PhonepayPlus responds to Ofcom’s ‘Simplifying Non-Geographic Numbers’ consultation

PhonepayPlus has responded to Ofcom’s consultation ‘Simplifying Non-Geographic Numbers’. As the regulatory body for premium rate services (PRS) their response provides some interesting reading.

Ofcom's key proposals to benefit customers are: Simpler numbering ranges - 'The aim of this is to make non-geographic numbers and their prices more intuitive.' Standardised charges - clarifying the phone company charge and service provider charges (Ofcom's consultation 'Simplifying Non-Geographic Numbers')

PhonepayPlus' introduces its response by stating:

'PhonepayPlus welcomes Ofcom's review, as its own consumer research and industry engagement shows pricing transparency is a major issue for the premium rate services (PRS) market. The difficulty consumers face in being able to accurately determine the charges they will incur for calling 09 numbers and 0871/2/3 numbers from mobile networks and some fixed-line networks is a major barrier to consumer confidence and industry growth in the PRS sector.

PhonepayPlus’ response focuses on those areas that directly impact its work, including options for improving pricing transparency, potential regulatory safeguards for higher rate fixed-line tariffs and an appropriate regulatory regime for lower-cost services, should they come under PhonepayPlus regulation.'

As both bodies, Ofcom and PhonepayPlus, work towards similar goals to protect consumers you'd expect to find a level of agreement between the two, and that's what you generally find in their full response, although their focus on PRS is taken into consideration.