Today's Western Mail highlights a rather cheeky scam in which some online organisations have been making a fortune by directing callers to dial expensive 08 numbers when cheap or free alternatives are available.
The paper says that these firms have targeted the DVLA, Companies House, Welsh Water, the Countryside Council for Wales, First Great Western, National Debtline, housing benefit offices, and disability services.
They make their cash by charging callers through the nose to call these
public bodies through premium-rate telephone numbers they themselves
have set up. When the numbers are dialled they redirect to the public body and charge users a premium for doing it. One was charging £1.53 a minute to call the DVLA – meaning a 15-minute
call would cost £22.95. Others don’t make their prices clear.
What is not clear is how they get away with this. Presumably, they pay to get their sites higher up google searches and pass themselves off as the real thing. It sounds like there needs to be much tighter enforcement of trade mark laws and of the way these things are promoted and marketed.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I am happy to address most contributions, even the drunken ones if they are coherent, but I am not going to engage with negative sniping from those who do not have the guts to add their names or a consistent on-line identity to their comments. Such postings will not be published.
Anonymous comments with a constructive contribution to make to the discussion, even if it is critical will continue to be posted. Libellous comments or remarks I think may be libellous will not be published.
I will also not tolerate personation so please do not add comments in the name of real people unless you are that person. If you do not like these rules then start your own blog.
Oh, and if you persist in repeating yourself despite the fact I have addressed your point I may get bored and reject your comment.
The views expressed in comments are those of the poster, not me.