swee'pea99
Squire
Just read an article in Guardian Money about so-called 'Information, connection and/or signposting services (ICSS)' (their official name). A variant of premium rate lines, what these ones do is connect you to, eg, Amazon's 0800 line, then charge you anything up to £3 a minute for the duration of your call.
That's it. That's all they do!
"Amazon is just the tip of a huge consumer iceberg. A quick trawl of other “connection services” suggests there are many out there offering to put people through to a vast range of household names, including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, John Lewis, npower, O2, BT, Sky, Argos, Asda, BA, Royal Mail, HMRC, the DVLA, TV Licensing and even the Dartford Crossing."
And they are allowed to do it.
How is this legal? This is theft. This is outright, clear, deliberate, shameless thievery, which doubtless thrives at the expense of the elderly, the young, the none-too-bright - in short, the vulnerable.
What really sticks in my craw is that it's yet another example of 'The Establishment' - by which I mean not just Government/Whitehall, but the whole cabal of rich, powerful people - brazenly turning a blind eye to - worse, directly colluding in and benefiting from - utterly immoral behaviour. Because you can be sure that this thrives because BT takes a good slice of that £3/min, and because the likes of OfCom go along with it.
This could be made illegal. It should be made illegal. But it won't be made illegal, because rich and powerful people have their noses in the trough. And it's mostly the poor and inarticulate who get fleeced. It's a disgrace.
So, warn your elderly relatives, warn your teens - any number beginning with 09 is the number of a thief, working with the their co-thieves, BT, and their thieves' protectors - the Government; and that number will steal their money faster than you can say 'what a bunch of lying, thieving, conniving scum'.
Rant over.
That's it. That's all they do!
"Amazon is just the tip of a huge consumer iceberg. A quick trawl of other “connection services” suggests there are many out there offering to put people through to a vast range of household names, including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, John Lewis, npower, O2, BT, Sky, Argos, Asda, BA, Royal Mail, HMRC, the DVLA, TV Licensing and even the Dartford Crossing."
And they are allowed to do it.
How is this legal? This is theft. This is outright, clear, deliberate, shameless thievery, which doubtless thrives at the expense of the elderly, the young, the none-too-bright - in short, the vulnerable.
What really sticks in my craw is that it's yet another example of 'The Establishment' - by which I mean not just Government/Whitehall, but the whole cabal of rich, powerful people - brazenly turning a blind eye to - worse, directly colluding in and benefiting from - utterly immoral behaviour. Because you can be sure that this thrives because BT takes a good slice of that £3/min, and because the likes of OfCom go along with it.
This could be made illegal. It should be made illegal. But it won't be made illegal, because rich and powerful people have their noses in the trough. And it's mostly the poor and inarticulate who get fleeced. It's a disgrace.
So, warn your elderly relatives, warn your teens - any number beginning with 09 is the number of a thief, working with the their co-thieves, BT, and their thieves' protectors - the Government; and that number will steal their money faster than you can say 'what a bunch of lying, thieving, conniving scum'.
Rant over.
