------- Original Message --------
Subject:      Cost of Calling Feedback Phone Number & BBC Policy On Phone Numbers
Date:      Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:38:28 +0000
To:      feedback@bbc.co.uk
CC:      Michael Stock <michael.stock@bbc.co.uk>
References:      <868BA4A24AB0584CBB4322837ACC5DED064CB080@bbcxue217.national.core.bbc.co.uk>

Dear Feedback,

At  the end of this week's Feedback program broadcast at 1.30pm today  (February 20th) on BBC Radio 4 the station announcer (it was not directly part of the program but was attached to the end of it by the announcer) gave out an 03 prefixed phone number for contacting Feedback with any items for the program and then gave out the old call cost announcement actually intended for your previous 0870 phone number by saying that "calls cost up to 8 pence per minute".

It has been clearly previously established by BBC senior management  (including Mr Michael Stock who led this project within the BBC) that  for your new 03 prefixed phone numbers adopted back in the the summer of last year that the BBC's new price description policy is to say something like "calling this number from landlines and mobile phones will cost the same as calling an 01 or 02 phone number and will also be included in any call packages that you may have" so please can you explain to me why this new BBC policy does not seem to have been adopted in respect of telephone calls to BBC Radio 4 Feedback?   This does seem rather ironic when the Feedback program is supposed to be there precisely in order to ensure that any actions by the BBC to which
listeners object to can be complained about on air.

Please can Feedback carry an item explaining how an experienced announcer on BBC Radio 4 came to give out an outdated announcement about the cost of calling the program that should have changed months ago and can Feedback also more generally cover the question of the BBC's current inconsistent policy on phone numbers.  In particular I would like  attention focused on finding out what is the BBC's justification for the continued use by most BBC local radio stations of 0845 phone numbers that are not included in any listener's mobile phone calling plans and most landline calling plans, when these 0845 numbers can cost as much as 40p per minute to call on some mobile phones.  Also can the BBC explain why it continues to use an 0500 number for phone in programs on BBC Radio 5 live when this means that listeners are both unfairly subsidising the cost of landline callers ringing the program compared to other BBC radio station phone ins with a somewhat less tabloid newspaper style (i.e. all radio phone in shows on BBC Radio 4) while the 0500 number is actually hugely disadvantageous to almost anyone calling on a mobile phone as most mobile phone providers do not carry 0500 numbers free of charge and instead bizarrely exclude them from mobile phone bundled minutes packages and charge them at rates of up to 20p per minute each.  Given that 40% of uk phone calls are now made from mobile phones surely it is high time that BBC Radio 5 Live gave up its long outdated 0500 freephone number that subsidises landline callers and penalises mobile phone callers in favour of an 03 prefixed phone number that is fair to all callers by being part of their calling plans and only costing the same as regular calls to numbers starting 01 or 02.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss this issue further.

Regards,