Advice lines that exploit callers
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It's fine paying for a premium rate phone service if it gives you the information you need, but we've discovered a man who charges premium rates for a phone line which tells you practically nothing, and which can exploit people who need important advice.
Shaun Freeman runs a company called Digital Select Ltd. It operates recorded message phone lines which claim to offer advice and information about passport and Child Benefit services. The information for these can be found for free on Government websites or using local rate telephone numbers.
Calls to Digital Select Ltd's lines can cost much more than local rates. Callers are invited to call an 0871 number initially, which costs up to 10 pence per minute. From here, they're advised to phone an 0906 number, which costs £1.50 per minute. The recorded messages on the Child Benefit line can last more than 17 minutes, costing more than £20.
Believed it was an official website
Catherine Payne-Gray called one of the lines trying to find out about Child Benefit services. She'd found the number by typing 'child benefit enquiries' into the search engine Google. Digital Select Ltd's result came top of her search so she believed it to be the official government site.
She rang the 0871 number initially, and this directed her to an 0906 number. It told her she would pay £1.50 per minute and, though she was angry at having to pay this, she still believed it was a Government-run service.
It wasn't, and by the time she got the information she could have obtained for free from an official website, it had cost her more than £28.
Lots of people have fallen for this as well. They think the number is run by the Government because the website listing the number comes top on their internet search. However, anyone can pay to be top of a Google list and in this case coming top doesn't make the number official.
It doesn't cost much so we paid to have our own Watchdog advert warning people not to pay more than they should for these services. It appeared above Digital Select Ltd's listing on Google.
Shaun Freeman's passport information line takes over nine minutes to offer the information you might need, but at £1.50 per minute it still charges £13.50 for information you can get for free elsewhere.
Complaints
We played recordings of Digital Select Ltd's calls to representatives from HM Revenue & Customs and the Passport Service. They said they've had complaints from members of the public about these phone services, even though they're nothing to do with them. They thought the services were "expensive" and potentially "misleading". We also played the recordings to the Citizens Advice Bureau, who said the lines exploit people's good will.
We asked PhonepayPlus, the regulator for premium rate services what it was going to do about Shaun Freeman's phone lines. Its Chief Executive Director Paul Whiteing said that the issue was complicated and that they do make sure that lines like these comply with their code of practice.
However, he said that if the code had been breached they can fine companies, make them change their services and stop the services altogether. He said the'd already imposed fines of up to £60,000 against four companies like this in the last 18 months.
Digital Select's statement
"Digital Select Ltd is a Service Provider and we provide telephony services to Information Providers. It is the Information Providers who produce the content and promotional material for services that the consumer accesses.
"Digital Select Ltd works with Information Providers and Phonepay Plus (the regulator) to ensure all services are fully compliant with the regulator's Code of Practice, which includes checking that all content, promotional material and pricing information is clear and up-to-date.
"The services in the report offer an alternative choice to the consumer by providing independent third-party advice. The services clearly state they are not affiliated with any government body. Consumers are informed of all costs involved before calling and also immediately upon connection to any premium rate number. If they do not wish to pay the stated amount, they simply end the call.
"Consumers can easily contact our customer services department by telephone, post or email should they be unhappy with any service, and all of our contact information is provided within all promotional material.
We believe that your viewer's experiences reflect that of a tiny proportion of the thousands of consumers who use these services, and we would have welcomed the opportunity to address their concerns had they chosen to contact our customer services department directly."
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Comments
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I can't believe this came up. Literally two weeks ago I telephoned them from my boyfriends parents house, as i needed an emergency passport. I thought this sounded familiar on your show then you revealed they also are a scam company for passports i panicked. It's unbelieveablehow people are scamming you, i just feel so stupid.
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PLEASE NOTE: PhonePayPlus (Formerly ICSTIS) is not a regulator. It is a Trade Association.
I have several letters from ICSTIS confirming this position.
PhonePayPlus have NO statutory powers whatsoever, including a total legal inability to collect fines they publish (Until 2003 they almost never collected)
Since 2004 there has been a tiny amount of authority delegated to them from Ofcom over premuium rate lines, however any outfit which refuses to cooperate or which ignores their orders can only be referred to Ofcom for action.
I find it disturbing that private organisations are allowed to advertise themselves as regulators when they are not. PhonePayPlus is not the only outfit which has been pulling the wool over the public's eyes.
[Note from Watchdog: The PhonePayPlus' website says: "Under the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom has responsibility for the regulation of premium rate services. In December 2007 it was confirmed that PhonepayPlus will act as the agency which carries out the day-to-day regulation of the PRS market on Ofcom's behalf." Best regards, web team]
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I just thought I'd let you know about another scam this man is running which states it will help you with any problems you have with Ebay and other online auction sites.
However, I rang this because ebay had cancelled my account which I disagreed with and I left my number on a recording for them to contact me back which they did. I was told I need to ring another number to speak to their legal team.
When I asked if they could help me they kept repeating "Please ring this number".....
When I did, I was told things that were was available on Ebays website and wasn't any help what so ever......
[url removed]
Stay well clear
G Johnston (Manchester)
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Everyone should be aware that BT (don't know about other providers) will bar 090 numbers on your line at no charge. I had my line barred after getting a £10.00 bill for a call no-one made - that we know of.
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His advert still appears on Google, dont whatever you do click on it or it will costs him around 60 pence each time, and that would be a shame.
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Only today my husband came across this website doing an enquiry on sickness benefit. No only did they email him but they texted him and phoned him trying to get him to ring someone on this number. Luckily he spotted the premium rate and refused to go any further. He also thought it was an official government website. So they are also aiming at people asking for this sort of information and they could be sick and vulnerable and certainly not able to pay large amounts in phone bills
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I would recommend that people should check the web address before dialling any telephone numbers listed on a site. Any bona fide Government websites will end in .gov.uk rather than .org which can be registered by any user.
We have also experienced phishing e mails from Revenues and Customs advising of a tax rebate, but again once you click on the link, the address (URL) does not end in .gov.uk so you know it is not real, no matter how genuine it looks
I did want to contact the programme while it was on last night, but was not online and no phone number was displayed, as I think this is a quick way for people to check whether a site is genuine
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I have to say that premium rate scams are silly and no-one should get caught, but a lot of providers set up outside the UK and exploit differences in legislasation.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I found a similar problem when trying to contact the passport office, several sites at the top of a Google search charged £1.50 per minute.
I eventually found a direct.gov.uk site which had a 0300 222 0000, unfortunately it doesnt tell you how much this call would cost.
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Many people don't realise that the top result - usually in a yellow box - are "Sponsored Results". These should never be visited - firstly, they may be misleading, like the one shown in the video, and secondly, the web address shown beneath can be set to whatever the person paying for the link wants it to be, so it may seem like the site you are looking for.
All you need to do if you need any governmental advice is to go to http://direct.gov.uk - that will tell you what to do and where to go for the advice you need.
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