I (like a growing number of others I suspect), get my telephone /Broadband from Bulldog. Just had an e-mail which says that from 26/04, premium rate numbers starting with 09 will be barred from all customers phones automatically. If you wish to use 09 numbers you will be reqired to pay a £50.00 deposit by debit/credit card, and will have useage monitored to prevent High useage levels.

Baring in mind the cretins who use Quiz tv/ITV Play/FTN, I suspect many of the customers either

1) dont have a debit/credit card
2) Are dialling without bill payers permission
3) wont be bothered to unlock the 09 ban by doing the above
4)will cease using the quiz shows,as they are faced with parting with 'real(ish) money.


I suspect with all the people getting their phones cut off due to high bills and the telcom companies losing out, that BT, NTL and the mobiles will soon follow suit.


Quiz tv etc etc your days are numbered!

This is excellent news, not just with regards to Quiz TV but 09 numbers are also the ones used for scams (money leeching). Many people don't fully understand how much these numbers cost. I.E 0901 has several levels of charging ranging from 50p to £1 per call.

an 0845 number you always know is local rate. 0891 was banned because of poor regulation, the regulation of 09 numbers still isn't much better and telephone companies are doing the right thing by asking for deposits to allow them to be called. Hopefully more telco's will follow suit.

Back on the subject of Quiz Channels, having 'gamblers' dial premium rate numbers makes it far too accessible to minors and the vulnerable and they ought to make you register a credit card with them to prove you are over 18.

We all know why they don't do this, its because they like the accesibility been open to anyone and everyone.

If a 12 year old dials the number, its still 60p/75p/£1 in their pocket and they love it!.

Thats good news incase numbers get accidently dialed but if you really want to phone these lines you will get it un-locked. But i agree some people wont bother to unlock.

Good news. I hope other companies follow suit. Long overdue.

argh, I dont like this, the 09 number isnt the problem its the TV channels that are.

eg shows like TheGadgetShows (& others, I just got theGadget Show number writtern down) run prefectly fair phone in competion (everyone who phones & has the write answer is entered into draw)

those kind of competions are things normal people enter occasionaly, and as such makes these competions look bad. (what would Richard & Judy do without "YouSayWePay" )

I think TV channels should have there own 0X number, and the block can be put on that.

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It's very interesting to note that a telephone company is introducing this, not OfCom.

I suspect the company's reason as being the amount of bad debt and cost of recovering it, rather than any feeling of moral responsibility.

Either way, it's a good development IMHO.

John

IIRC - the competitions you mention (and nearly all the others I've seen) have an equivelent way to enter using text which cost the same (unless I've missed the part about "Plus your normal operator charges )

The idea of blocking 090 numbers on my landline phone seems a good one to me - if only to prevent my inquisitive kids dialing some ringtone provider.

BUT - I'm with BT so need to look into it.

Numbers beginning with 09 are also used by bid.tv and pricedrop.tv too, I believe.

I have an o2 pay monthly mobile, and by default the 09 numbers are pre-blocked. If you want to unblock them you have to go through the o2 customer services and prove who you are, and why you want them unblocking. Hopefully they will not see "quiz tv" as a good enough reason to remove the block

BT should have done this years ago, it would have blocked the Dial - Up Internet scams as well as the other problems it has caused.

Ofcom, doesn't appear to have the consumers interest uppermost in it's list of priorities.

Hmm...I'm in two minds about this. On one hand, it's great news because it could put an end to most scams and also stops people from phoning the auction/quiz channels.

However, our local radio station sometimes uses an 09 number for competitions, with a clear message stating how much the call will cost (no more than a few pence).

Your local radio station wouldn't go belly up if they used a standard number, it is pure greed.

They only use an 09 number for competitions with a substantial cash prize. So the amount they actually make is probably minimal.

£50 seems a bit steep a deposit. When would you get it back? Surely they should simply impose a limit of £10 worth of 09** numbers per billing period until you prove you can pay it off (like a Credit Card's credit limit).

they'll find another way such as use texts ect. 811.. or 60... so people will just end up paying £1 per text message sum quiz channels on sky already offer this.

