctors.

SAYNOTO0870 website is awesome!!!

[quote author=outvilespot link=1185566187/105#117 date=1210766058] Can't see the point behind a piecemeal approach like just going after doctors. [/quote]

If you study this site in more depth you will see that a great deal is being done on a wide front in order to combat the menace of 084/7 numbers.  I recommend that you spend a few hours or even days perusing the threads in this Forum to get an inkling of the scope of our activities which include making freedom of information requests, persuing the inadequate responses to such requests, and writing to all sorts of organisations including Doctors, NHS and PCTs.  

The campaign against doctors using 0844 and 0845 is a focussed component within the overall campaign and is rendered particularly relevant because of the effects of 0844/5 on the sick, ill, old, and impoverished.   The use of 0844/5 by doctors undermines one of the fundamental tenets of the NHS, to be "free at the point of need" and such doctors are in breach of their own contracts with the NHS, clause 483.   If you read the following threads you may learn more about what is going on and then we would welcome any input or assistance you could give to this or the wider campaign : --
http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1160182005

http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1116613395

http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1141253021

http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?board=gov/120

http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1138919352

http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1120745205

http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1209729452

http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1175720862

http://www.saynoto0870.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1117029043