Still getting negative response from Virgin;-

Dear Derrick,

Thanks for your email.

Please understand that the link that you have mentioned in your emails is not a Virgin Media’s link and as informed you before also that we cannot promise any offer from our side and can only give you the information about which we have been updated, however if you still want to discuss this issue further then please contact our Customer Support Department on 0870 013 0070.


This is the link I supplied;- http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/numbering03/summary/ )  and I have replied back saying it is an Ofcom regulation and that they should be abiding by it.

Am awaiting their next reply, and informed them I will not call their 0870 CSD number!

irrelevant wrote on Jan 4^th, 2008 at 11:20pm:


Rather like their Customer Services then!

irrelevant wrote on Jan 4^th, 2008 at 11:20pm:


Thanks for the info. My attempts to look into this further have been rendered worthless,  because...

The problem with out of date versions of the main pricing documents has now gone away for me. Both

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/pdf/residential_tariffs_a.pdf
and
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/pdf/uk_non-geographical_calls_a.pdf

now show the 1 November versions, reflecting proper treatment of 03 numbers. If the incorrect out-of-date 6 October versions "return", then this is an internet problem.

I believe that we should now take the position that concern about access to 03 numbers is not a significant issue. It seems that the glitches we have encountered are all easily resolved.

If anyone is unable to contact Ofcom on its 03 numbers, or is wrongly charged by their provider, then Ofcom must be on to them swiftly. If not, then both must be rightly castigated. Unintended cock-ups that are corrected once they have been pointed out must be forgiven in this age when we depend on unreliable technology and oversimplified processes.

The campaigning pressure must now be on organisations (especially public bodies) who have good reason for using NGNs, i.e. other than wishing to provide a chargeable premium service, to adopt them, not providing them with excuses for not doing so.

David

bazzerfewi wrote on Jan 6^th, 2008 at 6:38pm:

This is not trouble, it is most valuable.

I try to be sceptical looking in both directions, before making judgements. We must however assume that there is some capacity to do things right, otherwise we are completely wasting our time.

Baz, I welcome you (and others) keeping an eye on me in case I go too soft.

Thanks.

David

parttimepar wrote on Jan 1^st, 2008 at 2:30pm:


Yes, I still pay line rental to BT and subscribe to 18185.
I have now called Sky Talk and after I referred to the Ofcom statement of 13/2/07 and he sought guidance from his sales dept. the Customer Services chap informed me that 03 numbers were not part of their inclusive plan and there was currently no plan to include them in the future, but he kindly said he will keep me updated! During our conversation I mentioned the high cost of calling Sky and he said that Sky intended to change from 0870 to 03!

They will only be in breach of it if their costs are more than what they charge for landline calls (if they were outside of free minutes etc.) They are supposed to be included in free minutes but I don't know if this is a requirement or a "suggestion". You should wait to hear back from Ofcom about it, but they probably should be including them in free minutes if that is what they offer you.

jgxenite wrote on Jan 11^th, 2008 at 10:44am:


It is a requirement under GC 17. It is likely that this OCP simply does not understand this, despite Barbara's efforts.

I have tried asking its sales department about this, calling the 0800 number published on its website in the context of an enquiry from a possible new customer. She confirmed that the company was properly registered as an OCP and thereby obliged to comply with Ofcom regulations. She had however never heard of 03 numbers and was not prepared to take the trouble to look into the matter for the sake of my potential business.

I strongly suspect that this is one of a number of operators who have not got themselves sorted, partly because very few calls are being made to 03 numbers.

There are some of us who want use of 03 numbers to grow, despite the fact that this could perhaps risk making Ofcom look to have got something right. We must be very careful not to inhibit this growth by creating an unfair impression about the extent to which 03 is up and running. It is important that the minority providers, which we may tend to favour disproportionately, are fully in compliance; this thread provides an opportunity to address the possible rogues and exceptions. We must however apply some sense of proprtion in drawing general conclusions, remembering that the major providers still cover the vast majority of those whose interests we seek to advance.

Whilst there are glitches that must be resolved, the primary message must be that 03 is working and should be used by all those who need a NGN but do not wish to impose a charge for the service they provide to all incoming callers.