Barring by default seems reasonable, but a £50 deposit is a little steep.

Is it really a deposit? If so, will interest be being paid on the amount you've lodged with Bulldog?

Or is it a prepayment against the cost of future 09 calls? And if so, what happens if you don't make fifty quid's worth of calls? If you do go over the fifty quid, will they ask for another deposit?

Being cynical, it seems to me that - unless they do deduct the cost of each call, as you make it, from the £50 - what Bulldog are really doing is finding a way to get £50 from lots of their customers and earn interest on it, while simultaneously dressing it up as a Good Thing.

There are other solutions they can offer, like simply barring without a deposit, or providing bill payers with a PIN that allows dialling 09 numbers and plays a warning about the cost when you use it. Or allowing 09 numbers only to those who have a direct debit agreement, or some sort of pre-pay scheme.

It would be quite simple for a phone company to set up a system whereby when you dial any 09 number you hear a message before it rings that says "The number you are dialling costs £1.50 per minute. You have spent £23.75 on calls to 09 numbers this month. Hang up within five seconds to cancel this call for no charge."

Seems to me that sort of thing could be very effective. But of course it wouldn't make as much money as holding £50 on deposit from thousands of customers, and still charging them to make the calls.

Nigel.

This will also block access to such things as PC technical help lines, weather forecasts, traffic news and any service which makes a charge for the information given, not just quiz shows.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out with the rest of the industry.

Hmm, my non-league football club uses 09066... as it's Club Call number. It doesn't raise us loads of money, but every little helps. If all the people who rang -- and who acknowledge it's a rip-off, but they know the money is going to their cause -- were forced to pay a £50 deposit, I can't see them bothering.

It's about time the whole 08- 09- number system was sorted out once and for all. Talking to you, Ofcom.

Bozz

I think we're talking about specialised small phone companies doing this, not the larger providers.
Much as I hate the idea of all these quiz channels charging pounds for calls I also would be angry if my phone provider made me phone in to arrange to use these numbers and pay the heavy deposit! I do not expect my phone company to give me "permission" to dial any number!
It's like having to pay the water board a deposit to run a new washing machine.

I see it no differently to a mobile phone company asking for a deposit to enable such things like international roaming. Like premium rate numbers, Roaming rates are similarly priced (for example on Orange contract, up to £1.30/min) as a degree of protection for them should you run up an unusually large bill then fail to pay it. While I've never had to pay such a deposit (I'll never know how I've managed to get such a good credit rating) I don't think it particularly unreasonable, and many will charge a similar deposit to place 09 numbers from their contract mobiles. Why should fixed lines be any different (apart from the lack of ability to roam)?

My (mostly prepay) mobile phone company has done this since it started, same with "dodgy" international numbers - only national and UK calls were possible at the start, anyway. Designed so that its far, far harder for the chav who's stolen your phone to burn through all your call credit or run you up a huge bill. They'll unlock them when you ask them to - but I've still never had to ring a 15xx number so they're still locked off, after 5 years.

Fresh Mobile no longer connects calls to Premium rate or International numbers.

Orange has now allowed most premium rate numbers, however, the owner of the phone can bar calls to premium rate numbers at anytime.

that is true they do have texts, however I dont own a mobile.

The Bulldog email is reproduced here http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31250

"Dear Mr. xxxxx* Bulldog is changing its policy regarding premium rate service calls - that's numbers starting 09.

As of Wednesday 26th April 2006, you will not be able to call premium rate numbers from your Bulldog phone. If you do want to make premium rate calls you will need to make a pre-payment of £50.00 which will be used against your bill.

By simply dialling 150 from your Bulldog phone and selecting option 1, you will be able to make your £50.00 payment by debit or credit card. We recommend you allow up to 24 hours for your service to be reset. If the value of premium rate calls from your account continues to reach a high level, we may contact you again to ask for a further pre-payment...."

So it's a pre-payment, not a deposit, presumably to be used against the whole bill, not just PRS calls.