Premium
Rate Calls Index
Is
it a matter of pay up and shut up?
Premium Rate Numbers
How to beat the phone cheats
How Ofcom can help you
Other Organisations that can
help
Further
Information on the
factsheet.
Have
you been billed for premium rate calls you didn’t make? Is
it a matter of pay up and shut up?
A few weeks ago we heard from
listeners who were annoyed at charges they had got on their phone
bills for premium rate calls they hadn’t made. And many other
listeners contacted the programme with similar problems.
Last week our television colleagues Watchdog investigated internet
dialling fraud, and they like us, were inundated with calls from
people in the same boat – charged by the phone network provider
for calls they knew nothing about. And one woman tells On Your Behalf
that as a direct debit customer, she had no way of withholding payment.
When we asked BT to explain what’s going on, they weren’t
prepared to be interviewed, but told us in a statement
"The job of the telephone
network is to deliver calls to the number as requested. BT have
no jurisdiction on how the customer chooses to use the service.
BT carries thousands of Premium Rate Service (PRS) calls and the
majority of users are happy to pay for the services received. BT
cannot act as a policing service for the industry as it could be
construed as anti competitive and regarded as interference into
people’s lives. ICSTIS are the regulatory body and BT works
very closely with them to protect its customers as much as possible.
Customers do not advise BT that they are going to buy a PC and start
surfing the net - nor would we want them to - a certain amount of
responsibility rests with the user.
Most customers are aware of the call barring packages that are available
for a couple of pounds per week but most choose not to use them.
Any customer whose complaint we have not been
able to resolve through our own review process is normally advised
about Otelo (Office of Telecommunications Ombudsman). Be advised
that Otelo works within certain parameters and not all customers
issues will be within their jurisdiction. Otelo's details are also
on the backs of our bills. BT receives on average 7 pence per £1.50
premium call."
PREMIUM RATE NUMBERS
It’s always good to hear from listeners – the issues
you’d like to hear on the programme - your comments, and of
course your problems.
But of all the subjects that you raise, our file of complaints about
premium rate lines is now the thickest!
So this week we’re dealing with many of our listeners’
queries on 09 numbers
One woman rang into the programme a few weeks ago, shocked when
her family got a phone bill for £308. Their telephone bill
she told On Your Behalf, is usually about a quarter of that - calls
to one premium number totalled £138 – Her question to
us was how could she turn her home number into a premium rate line
and make money from her family and friends who rang her! Now it
may have been said tongue in cheek – the reality is it’s
quite easy! perhaps too easy to set up a premium rate number –
and it must be a nice little earner!
09 numbers are big business – the premium rate service industry
is worth more than £1 billion a year to the UK economy - the
vast majority are entirely legitimate and transparently marketed
to consumers. However, Ofcom is currently reviewing the regulation
of these telephone services with a view to improving measures to
protect consumers from fraudulent and unscrupulous activity.
But legitimate or not – transparent or not – these numbers
come at us from all directions – through TV, competitions
dropping out of reputable newspapers – on-line competitions
– you name it they’re ubiquitous in today’s society
– but are they not a cynical abuse of the vulnerable?
Of course, it’s
bad enough having to pay for calls that a family member has made
– perhaps unaware of how much it’s costing. But what
if the charges come via the internet – dial up connections
diverted to premium rate numbers without the person’s knowledge
or consent. Pop ups as they’re known. The first the consumer
realises is when the bill arrives…..
HOW TO BEAT THE PHONE
CHEATS
BLOCK premium rate numbers.ASK
your phone provider to stop your phone line from accessing premium
rate numbers, but it won't stop crooks using overseas numbers.
BLOCK all international numbers using a PIN number.
CHECK that the number your computer automatically
dials, to connect you to the internet, is correct. This is usually
an 0845 number charged at local rates.
IF you find your internet dialup number has been changed, put it
back to the correct number immediately by altering your setting,
otherwise every time you go online you will be paying up to Pounds
1.50 a minute.
STOP rogue diallers disguised as pop-ups - adverts
which appear over the top of websites - by blocking all pop-ups.
This is one of the personal preferences offered by your internet
service provider. But not all rogue diallers enter this way: they
can also be disguised as games, downloads or email attachments.
IF you are faced with suspicious adverts or come-ons
simply closing the box or clicking No will not necessarily stop
the expensive dialler being installed. Try closing the window by
pressing the 'ctrl' key and 'w' at the same time.
