Can you trust this lot at all? In its press release relating to Opera Telecom, it provides the following words of wisdom:

0871 calls, which ICSTIS/PhonepayPlus will start regulating in early 2008, cost up to 10 pence per minute from
landlines but can cost up to 35 pence per minute from mobiles.
• ICSTIS/PhonepayPlus cannot deal with complaints about services operating on non-premium rate numbers unless
these services redirect callers to a premium rate number. Non-premium rate numbers include:
• 080 numbers – calls are free from landlines but can cost 10-15 pence per minute from mobiles.
• 084 numbers – 0845 calls cost 3-5 pence per minute from landlines but can cost 10-15 pence per minute from
mobiles. 0844 calls cost up to 5 pence per minute from landlines but can cost up to 25 pence per minute from
mobiles.
• 0870 numbers – calls cost 5-10 pence per minute from landlines but can cost 10-19 pence per minute from
mobiles.

Just where does this idiotic body get its information from?

This is the authority that will soon start to 'regulate' 0871 numbers. If it has no idea of correct calling costs, what hope is there?!

And, from Mr Kidd:

“Our Hearing Panel found
clear evidence of fundamental failings within Opera Telecom. The company showed a reckless
disregard for the interests of callers, with scant evidence of any attention being given to compliance
with our Code of Practice. We have ordered Opera Telecom to bring in outside consultants to sort
out their business. If they don’t do this to our satisfaction, the bar on them running competition
services will come into effect immediately.

“The size of the fine we’ve imposed reflects the very serious nature of the breach of our rules. The
consumer harm caused was aggravated by the sheer number of callers who paid to enter the
competition but had no chance of winning, the huge amount of revenue that was unfairly generated
from these callers, the length of time over which the practice had been going on and the extensive
damage caused to public trust in phone-in competitions. The decisions we’ve announced today are
part of a wider examination of events. Ofcom has also been investigating GMTV’s role and
responsibilities, and will report on its findings in due course.
“Today’s adjudication sends a clear message to any company offering phone-paid services: your
absolute responsibility is to the public who use your services. Cutting corners for the sake of
convenience or to boost revenues is simply unacceptable and has serious consequences. The
interests of consumers and compliance with our rules, and those of other regulators, should be at
the heart of services, not an afterthought. Since problems with phone-in competitions came to light
earlier this year, we’ve been working hard with Ofcom, phone companies and broadcasters to
ensure that services are run in a thoroughly professional and responsible way. We’re confident that
this particular market today is certainly not the flawed place it was a year ago. But we’re certainly
not being complacent. We want to engender an industry-wide culture of compliance, and preempting
and preventing problems across all services will be a major focus of our work when we
become PhonepayPlus next month.”

Quote:


Not bad if you can get it. Where do I apply?