NGMsGhost wrote on Jul 12
th, 2015 at 10:16am:
… Is anyone going to ask them why they think it is ok to breach the EU Consumer Rights Directive as transposed in to UK law for 2 months …
The Consumer Contracts Regulations came into effect on 13 June 2014 and are unlikely to cover any aspect of the services of this Council.
I suspect that the ASA would take a pragmatic view regarding the need to declare the Service Charge for a period of 33 days during which the 0845 numbers will continue to be advertised, before their removal from publications.
We might take the view that all available Council energies should be committed to communicating the new numbers and ensuring the smoothest possible transition. It obviously would have been better if the change had taken effect before 1 July - indeed, that may have been what was initially planned. Likewise it may be advisable to seek for enforcement action in the most important cases, as resources are limited and it is the impact of a forced change, in a significant case that brings home the message to others.
Another one bites the dust. Whilst "Clear Call Rates" is a most worthy exercise in its own terms, its effect in bringing about the demise of the 084 range (0845 in particular) is coming close to being the best that we could have hoped for. We must not be complacent however, there are many more battles to fight. Each passing victory makes the next one a little easier, so there is no excuse for letting up on the campaign.