Card transactions by proxy

[Roland Perry]

In article <20110408093212.GC28020 at snowy.squish.net>, Jon Ribbens 
<jon+ukcrypto at unequivocal.co.uk> writes

>>>> So I called them - thankfully they have an 0800 number.
>>>
>>> Why is it good that they have a premium rate phone number?
>>
>> It's good that they have a number which I can call for free, rather than
>> sorting out their problems at my expense.
>>
>> ps It's not a premium rate number, as I'm sure you know.
>
>Well, it's not a "premium rate" number by Ofcom's definition, but it's
>a "premium rate" number in that I will be charged at a "premium rate"
>for calling it compared to calling ordinary 01/02/03 numbers.
>Apologies for the tangent though ;-)

I think we should be careful when using jargon which has a precise 
meaning (such as "Premium Rate"), to nurse a grudge about "high cost" 
calls, which is presumably an artefact of your chosen phone supplier.

There's enough confusion about the cost of phone calls, without 
deliberately introducing more of it into the conversation.

As it happens, Ofcom is consulting on making 0800 calls from mobiles 
genuinely free, and they are free from my landline. I hope this doesn't 
have the unintended consequence of those folks currently offering 0800 
simply moving their call centres to something with a charge.
-- 
Roland Perry