That's great news!

Have you also sent a copy of the press release to the Rip Off Britain BBC TV programme? Seems like this would be right up their street!

We have added some pages to the fairtelecoms website:

• There is a news feed giving links to news stories on topics that the campaign is interested in, as well as news releases from the campaign itself.
   
• We have published a document that compares the cost of calling geographic (01/02/03) and 084 numbers. This includes copies of providers' pricing literature with notes to explain how to interpret them and addresses for viewing them online. It affirms the point that calls to 084 numbers ARE more expensive than calls to geographic rate (01/02/03) numbers.
   
• NHS 084 numbers - Evidence of call charges does what it says on the tin. Its centrepiece is the document referred to in the bullet above. It concludes with a long list of telephone packages on which calls to 084 numbers do cost more.

Following a major item in Series 1 and a plug for SayNoTo0870 in Series 3, I understand that BBC Rip-Off Britain is still keen to cover this issue in Series 4 (which is currently being prepared for broadcast in the late Autumn).

Rather than a full item however, the plan is to cover the issue in the context of the "Pop up" shop being held in Gateshead on Sat / Sun, 16 / 17 June.

Although there is a genuine "walk-in" element to this, the producers are very keen to hear from people who are able to attend the event and are ready to be filmed talking about how they have been ripped-off, with "an expert".

Anyone keen to contribute should contact the BBC via the contact us form on the Rip Off Britain web page, as soon as possible.

(Timing is important as some of the show content is prepared in advance.)

They are a growing annoyance and the powers that be are doing very little. Please sign the Sunday Post petition which calls on the government to act.

At the moment it is down to and the to police this area. They choose to draw-up “policies” that fleet around the edges and explicitly permit practices such as Silent Calls.

We propose that there should be a “nuisance calls agency” set-up to investigate and work pro-actively towards eradicating this practice.



have recently replaced their raft of 0845 numbers with one beginning 0300. It is great news, but there are still many more NHS providers using 084 numbers.

Some practices have opted for a local number to run alongside the 084 one, albeit that it gives the engaged tone if someone is using it. This disgraceful breach of the NHS creates a two-tier system.



These numbers are a widespread rip-off with being a popular destination for consumers who loath them. There are many organisations that use 084 numbers that shouldn’t and which couldn’t sustain them should “the truth come out” – that they enjoy a petty subsidy.

In the New Year, Ofcom will announce its statement and a further consultation on the reform of the 08 and 09 number ranges. It is anticipated that this will mean that users will have to declare how much they benefit from calls (the element), as well as call providers publishing how much they add on (the element). This is expected to be referred to as the “”.

In our response we said that this will introduce much needed clarity. Currently the two elements are bundled together in a single charge which means that users aren’t open about how much they benefit or how much callers are likely to pay.



The EU passed the Consumer Rights Directive which the UK government must enact into law. It requires companies to provide customers with numbers that charge no more than the .

In our response to the recent government consultation on this we said that 084 and 087 numbers certainly do not fit the bill as “basic rate”; only 01, 02, 03 and 080 numbers should be permitted.