Dear Editor,
I am concerned by the growing use of shared revenue telephone numbers
Most people are familiar with the normal premium rate numbers such as 0871 where charges of £.1 a minute are common and which display a wealth warning. However there are other shared revenue numbers, such as 0870 & 0990, which not only do not display a wealth warning but actually encourage people to believe that they are cheaper than they are by the use of phrases such as "Calls Charged at National Rates". With the advent of telephone re-sellers, there is no such thing as, a national rate. I use a re-seller which charges 2p a minute for national calls. However 0870 numbers are charged at 8p per minute This means I am being charged 4 times what I would have to pay to dial an ordinary number. Worse, half of the 8p is paid to the person owning the 0870 number giving them an incentive to answer the call and then keep you on hold for as long as possible. So, not only is one being charged 4 times the proper rate but one is very likely to be charged at this premium rate for a much longer period.
In my view any number which does not follow normal pricing should be required to spell this out wherever and whenever the number is advertised. If revenue from the call is shared with the owner of the number, then this also should be spelled out so that potential customers are aware that they are likely to be spending time, and money, listening to tinny muzak while the owner of the number racks up profits.
Perhaps this is a worthwhile campaigning issue for NfCG. Perhaps NfCG has a member who is knowledgeable about telecoms matters and who could write authoritatively about this matter. Maybe someone in NfCG knows something about telecoms watchdogs and can explain why it is that they are not tackling this matter.
Unfortunately, the press and the radio are unlikely to be our allies here as they tend to be among the 0870 offenders.
Nigel Barraclough
Dear Editor,
The article in the last issue of Consumer News refers several times in
general terms to lower US prices due to economies of scale, lower overheads and
so on. I think we need to be more specific because there are good and bad
reasons for this. I write as someone who lived in Canada, next door to The
States for several years and had to buy white, brown and even sky-blue pink
goods from time to time.
The US has probably the cheapest petrol and diesel fuel prices in the world, largely because no State or Federal Government dares slap on the kind of tax that we in the UK have to endure. Inevitably this means that the US manufacturers, distributors and retailers can transport goods far more cheaply despite the enormous distances. One Government after another here treats road fuel as the ideal milch cow, constantly bumping up costs in a totally artificial way.
Similarly, electricity costs are very low in the USA, much being provided by hydroelectric schemes which are just not possible in this country. However, UK suppliers of power have a long way to go to be anything like as efficient at reusing waste power as our EC partners. Nobody ever seems to consider this point here.
Were price comparisons made before or after US sales taxes? These are applied all over North America in a very quirky fashion, commonly not shown on the price tickets and can come as a nasty surprise at the point of sale.
Have you ever tried to buy, say, white goods in the US? The lack of choice in size, colour and specification compared with Europe is quite staggering. We found that you could have a large fridge with mini ice box on top, or a large fridge with a slightly larger ice box or a large fridge with an equally large matching freezer along side -nothing else. This lack of variety means huge economies of scale can be made by manufacturers
Very few Americans see white goods abroad, and, convinced that their goods are the best (which they certainly are not) have no idea of the wealth of options open to us. I winced when, some years ago, I heard one of the UK manufacturers suggest that we should imitate the US and have a maximum of four or five styles in any white goods. Unsurprisingly, I have not heard of this idea since.
Evelyn Campbell Smith
In March the Editor spoke to a persistent unsolicited caller, trying to sell
double glazing under a name very similar to that of a reputable local firm.
The caller, to his surprise, made no difficulty in revealing the address to which to write and was obviously aware of the new regulations. He warned that that such action might take some time to implement. However the firm wrote back within two weeks confirming that they would do as requested. The professional and satisfactory outcome was a surprise and since then there have been only occasionally unsolicited calls.
Database Services
FREEPOST, Anscrn Rd,
Norwich, NR6 6BR
Dear Sir;
Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999
I should be obliged if you would refrain from magi unsolicited sales calls and fair messages to my home personal telephone number which is at the head of this letter: Please acknowledge receipt of this communication.
Yours faithfully,
J F Brown.
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