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local call rate (Read 25,703 times)
ihate0845
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Re: local call rate
Reply #15 - Apr 12th, 2012 at 1:54pm
 
why is it regulators only compare about the cost on BT?
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Dave
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Re: local call rate
Reply #16 - Apr 12th, 2012 at 2:59pm
 
ihate0845 wrote on Apr 12th, 2012 at 1:54pm:
why is it regulators only compare about the cost on BT?

Because of the way in which calls to 08 and 09 numbers are regulated.

The change in regulation will hopefully make it possible to provide pricing information applicable to all providers as well as making it clear which bit of the call charge is for the benefit of the party being called, and which bit any one individual's provider takes.
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NGMsGhost
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Re: local call rate
Reply #17 - Nov 23rd, 2012 at 12:40pm
 
Today I came across the www.rufusroo.com website giving the following description of their 0844 number of 0844 824 6697 on their web page:-

Quote:
Landline calls to us are at UK local rates, mobile and international calls will be higher.


In looking for an appropriate web page on the ASA website to tell them what the ASA is saying they should be saying about the cost of calling such numbers I came across their Committe of Advertising Practice's web page on 0843, 0844 and 0871 numbers at http://www.cap.org.uk/Advice-Training-on-the-rules/Advice-Online-Database/Charge...

This states that:-

Quote:
Calls to 0843, 0844 and 0871 numbers are charged at a higher rate than standard calls on BT’s most popular call plan (BT Unlimited Weekend). CAP recommends that the cost of calling those numbers should be made clear in ads. See ‘Chargeable 08 numbers: General’.  Calls to 0843, 0844 and 0871 numbers are charged at different rates depending on the numbers that follow the first four digits.


They then go on to say that :-

Quote:
At present, for calls that are charged by the minute, we recommend: “Calls cost 10.9p plus up to Xppm from BT Unlimited Weekend Plan. Mobile and other providers’ charges may vary”.

Alternatively, if they know the total cost of the call, for example, because callers are being invited to hear a message of limited length or because calls are charged at a set price, marketers could state “Calls cost Xp from BT Unlimited Weekend Plan”.


Following my pointing out in a message to RufusRoo that by making the statement that are potentially committing a Criminal Offence under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 re Misleading Price Indications they have now removed the misleading statement regarding the cost of these calls being "local rate" but they have yet to replace it with a statement about the actual per minute calling cost.

I do find it more than a little disappointing indeed that a company that is selling wearable travel luggage to avoid ripoff low cost airline hold baggage fees should be trying to ripoff its own customers if they want to telephone it to ask questions about its products......

There is also further guidance on giving pricing information to customers about the cost of calling Chargeable 08 numbers in the CAP guide at http://www.cap.org.uk/Advice-Training-on-the-rules/Advice-Online-Database/Charge...

This states:-

Quote:
The ASA has ruled that, because the BT rate for calls to 084x or 087x is sometimes different from the rate for calls to geographic numbers, marketers should no longer describe calls to those numbers as “local” or “national” to avoid misleading consumers. The ASA has also upheld against the word “Lo-call” (Emap Ltd, 6 April 2006).

CAP believes that, if the cost of calling an NTS number featured in a marketing communication is more than the cost of a phone call to a landline (01 or 02) using BT’s Unlimited Weekend package, the marcom should include pricing information that states the cost or the price per minute (ppm) of a call to BT customers: BT is the dominant residential call plan in the UK so information about costs from BT’s most popular plan (Unlimited Weekend) is meaningful to the most consumers.

Marcoms should state that the price of calls originating from non-BT call providers varies and, if space allows, that callers can check the price with their phone company (Windsor Telecom plc, 4 January 2006, and Langley Miniature Models, 6 April 2005).

If the cost of calling an NTS number is always less than the cost of a call for BT’s Weekend Unlimited customers to a geographic number made at the same time (for example calls to 0845 numbers), CAP recommends that no pricing information has to be given.

At the end of 2009, BT aligned the maximum cost that its residential customers are charged for calls to 0870 numbers with standard rates for UK calls. CAP now recommends that pricing information about the cost of calls does not have to be included in marketing communications containing an 0870 number because the cost of calling is never higher than the cost of a standard call on BT’s most popular residential package, Unlimited Weekend Plan.


So I think that fully covers off the issue of what the ASA currently has to say about requirements for giving information consumers about 084 and 087 prefixed phone numbers.
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« Last Edit: Nov 23rd, 2012 at 12:42pm by NGMsGhost »  

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Dave
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Re: local call rate
Reply #18 - Nov 23rd, 2012 at 3:23pm
 
NGMsGhost wrote on Nov 23rd, 2012 at 12:40pm:
In looking for an appropriate web page on the ASA website to tell them what the ASA is saying they should be saying about the cost of calling such numbers I came across their Committe of Advertising Practice's web page on 0843, 0844 and 0871 numbers at http://www.cap.org.uk/Advice-Training-on-the-rules/Advice-Online-Database/Charge...

This states that:-

Quote:
Calls to 0843, 0844 and 0871 numbers are charged at a higher rate than standard calls on BT’s most popular call plan (BT Unlimited Weekend). CAP recommends that the cost of calling those numbers should be made clear in ads. See ‘Chargeable 08 numbers: General’.  Calls to 0843, 0844 and 0871 numbers are charged at different rates depending on the numbers that follow the first four digits.

CAP is clearly outdated here. It is over year since BT announced that its most popular plan is the Unlimited Anytime Calling Plan.

The normal incidental charge of a geographic or 03 calls is therefore zero. The statement that calls to 0843, 0844 and 0871 numbers cost more than geographic calls on BT's most popular plan not only still stands, but is much greater, it being infinite.
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SilentCallsVictim
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Re: local call rate
Reply #19 - Nov 24th, 2012 at 1:17am
 
Thank goodness that the new Ofcom regulations, which the ASA will have a major role in enforcing, do not rely on offering specific call cost information from a selected provider. 75% of non-business calls are not made through BT at all!

The vagaries of the individual "Access Charges" charged by telcos will have to be declared (unbundled) by the telcos themselves. The service provider (company called) will only have to declare the "Service Charge" element from which it (invariably) benefits. No declaration is necessary at present, but in future it will have to be given in the following form:

Quote:
Calls to 0844 824 6697 cost 5 pence per minute PLUS your phone company's access charge


The other relevant factor is that when the new BIS measures, implementing the Consumer Rights Directive, come into effect, this company will be prohibited from using a 084 number for enquires from customers.


It would be helpful to point this out to the company, which may wish to thereby reconsider its position. It is quite likely that it has been misled by its telephone service provider (C&W) and may be genuinely unaware of the fact that it is ripping off its customers, and at the same time lining the pockets of their telephone companies. That potential excuse expires once it is made aware of the truth, and has to take full responsibility for its actions.
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