AAP               Britain's SCAM telephone numbers    (revised 07 Sept 2007)

16 April 2007    Another scam came to light today.  Years ago I bought a BT fax of the old type that used rolls of heat-sensitive paper.  I wore that one out and after trying a Philips one that was useless, I ended up with another BT one.  The original BT machine was good, so I looked forward to another good one.  Stupid me; times have changed since that early date.

This new one came with a starter cartridge.  But as I now use the fax very little, it lasted quite a while.  But the full-time cartridge cost a penny under forty quid including delivery.  I fitted the new cartridge today and the screen told me that the ink was low.  So I rang up the helpline (an 0870 scam line).  I was then informed that as the guarantee had expired, I should use an 09 super-scam line.  You can see why the Japanese machines are popular.  This one I have was probably made in Woga-woga-land, but it purports to come from Britain.

A 14th April update.  Today's Telegraph stated that British Airways use an 0870 scam number for a 'customer' to use when they enquire about lost luggage.  Talk about 'cheek', they lose your luggage, and it appears that they are the best airline on the planet for doing that, then when you try to find out where they've sent it, they make a profit on your enquiry.  I put the word 'cheek' in quotes because, perhaps, I should have used the word 'victim'.

This paragraph WAS the latest update to this site.  The other paragraphs below were written earlier and contain my feeling at that earlier date.  I have just found a website (I can't remember its URL).  It reported that Ofcom will be changing the rules on 0870 numbers in February 2008.  From that date, businesses will not gain revenue from callers (up to 10p a minute, according to one company), but will pay a fee for every call received.  I find this incredulous as it seems that Ofcom are saying: " We are stopping your racket and fining you if you want to continue using that number".  Another site asked businesses what they intend to do after Feb 2008; one of the options was to change to an 0871 number.  Currently that is an equivalent scam to the 0870 one.  If anyone knows more than I do, give me a call on CDCNottm@AOL.com

What I said earlier

In days of old when men were bold, Robber Barons use to haunt the working classes.  Probably the better-off classes too.  But as the years progressed, women got into the act.  And you know the lady I refer to.

Post Office Telephones were privatised some time prior  to 1990 by a  politician who argued that it would allow competition to pull down prices.  It certainly did that but it also allowed the SCAM industry to profit by a multiplicity of subterfuges.  Privatisation let loose more scams than Queen Victoria would ever have dreamed of despite the Victorian era being thought of as the time when "anything went".

Smoke Balls and Snake Oil have had their day, it is much more sophisticated than when Queen Vic was around.  And telephones are the heart of many modern scams  Take the 09 numbers.  Even the American Embassy has got in on the act.  If you want to enquire about a visa to the USA, just try dialling the embassy.  You have just wasted the cost of one call; you will get a recorded message referring you to an 09 number at, if I remember rightly, 60p a minute.  The longer it takes you to get what you want, the more money it pours into their coffers.  You can see why some people don't like the West

But just look at the 09-number system.  It must have been designed for the scam merchants.  It doesn't take an Einstein-mind to deduce that the system is purpose-made for cheats.  There is, of course, a legal requirement that the cost of a call shall accompany any advertisement for the "service".  But if the number is given on television it is always in minute print at a point on the screen where the focus breaks down.  If the charge is given in print. it is often so badly smudged as to be unreadable; that is if you had a magnifying glass to hand.

"You have won ten thousand pounds, just call this number to be given your registration reference.  You won't have won, of course.  Telling lies is not a criminal offence in Britain.  If it were every prime minister would be in jail.  I have never called a 09 number, but I can imagine the sort of procrastinations that would ensue.  They work on the principle that "there is one born every minute,

Did anybody say anything about OFTEL.  They seem to have been "OFF" since they were formed.  I imagine that the powers that they have are derisory, as governments don't like to stifle "competition".  Tony Blaire has told us that the economy is thriving.  He just forgot to say which economy.  You mustn't say anything bad if it involves the 'black'  But there is better to come.  Even government offices are on to this new scam. It won't make them a fortune, but it may pay the tea and biscuits bill.  0870 numbers are charged at National Rate.  This is generally about 8p a minute, but I have seen one advert saying that a caller will pay 10p a minute  So if the firm is in the next street, you are paying  £5 an hour, or more, to talk to someone about the order you want to place.  And over half of what you are paying goes to the firm you are calling.  Just look at one or two website that gleefully advertise how they can increase your revenue if you use one of their 0870 numbers.  So now you know why you get all this paraphernalia about "for your safety and convenience we do this or that".    It's not you they are interested in, except as a milch cow.  it's their bank balance they are much more interested in.

Why do you think they have these ambiguous "press this button, press that button".  I'm convinced that some of the firms specifically arrange that you get the wrong department, as this enhances their profit.  You will them have a long wait while you are transferred to the correct department (if you are lucky and are not cut off and have to start again from the beginning).

