back to article Ofcom: No premium numbers for previous offenders

Anyone who has abused premium-rate telephone numbers in the past will be barred from using the numbers again, telecoms regulator Ofcom has said. Numbers beginning 070, 087 and 09 will not be available to anyone who has used phone numbers to take part in scams, frauds or other dishonesty, Ofcom said. The rules will not apply to …

COMMENTS

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  1. Olly Simmons
    Black Helicopters

    Uh-huh

    OK so let me get this straight, if someone has used a number to con ppl before, then they won't be able to get one again........unless they turn up with a different trading name and a different director?!?!

    When they dreamed up this idea did they really think that a con artist would be honest when applying for a number they were going to use dis-honestly?

    Swing and a miss OFCOM

  2. John Bayly
    Coat

    Has to be wrong

    Ofcom acting on the behalf of the consumer, shurely shome mishtake?

    Now all they have to do is stop ISPs from using the word unlimited in adverts, though I expect we'll see that when I see a bacon bearing mammal cruising past my office at 50ft.

    Mine's the one with the barbecue tongs in it

  3. Wokstation

    Shame the TV companies get 3rd parties...

    ...else you'd see ITV on the blacklist for sure.

    Of course, if a company's that dodgy, they'll just shut their doors and magically a new company with a new name will appear in the same place, with the same employees...

  4. Cris Page
    Flame

    More OFCOM hot air.

    There should be no consideration of "how long" they need to be on the barred list, bar them for good! It is time OFCOM sorted this out once and for all. Operators should have to lodge a bond against possible fines for abuse before being allocated numbers - NO 07xx numbers should be issued and those already in use should be withdrawn - this prefix should be mobiles only, that would stop one of the scams - I had a "missed call" only yesterday - on checking it was an 07033 personal number.

    Stop pussy-footing around OFCOM and regulate NOW - it is long overdue and you have been "watching" us get ripped off for way too long. The industry has had enough chances to put its house in order, now it is time to make them behave.

  5. Bernard

    Re: Scams etc.

    Does this mean the BBC, ITV etc. won't be allowed them, or was that a different kind of scam?

  6. hi_robb
    Alert

    That's ITV, C4 and the BBC knackered then

    As they have taken part i scams in the past they are buggered

  7. Steve

    Would that include...

    ...the BBC and ITV?

  8. Andy Barber
    Thumb Up

    Hospitals

    Lets hope they include hospitals on the naughty list. The bedside phones they provide are all 070 numbers & costs a fortune to call sick relatives.

  9. john loader

    So why only warnings on 070?

    There are a load of 07 numbers that operators, especially mobile ones, charge higher rates for than normal mobile lines. Surely all should carry a warning before connecting?

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    The easiest way to stop premium rate abuse ....

    is to make it so that phone subscribers have to explicitly "opt-in" to be able to make premium rate calls, and prevent telecom providers from being able to offer a "discount" if you do opt-in.

    Surely a responsible telecoms provider would have no problem with that ? Unless they rely on people dialling premium rate numbers unwittingly (or in the case of my son, without my permission).

  11. Andy Livingstone

    Blacklist / Whitelist

    In view of the large number of nuisance phone calls, a Whitelist directory would be a useful tool.

    I'm sick of those Double Glazing / Debt Resolution / Opinion Pollsters who "don't want to sell anything" and claim exemption from TPS.

  12. Graham Marsden

    @The easiest way to stop premium rate abuse ....

    > is to make it so that phone subscribers have to explicitly "opt-in" to be able to make premium rate calls

    Back in 1994, during the days of 0898 chat/ sex lines, there was an attempt to do exactly that which virtually killed the income of the businesses who, perfectly legally and legitimately, operated these lines, because nobody wanted to phone up an operator and say "please let me access these numbers". Eventually the system was quietly dropped.

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