Hospital’s ‘rip off ’ phone lines cut by 98pc

“RIP off ” phone bills for people calling loved ones in hospital are to become a thing of the past under an Ofcom crackdown.

For the first time the watchdog will regulate the cost of 070 numbers, of which 2.6million calls are made a year, costing around 50p a minute.

Draft Ofcom plans show it intends to cap the amount providers of 070 numbers can charge phone companies when the numbers are called, bringing them in line with mobile tariffs.

This will see the amount phone providers pay for 070 calls fall by 98 per cent from about 40p per minute to a maximum of 0.5p per minute. The saving would be passed on to consumers. People calling 070 numbers currently pay around £3.40 for a short call and as much as £100 for extended ones.

Tim Farron, the former Lib Dem leader, has described the charges as “a total rip off ”, and accused businesses of “treating the sick as cash cows”.

The draft rules follow a consultation launched last May. The new charges will be introduced next autumn if they are accepted by the European Commission.

Hospedia, which runs hospital bedside TV and phone services and made £21.4m in revenue last year, is among the firm providing the costly numbers.