KEEP your anti-virus software and firewall up to
date.
DOWNLOAD free software that will scan your hard
drive and clean viruses from your PC.
BROADBAND – If you have broadband you should
be out of the reach of this scam, provided you have not left your
old dialup modem plugged in to your phone line.
HOW OFCOM CAN HELP
YOU
Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for
the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television,
radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
Ofcom supplied On Your Behalf with the following information
Ofcom to strengthen premium rate services consumer protection
measures
Ofcom is reviewing of the regulation of premium rate telephone services
with a view to improving measures to protect consumers from fraudulent
and unscrupulous activity. The review will include an examination
of options to strengthen the powers of ICSTIS - the industry-funded
regulatory body for all premium rate services - as well as any other
actions necessary.
Internet Diallers
In recent months ICSTIS has received thousands of complaints from
consumers about unexpected charges for premium-rate numbers on their
phone bills. Those charges have often been incurred as a result
of changes to the consumer's internet dial-up connection, whereby
dialler settings were switched to premium rate numbers. Upon investigation
it has emerged that in some cases those changes were put in place
without the consumer's knowledge by malign software programs hidden
within spam email or web pop-ups.
Under Section 120 of the Communications Act, Ofcom is responsible
for setting the conditions under which premium rate service providers
can operate, whilst ICSTIS is the body responsible for creating
a Code of Practice and enforcing compliance.
Problems with premium-rate internet diallers have become a cause
for concern in recent months and Ofcom has been in close talks with
the Department of Trade and Industry, ICSTIS, the telecoms ombudsmen
and with the network and service providers to address the problem.
As a result, on 15 July 2004, ICSTIS announced plans for new rules
requiring premium rate providers to pre-register with the regulator
before offering internet dial-up services.
It is apparent to Ofcom, the DTI and ICSTIS that the internet dialler
problem is the latest in a series of examples of unethical behaviour
which have damaged consumer confidence in the premium rate industry.
In order to strengthen consumer protection in the future, a more
wide-ranging assessment of the regulation of premium rate services
is therefore required. This will include an assessment of whether
ICSTIS has the tools it needs to regulate an industry with such
a large number of participants in the value chain.
After discussions between Ofcom, the DTI and ICSTIS, the DTI has,
in consequence, formally requested that Ofcom undertake a review
of the current regulatory arrangements with a view to making recommendations
to improve them.
Scope of the review
The premium rate services industry is worth more than £1 billion
a year to the UK economy; it has many participants and many aspects,
the vast majority of which are entirely legitimate and transparently
marketed to consumers.
Where potentially criminal or unethical activity occurs, there will
often be several companies or groups of individuals involved, some
of whose roles will be unwitting. Applying sanctions against instigators
can be difficult in practice. If there is a cross-border dimension,
the situation is further complicated by overlapping responsibilities
between different types of regulator across the EU and beyond.
Ofcom will therefore seek to explore which additional measures may
be appropriate to give consumers a greater degree of protection
from misleading, fraudulent or inappropriate activity involving
premium rate services.
The Ofcom study will be carried out in August and September 2004.
It will involve detailed fact-finding amongst a broad range of stakeholders,
including premium rate service providers, originating and terminating
network operators and representatives from consumer advocacy groups.
Ofcom will also seek input from broadcasters - who offer interactive
services (such as audience voting) using premium rate services -
and from the independent Ofcom Consumer Panel. Ofcom will work closely
with ICSTIS throughout.
Any necessary changes to the ICSTIS Code of Practice arising from
the review would be the subject of public consultation in the autumn,
as would any other potential changes to the wider regulatory framework.
Further
Information on the factsheet.
ICSTIS
ICSTIS, the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards
of Telephone Information Services, is the industry-funded regulatory
body for all premium rate charged telecommunications services.
Freephone Contact Centre : 0800 500 212 (between 8.30am and 4.30pm,
Monday to Friday)
ICSTIS
Factsheet
OFCOM
Ofcom is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with
responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and
wireless communications services.
0845 456 3000
contact@ofcom.org.uk
OTELO
Otelo is an Ombudsman Service for
public communication providers and their customers.
Otelo is also known as the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman.
They have been set up to sort out disagreements between our members
and their customers. They provide a free and independent service
that has been approved by the regulator (Ofcom).
0845 050 1614
Otelo, PO Box 730, Warrington, WA4 6WU
enquiries@otelo.org.uk
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