The theatre group's own website has a † mark next to each of the 0844 numbers, leading to an explanatory note at the very bottom of the page which says...

† Calls are charged at 7p per minute plus standard network rates

Not only is the wording incorrect, Ofcom regulations require the call costs to be immediately adjacent to the number.

But, more importantly, the whole business of making callers pay up to 62p per minute just so they can rake off no more than around 4p per minute in revenue share payments is utterly stupid. The VAT man gets a larger share of the call costs!

As for the newspaper article, it looks like the journalist or writer was in a hurry and didn't notice the † mark next to some of the numbers and simply assumed it applied to all of the numbers on that page.

Less VAT, the Access Charge is retained by the caller's phone provider.

Less VAT, the Service Charge pays for call handling and call forwarding with the remainder available to be paid out to the called party as revenue share.

http://www.fairtelecoms.org.uk/docs.html?insanity

The unbundled tariff is far from daft. It is exactly what's needed to reveal how much the called party benefits from incoming calls. Remember, many organisations spent years denying there was any such financial benefit in their favour. The unbundled tariff forces them to declare exactly how much it is. And, the fact that on calls to 084 and 087 numbers the access charge far exceeds the service charge provides the best argument to end usage of those numbers for all purposes.

It must also be remembered that introduction of the unbundled tariff has, in general, led to a huge reduction in the cost of calling 09 and 118 numbers from mobile phones. For example, a directory enquiries service that used to be charged at 40p per call from a BT landline was charged at £5 per minute from one particular mobile provider. That call is now 55p per minute Access Charge plus 40p per call Service Charge when made through that mobile provider. From a BT landline, the Access Charge is 12p per minute. Before 2015, BT was not allowed to retain revenue on originating calls to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers, almost all of the money paid by the caller was effectively passed on to the called party and their telecoms provider.

Obviously, the cost of calling some 09 and 118 numbers has rocketed with massive increases in service charges for some individual services. The unbundled tariff makes clear that any such increase is due to the service provider, not the caller's phone provider.

As more and more organisations abandon usage of 084 and 087 numbers, the revenue stream is drying up.

On a number with a 7p per minute Service Charge, 5.83p per minute is available after VAT is taken off. Once the call-handling and call-forwarding costs are removed this leaves less than 5p per minute for revenue share payments.

On a number with a 13p per minute Service Charge, 10.83p per minute is available after VAT is taken off. Once the call-handling and call-forwarding costs are removed this leaves less than 10p per minute for revenue share payments.

Some providers of non-geographic numbers retain most of the revenue, some pay most of it out. Having a separate Service Charge provides clarity for businesses, many of whom are being ripped off by their phone provider.

If businesses want a higher level of revenue share, they can choose a number with a larger Service Charge - price points up to £6 per call and/or up to £3.60 per minute are available. Using a revenue share model to get a 5p per minute payout (on an 084 number with a 7p per minute Service Charge) is absurd. Minimum wage is £8 per hour. 5p per minute is just £3 per hour - but the caller could be paying £37.20 per hour. This shows the absurdity of using these numbers.

The high level of Access Charge levied by phone providers is a necessity as this also has to cover bad debt provision where the caller does not pay the bill for the call. The phone provider still has to settle the Service Charge with the Service Provider and their telecoms provider - and this can be up to £16 per call plus up to £8 per minute after the first 60 seconds. The high level of Access Charge remains the best argument for usage of 084 and 087 numbers to cease for all purposes. If businesses need a little bit of extra income then it is far more efficient to add it to the price of the goods or services and then, after VAT, they get to keep all of what the customer paid.

If anyone is sending an email, it would be more useful to point out that their usage of a premium rate 0844 number forces callers to pay up to 62p per minute just so they can receive a revenue share payment of no more than around 5p per minute.

Minimum wage is around £8 per hour. Income of 5p per minute is £3 per hour - but callers will have paid up to £37.20 per hour for the calls to those 0844 numbers. If the theatre group really needs that £3 per hour extra income, then changing the numbers over to the matching 0344 numbers and levying the additional charge as a 'telephone booking fee' would save callers up to £34.20 per hour.

Can I commend our briefing -


- as a useful link to use in any such communication.

Well would you believe it... a rather "simple" reply from the only e-mail I could find for RUG:

Quote:


Initially I would say this is excellent news, however in the interim they need to update the incorrect call charge information for their 0844 numbers.

What does anyone else feel?