jrawle wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 8:15pm:


You will note that there is a section under the article for Readers Comments and that one particular reader of their website has already submitted some Readers Comments.  I have also submitted some Comments to this website but they have not yet been published as they have still to be approved by the editor.

Now as I was just a little critical of the article and of GPs in the way that perhaps only I know how perhaps my comments may not be  published but there would be no harm in you also becoming a registered user of this website and also trying to submit some comments of your own too.

Dave wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 8:33pm:


But despite this BT Payphones still manage to charge 0844 numbers at precisely the same ripoff 20p per minute rate as 0845 and 0870 numbers suggesting some parts of BT think that they are in fact all one and the same thing.  By contrast 01, 02, 03 numbers are only charged at 1p per minute from a Payphone and only 0871 numbers are singled out for being charged at a different and far, far higher rate still (nearly £1 per minute).

So it seems that not all divisions of BT are in fact talking to one another when it comes to their strategy on 084/7 call pricing.

vectra wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 10:51pm:

So as it is hoped/likely that revenue payments will cease on 0870 in particular, do you think that providers (not just BT) should continue selling them on the basis of being revenue sharing? If companies want a revenue sharing number then they should have one and that is the point of 0844/0871. If they don't, then they should go with 03.

vectra wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 10:51pm:


This is indeed precisely what dishonest BT are up to.  They make out how they are doing consumers such a great favour letting them use 0870 and 0845 in call packages but have deliberately waited until they have managed to migrate numerous main call centres on to 0844 and 0871 before offering this deal.  And meanwhile 40% of calls are now on mobiles where the consumer is still ripped off more than ever on NTS, even on 0845 and 0870.  Not to mention BT's huge extra revenue source from more than doubling its minimum call charge for residential customers on any calls that are not part of call packages over the last two years.

By the way welcome to the forum. My apologies that our forum moderator (Dave) seems to have failed to welcome you or congratulate you on your highly perceptive comments in your maiden forum post.

Dave wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 11:11pm:


Is this so that they can then stop some of these number users (eg DVLA) moving to 03 and hence leave 0870 in situ within call packages so that consumers are then more easily conned in to ringing 0871 numbers without realising that this is still premium rate.

Meanwhile 03 fails to takeoff  thus further confusing the consumer about which numbers it is and is not safe to call.  Just as BT intended all along.

SilentCallsVictim wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 11:36pm:


The expectation would have otherwise been that all government contact centres like HMRC, NHS Direct and DVLA would eventually be required to move to 03.  This would almost certainly have happened had it not been for BT's recent deliberate efforts to muddy the waters first on 0845 daytime call pricing and now on 0845 and 0870 being included in their call packages.

Quote:


BT make far less money on 03 than on even 0845, not to mention far, far less than on 0844, 0870 and 0871.  Thus the more they can do to stop the morally virtuous branding of 03 prefixed contact centres becoming the norm and to allow confusion between now inclusive 0845 and 0870 calls but non inclusive 0844 and 0871 calls to be continued the more the likelihood the public will continue to be conned in to calling 0844 and 0871 so making BT terminated calls lots of money because the public wrongly now think the numbers are part of call packages like 0845 and 0870 now are.

I find it remarkable that I should still need to spell all this out to you SCV when I should have thought what was going on was perfectly obvious to anyone with long time exposure to this campaign.

You will note that Ofcom is even now attempting to allow the 070 PNS con on which the Patientline system depends to remain in place despite having earlier promised they would have to move to the 06 number range.  It is at the absolute heart of the whole NTS hidden money making machine presided over by OfCoN that the public should be totally confused about what phone number prefixes are connected with any given call tariff.

By the way they weren't three frown emoticons but three angry emoticons.  Try hovering your mouse cursor over them and it should give you the description.

SilentCallsVictim wrote on Jan 12^th, 2009 at 12:50am:


By why is OfCoN after three years now completely reneging on its earlier commitment to move 070 numbers to 06, even though they should have been moved to 09.  They have completely ignored all their own original arguments and now seem to say that the scammers are struggling to make as much money as they once did so there should now be no regulatory impediment to the smooth course of the activities of the scammers.

Regarding commerce I never said all of it was characterised by scams or illicit activity.  It is purely the telecoms sector and the culture of non transparency in pricing to the consumer that has allowed all of these excuses to expand and develop to their current disgraceful levels.