Code of Practice for Premium Rate Services and NTS calls

Purpose of this Code of Practice

This code informs you about our policies on providing information about Premium Rate Service (PRS) calls and on our charging policy for calls to NTS and PRS numbers.

Premium rate services

Premium rate services (PRS) are telephone numbers that offer some form of information or entertainment that is charged to your phone bill. UK-based PRS numbers are normally prefixed by “09”. The 0871,0872 and 0873 ranges are now also designated as Premium rate numbers and subject to PRS regulation. Typical services include TV votelines, mobile ringtone downloads, technical helplines, charity fund-raising and adult entertainment.

Charges for these services are added to your telephone bill. Calling a PRS number generally costs between 8.51 pence and £3 per minute, or £5 per call or per text (excl. vat). Calling these services from, for example, mobile phones, cable networks or public payphones will generally cost more than the advertised rate. Our access charges for calling these services are shown in our price list, which is available on request from our Customer Service Team and via our website.

If you have a problem with PRS, we can help. We can provide advice on checking the telephone number of any PRS charges that appear on your bill and will try to help you identify the premium rate service provider. We can use call barring to restrict access to “09” numbers. Please call our Customer Service Team on 0800 970 2999 for advice on this. We can give you a factsheet on PRS.

You can also ask for help from PhonepayPlus which is the industry-funded regulatory body for Premium Rate Services. PhonepayPlus operates a code of practice that sets out standards for the operation of PRS. You can use the PhonepayPlus website at www.phonepayplus.org.uk to check PRS numbers direct or to submit a complaint. PhonepayPlus has legal powers to require a provider of PRS to amend its service or promotional material (or both) and can also impose penalties on content service providers.  For other ways to contact PhonepayPlus, see the “Useful addresses” section below.

Number translation services

Number translation services (NTS) are based on numbers that are normally pre-fixed “08”. For example, 0800 and 0808 are used to provide freephone services (some freephone services are also provided on 0500 numbers). 0844 and 0845 numbers are normally used for customer service helplines. 0870 numbers are used for information services, technical helplines and telephone banking. They are also used by organisations to help them provide call-management features such as intelligent call routing and fax-to-email services.

Charges for calling services on NTS numbers are added to your telephone bill and standard prices range from free up to 4.2p per minute or per call (excl. vat). Calling these services from, for example, mobile phones, cable networks or public payphones will generally cost more than the advertised rate but communications providers must publish prices for calls to 0870 numbers where these are higher than for calls to geographic numbers. Our access charges for calling these services are shown in our price list, which is available on request from our Customer Services Team and via our website. We can also give you a factsheet on NTS.

If you are unhappy with the help you have received from us on a problem with PRS or NTS, please contact the Legal Department at legal@9group.co.uk. You may also complain using the complaints procedure set out in our complaints code including, ultimately, referring your complaint to The Communications Ombudsman/CISAS.

The Telephone Preference Service

If you don’t want to get sales and marketing calls you have not requested, you can add your details to a list run by the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). If your number is on the list, it is illegal for a company to call you for marketing purposes. You can contact the Telephone Preference Service via www.tpsonline.org.uk  or by telephoning 0845 070 0707.

Useful addresses

The Ombudsman Services – Communications (formerly Otelo) – PO Box 730, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4 6WU. Tel: 01925 430870 or 0845 050 1614  email: enquiries@otelo.org.uk Website: www.otelo.org.uk

Ofcom – Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA. Tel: 020 7981 3040 or 0300 123 3333 email: contact@ofcom.org.uk Website: www.ofcom.org.uk

PhonepayPlus –  Clove Building, 4 Maguire Street, London, SE1 2NQ.  Tel: 0800 500 212 or 020 7940 7474 email info@phonepayplus.org.uk Website: www.phonepayplus.org.uk

Telephone Preference Service –DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SS Tel: 0845 070 0707 Website: www.tpsonline.org.uk

Federation of Communication Services (FCS) – Burnhill Business Centre, Provident House, Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent BR3 1AT.  Tel: 020 7186 5432 email: fcs@fcs.org.uk Website: www.fcs.org.uk

This code has been licensed by The Federation of Communication Services Limited 2014
Licence number 001998

Published January 2014.  Correct at the time of printing.  © The Federation of Communication Services Limited 2012