PhonepayPlus 0871 regulation delay

PhonepayPlus has also published their long-awaited statement on 0871 regulation. This is now expected to come into force during the Summer of 2008 and not the originally communicated January 2008.

PhonepayPlus (formerly ICSTIS) has published its final statement on 0871 regulation. The content is largely as expected and applies the majority of the current 11th Code of Practice through a Statement of Application. The code will come into effect, following Ofcom approval, in Spring 2008 and there will then be an additional three month implementation period. There is currently no specific date from PhonepayPlus, but your business should be prepared for the earliest date of March 2008, with the three month implementation leading to regulation starting in June 2008.

There are several key areas of the 0871 statement:

Customer Service Arrangements

Service providers must provide a non-premium rate customer service number. PhonepayPlus has confirmed that this can be a 0871 number provided that callers have the ability to request a refund for the cost of any call made to register a complaint.

Undue delay

PhonepayPlus has recognised that customer service can be ‘demand-led’ and that this can affect the number of available agents to take and handle calls. The regulator is keen to ensure that callers are provided with as much information as possible when they are placed on hold. When investigating any complaint about undue delay, PhonepayPlus will take into account any action taken by the service provider in the configuration of their service to ensure that the customer was advised of any delay and any steps taken to manage that delay.

Prior permission

Certain categories of service may require prior permission from PhonepayPlus before they are operated. Live customer support services, live directory enquiry (DQ) services and live advice services are a few of the services exempt from the requirement for prior permission.

Pricing information

The provisions of the 11th Code in relation to pricing transparency will apply in full. Some of the requirements include the following:

5.7.1 Service providers must ensure that all users of premium rate services are fully informed, clearly and straightforwardly, of the cost of using a service prior to incurring any charge.

5.7.2 Written pricing information must be easily legible, prominent, horizontal and presented in a way that does not require close examination. Spoken pricing information must be easily audible and discernible.

5.7.3 In cases where it is unlikely that a consumer will have seen or heard any promotional material containing pricing information, the service provider must place a short, distinct pricing message at the beginning of the service.

The full statement of application can be found here.

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