| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 15/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 1 |
| Copyright: Other |
Premium-rate numbers
Agents hit out at high phone costs
AGENTS have condemned the growing use of premium-rate 0870 or 0990 numbers by tour operators as “despicable” after seeing their telephone bills rise by up to 10%.Tour operators using these numbers collect approximately 1p a minute of the charges paid by callers, depending on the deal they have struck with their telephone company. Callers automatically have to pay national rates, no matter where they ring from.
Stowaway Travel director Paul Stowe said he objected to paying tour operators while he was being kept waiting on the phone.
“I think it’s a despicable practice,” he said. “They are just making money out of travel agents.”
Stowe claims his telephone bill has risen by 10% a year to reach an annual bill of £10,000. Meanwhile, Mayflower Travel manager Keith Herlock said his telephone bill had increased by £700-£900 to an annual £10,000 over the past two years.
“There has been an increase in the use of premium-rate numbers and also in the time you have to spend hanging on,” he complained.
An ABTA spokesman said: “This issue is something agents have brought to our attention and are not happy about. It’s a situation we are monitoring.”
Paul Richer, partner at travel technology consultancy Genesys, said many companies prefer to use one national number in case they move their call centres.
n What do you think? Fax us on 020-8652 3956 or e-mail jeremy.skidmore@rbi.co.uk.