Written question asked by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Tuesday, 24 May 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 26 May 2005. It was answered by Alun Michael (Labour) on Monday, 6 June 2005 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Premium Rate Lines

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services has taken against the operators of premium rate phone line 09050099178; and who the operator of this line is.

Answer: The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) raised a number of breaches of its Code of Practice after receiving 43 complaints about companies operating within the 0905 009 9000–9199 number range. Consequently, on 25 May 2005 ICSTIS invoked its Emergency Procedure. As a result all services operating on this number range have been shut down until a full investigation has been conducted and an adjudication made. Should ICSTIS find the provider to have breached its Code of Practice, the provider can also be barred from operating and fined up to £100,000. Details of the operator of the line can be obtained from ICSTIS and details of their adjudication will appear on their website in due course.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 1248; 434 c310W;434 c312W
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Complaints Codes of practice Fraud Enforcement Misconduct Telephone services Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services
Contains statistics: Yes