ITV has charged callers to it’s phone-ins over £7,800,000 for calls that could not possibly have achieved what they had paid for. Some MP’s are questioning if this might be considered fraud. It is hard to see how it could be called anything else. Whether it was intended or not this was taking money under false pretences. What would you call that?

Callers to phone in quizzes and competitions were still being encouraged to call in, on premium rate phone calls, even after the results had been decided. This would be bad if the calls were to a freephone phone number. When the callers were charged anything up to £1.00 for the calls it is absolutely shocking. People were encouraged to call and spend money for something that was not possible once the results had been decided. What on earth was the management of these tv companies thinking? Would they think muggings and theft are ok as long is it makes good tv?

Premium rate phone calls should be banned. I can see no good reason to have them. There is no need for them and they are used to mislead people into spending money they do not intend to spend nor want to. If a tv programme wishes to have a competition with a great prize to reward their viewers for watching and joining in that’s terrific. Let them supply the prize and let the viewers phone in on a normal rate phone number. If they feel they need viewers to phone in to vote on something then they should supply a normal phone number or even a freephone phone number. The viewers are helping the show so they should not be charged for doing so.

I have never understood why premium rate phone calls were ever introduced. Actually that isn’t true. I know why they were introduced. It was so some people could make a lot of money for charging people to call. The government is supposed to be there to protect the electorate. How it came to be that they allowed premium rate phone calls to be introduced is beyond me. Whichever government minister was responsible should now step forward and repay everybody who has EVER had to pay a premium rate for a simple phone call. Somehow I don’t think that will happen.

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