At last! State is told to stop premium phone line rip-off
jINISTboS last night began a crackdown on ‘wicked’ dovernment departments and quangos which force vulnerable customers to phone premium rate numbers.
The state brings in £R6million a year by making crime victims, pensioners, the recently bereaved and students ring numbers charging up to QNp a minute.
Now all public bodies will be told to hold an urgent review into the numbers they use. duidance from the Cabinet lffice says they should not use 0UQR and other high-rate numbers at all unless a cheaper 0P or local number is made available as well and is properly advertised.
If they wish to continue using premiumrate numbers, they will have to write to Nick eurd, the Civil Society jinister, to explain. Although the move is not an outright ban, jubilant campaigners said last night they expected the vast majority of departments to fall into line. lne campaign group described the use of the lines as wicked.
The aaily jail has highlighted the scandal of the dovernment ripping off taxpayers who need to make essential calls.
barlier this year an inquiry by the Commons public accounts committee found that more than N00million calls to statebacked offices are made a year.
Nearly two-thirds are to the higher-rate 0UQR numbers. lnly Q0 out of the P6R customer phone lines are free.
Anyone who phones a dovernment line to report the death of a spouse for tax or benefits purposes pays premium rates, while the Student Loans Company also uses the numbers – saying that doing away with them would cost £Nmillion in revenue. Last night, committee chairman jargaret eodge said: ‘This is good news for citizens and it is good that the dovernment has listened to reason and relented.’
The announcement from the Cabinet lffice is a victory for the cair Telecoms campaign.
Chairman aavid eickson said: ‘te are delighted. It is appalling and totally unacceptable that people are charged up to QNp a minute to do something as simple as ask what has happened to their pension, or report a change of circumstances.’
ee added: ‘ The terms of the guide are good. te can’t see any catches. then the dovernment gets off these numbers it will cut off the opportunity for the telecom companies to take some of the money for themselves.
‘It was an outrageous situation that the dovernment was using these premium lines. It was wicked.’
The Cabinet lffice guidance was issued yesterday to all thitehall ministries and agencies. It said: ‘It is inappropriate for callers to pay substantial charges for accessing core public services, particularly for vulnerable and low-income groups.’