The UK telecoms regulator has today announced their decision to clamp down on scams that abuse premium rate 070 numbers, which are often mistaken by consumers for mobile numbers (which always begin with ’07’). In response Ofcom will slash the wholesale cost of calling such numbers .
Strictly speaking 070 numbers are designed to be used as a “follow me” service (i.e. where calls are diverted from one number to another, so the person being called can keep their own number private), which makes them useful for things like classified adverts (e.g. those posted by individuals online or in a newspaper) and the call management facilities run by small businesses.
However it’s estimated that 20% of 070 calls (there were 2.6 million to 070s in 2017) involve some form of “fraudulent activity” and these often prey on the aforementioned consumer confusion (e.g. fake missed calls and job adverts). People may thus call such numbers while expecting to pay the same as an ordinary mobile call, but this is a wrong and 070 numbers can attract charges of between 45p and £1.10 per minute!
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The Solution to 070 Abuse
Impose new rules to cap the wholesale cost of calling 070 numbers (currently up to 39p per minute). The new 070 wholesale price cap will be aligned with the existing cap set by Ofcom for calls to mobile numbers – currently around 0.5p per minute.
The regulator hopes this will remove the incentive for related scams to abuse such numbers and encourage phone providers to include 070 numbers in free minute allowances, as they currently do for calls to mobiles. Further details can be found here.
Jonathan Oxley, Ofcom’s Competition Group Director, said:
“Millions of calls are made to 070 numbers, but many people aren’t aware of the high costs of calling them. This can lead to people receiving much higher bills than expected.
So we’re slashing the wholesale cost of connecting 070 numbers. There’s no reason why phone companies shouldn’t pass this saving on to their customers as soon as possible.”
The new measure won’t be enforced until 1st October 2019, which is hardly surprisingly because it represents a significant change for companies that sell or make use of such numbers (they’ll need to contact all their customers and update billing systems etc.). As a result Ofcom is giving them all one year to adapt.
“If any companies do move to other number ranges, it will be to ranges that our research suggests are more familiar to consumers, and people would have a better idea of the likely cost of calling them,” said Ofcom. Mind you this overlooks the potential negative impact on end-users (businesses) who could face additional costs due to the admin or lost business involved in updating any public facing contact numbers.
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