Many of the operators you talk to are totally unaware that their company is fleecing you all the time you are on the line.  I make certain that those naive souls are enlightened as to the scam in which they are implicit.

There is no guaranteed method of avoiding these scams if you want to use the telephone.  But there are a few companies that have not entirely sewn up all the options.  For example, banks often have a line for overseas callers.  It is quite easy to delete the +44 and add a zero   Operators are surprised when you tell them that you are calling from the UK and have used that line to avoid being fleeced.  Another method is to use a fax line if one is available, but you do need a fax machine at home.  But some firms only have an 0870 fax number published. Fax machines are not expensive to buy but avoid the Philips Magic 3 one as the printing is lousy and the replacement ink film costs over twenty pounds.  I had a BT one but it went wrong, and in the past I have  found Philips stuff to be good.  They are now near the bottom of my list of companies, particularly in fax machines.  Perhaps I should have tried Argos, but they sell Philips too, so beware.  I bought a BT fax that I found is very complicate AND the print cartridge is £39.99 to buy.  I thought that Hewlett Packard were expensive, but HP are about half the cost of this Philips one.  Look at my page AAI re refilling print cartridges.

Of course, the way to get companies responding honestly is to write them a letter and pay for recorded delivery.  To reply to a letter will cost a lot more than they make out of the 0870 scam.  But don't expect a rapid reply when they discover you are not on their fleecing list.  I recently wrote to a large insurance company and started the letter by explaining that I would have phoned if it had not been for their scam telephone number.  The girl was quite indignant when she replied by telephone.  But she didn't know that her firm would have been fleecing me for over 4p a minute had I called her.

There is one method that sometimes works.  The website http://www.saynoto0870.com/search.php  "SAY NO TO 0870" allows you to feed in the 0870 number and get an alternative honest number.  It worked for the Charity Commissioners, but a lot of firms keep their honest number a dark secret.  See my essay ACG on Travel Insurance.  It was a lot of hassle to them and me, but I kept my virginity and didn't use an 0870.

I have just seen a Royal Mail advert.  You know that they repeatedly ask you to "Use the postcode".  But they then give you a 09 telephone number if you don't have it to hand.  An, of course, it costs you 50p a minute.  There's cheek, damn cheek, and Royal Mail cheek!

If anyone wants to talk about the Small Claims Court. I am willing to talk about that.  Now (Nov 2006).  I am in the early stages of suing an internet retailer who has cashed my cheque but not delivered the goods.  You can sue for up to five thousand pounds.  But you have to be pedantic and determined.  I sued one of the big electrical retailers a year or so back, and had a very unhappy branch manager bleat his woes to me after Head Office paid me.  I imagine that his head office bent his ear very seriously.  I claimed for every piece of paper and envelope I used.  Be a good citizen and use the power that the law has given you.  To let the scamsters get away with it only encourages them further

If you don't believe me, today (Mon 12/09/2005) I copied the URL of a site that offers money to firms that use 0870.  Have a look at:
http://0870.uk2numbers.co.uk/?src=google&kv=-33050079

I have just returned a freepost envelope to the AA with a rude message about their use of 0870 numbers.  If there are enough of us protesters, we will kill the scam (see the top of this page), but just one or two of us won't have any effect.  Be a good citizen and follow me.

I sent a fax this lunchtime to Shearings after I had booked a holiday with them saying that I chose them because they hadn't joined the scam  set.  If they did in the future, this customer would cease to exist.

I plead with readers of this essay to do similar to what I do.  I think we will win in the end as only today (16/07/05), the Daily Telegraph had a critical article on the subject.  A few weeks back the "You and Yours" Radio 4 programme discussed the subject, but I expect a 'whisper' from on high told the producer to drop the subject as the BBC use scam numbers too.  The government has refused to allow medical centres from using 0870 numbers.  I suppose they were afraid it might spark a revolution from the likes of me.

But there was a mini-revolt when the government set up a hotline for news of relatives after the London bombings.  A letter in the Telegraph simply commented "Profiteering from the bloodshed".  A similar line set up after the second "bombings" seemed to have got the message.  They offered a freephone line.

I did consider writing an essay entitled "Government-sponsored scams", but re-reading the above, I seem to have covered everything I know on the subject.

7 Sept 2007

I recently had a request to put a link to another site on this subject; I agreed.  So have a look at http://www.freeweb.telco4u.net

26 August 2008

I see today that "Motorists pay £3M a year to phone the DVLA (using the 0870 number that the government provide)  The Telegraph advertise the sum of money as "£3m" which, of course, is three milli pounds.  But an error of a thousand million times doesn't perturb newspaper editors

Colin D Campbell
CDCNottm@AOL.com