New price cap on 118 numbers

People who call directory enquiry services will be protected from high prices under a new price cap on 118 phone numbers, announced by Ofcom today.

Ofcom have been concerned about directory enquiry prices rising steeply. Some providers charge almost £20 for an average 90-second call. The price charged by the most popular service – 118 118 – for a 90-second call is now £11.23.

Although there are cheaper services available, Ofcom’s research shows that consumers tend to call the numbers they most easily remember.

And while the number of calls being made to 118 services has been falling by around 40% every year, more than a million people in the UK – many of them elderly – still use these services.

The cost of calling many of these services is now well above what people expect to pay. Ofcom’s research estimates that around 450,000 consumers a year are paying £2.4m in total more than they expect for these calls, with some struggling to pay their bills.

So Ofcom is stepping in, by capping the maximum amount a 118 service can charge at £3.65 per 90 seconds. This will bring prices back to 2012 levels, and closer to what people expect to pay.

To allow providers time to adjust their prices and billing systems, the price cap will come into force on 1 April 2019.

A news release is available.

Free seminar on investigations and enforcement

Insights into PSA regulation: investigations and enforcement

Do you find our investigations and enforcement procedures confusing? Not sure what to do when we contact you about your service?

Then this seminar from PSA is for you.

 

It will take you through informal and formal investigations, the distinction between the two, the supporting procedures and our Code enforcement procedures.

So that if PSA enquire about your service, you’ll be clear on what you need to do.

There will be plenty of opportunities for questions too.

 

Spaces are limited so book yours now to avoid disappointment! BOOK HERE

Time: 29 November 2017, 13:00 – 16:00
Location: PSA, 40 Bank Street, London, E14 5NR

PSD2 Latest News – 14th February 2017

 

HM Treasury have issued their consultation for PSD2 implementation into UK law and most  of the representations that we have made to them on behalf of Network Operators and their Intermediaries since January 2016 are reflected in the consultation questions. See https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-the-revised-eu-payment-services-directive-psdii

AIME are running two workshops for this next week in London.

The workshop with network operator members is to walk through the impact of the proposed regulation on network operators and to discuss our response to their consultation. Networks affected will be those companies who are providing a payment service to their customers as part of a suite of services that includes telecoms. A payment services is simplistically defined as taking a payment from a network customer for a service supplied by a merchant who is not the network.

The purpose of the workshop is to advise what our response will be to Treasury, to summarise our discussion with FCA and to ensure if any individual responses are being made that we align views to steer government as much as possible to reduce or eliminate the cost to the Telecoms industry of this updated financial regulation.

The Network Operator workshop is on 21st February at PSA’s premises, commencing at 14:30 to 16:30 and will also include MobileUK and PSA representatives.

The Intermediaries workshop is on the 22nd February 10.00 – 12.00 at the same location. The workshop will then be used to formulate AIME’s response on behalf of membership and guide members in their responses to Treasury if they so wish. The workshops will focus on the potential impact on Fixed Line and Mobile Operators and the potential impact on Intermediaries.

AIME will issue a discussion paper and draft Treasury response ahead of the meeting.

Please let Andrea know if you are able to attend the workshops and which one you would like to attend. Spaces to both of these workshops are limited to 20 and we kindly request that no more than 2 representatives from each member company attend to allow space for everyone.

 

 

 

Come and hear AIME’s views at World Telemedia this month

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Rory Maguire, MD of AIME will be speaking to audiences over the course of the 3 days at World Telemedia on various topics. Come and have a listen if you are around.

Tuesday 18th October

17.30 – Keynote – The Growing Importance of VAS to MNO’s

18.30 – UK Telemedia “State of the Nation”

Wednesday 19th October

12.00 – Carrier Billing to engage and convert

18.15 – Workshop – Managing Consumers

Thursday 20th October

15.30 – Regulation – One size does not fit all

PhonepayPlus releases three updated Guidance documents

In February, PhonepayPlus launched a public consultation on five pieces of Premium Rate Guidance that had been amended or developed afresh AIME executive and board members participated in this consultation resulting in significantly improved documents with the appropriate tone and usability.

Today PhonepayPlus publishes three out of the five pieces of Guidance and a statement following this consultation.

The Guidance documents are:

  1. Advice services
  2. Enabling consumer spend control
  3. Digital marketing and promotion

Yellow highlights in the documents indicate the changed areas.

The remaining guidance; Subscription Services and Method of Exit and still in review following the consultation.