Source: Yorkshire Post
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Big-bills-as-State-ignores.3849677.jp<<
Big bills as State ignores warningsBy Jonathan Reed, Political Editor
Callers are being left with big phone bills as Government departments and agencies ignore warnings from regulators and rake in millions of pounds by using higher-rate 0870 and 0845 numbers for call centres and helplines.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has made more than £2.5m from 0870 numbers – which cost more than normal national calls – since last April. Regulator Ofcom says these should not be used by Government bodies.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) made more than £1.4m from 0845 lines over two years.
The Liberal Democrats claim mobile phone customers are even falling foul of 0800 numbers which are only free from landlines – which means people spend £400m a year on calls to the DWP with an average call costing half a week's Jobseeker's Allowance.
Leader Nick Clegg this week met mobile phone companies, Ofcom and the Citizens Advice Bureau to press for key Government helplines to be free whatever type of phone the call is made from. He has now launched a campaign against "Faceless Britain".
"More and more services that used to offer face-to-face contact are being replaced by remote and inhuman call centres leaving consumers paying the price," said Mr Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam.
"We are witnessing the progression of an unaccountable State, creating increasingly remote services divorced from the people they are supposed to serve. So-called 'freephone' or local numbers are a prohibitively expensive option for the millions of callers who are reliant on mobile phones."
Non-geographic numbers such as 0870 and 0845 are rarely included in calls packages and some phone companies charge them at a higher rate than 01 or 02 numbers.
Information revealed in a series of parliamentary questions show the DWP and its agencies have 11,764 non-geographic phone numbers, with the department receiving £1,463,738.45 from 0845 lines between October 1, 2005, and November 30, 2007.
It has since changed the deal and no longer receives any income.The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has made £404,043 since last April and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency £62,894.
The Ministry of Justice, Department for Business, UK Debt Management Office, Department for Innovation, Department for Communities and Foreign Office are among the other arms of Government using 0870 or 0845 numbers.
Although not all of them profit from the lines, Ofcom advises against their use and is about to produce plans to make call costs more transparent.
A DVLA spokeswoman said it introduced 0870 numbers in 1999 to "address the imbalance" that meant people living nearer to Swansea were getting cheaper calls, but said it would not be changing numbers until Ofcom's recommendations were published.
"The cost of publicity would be borne twice if the new report recommended other alternatives to 0845 and 0870 numbers," said a spokeswoman.
The Liberal Democrats are concerned even supposedly free 0800 numbers penalise mobile phone users who are charged for the calls.
A spokesperson for the DWP – which could shed 1,500 jobs in Yorkshire over the next three years – said: "We cannot get away from the fact that mobile phone companies do charge fees. However, we have gone to great lengths to ensure that customers can reach us through alternative routes and we can always call them back."
Last Updated: 06 March 2008 9:28 AM>>