Written question asked by Brian Binley (Conservative) on Tuesday, 25 October 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 27 October 2005. It was answered by Alun Michael (Labour) on Wednesday, 2 November 2005 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Telephone Services (Charging)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ask Ofcom to investigate the practices of the companies Telecom Billing Services and Persolvo Debt Collection with regard to charging for telephone services.

Answer: My officials have drawn this issue to Ofcom's attention. Ofcom is aware of the services being offered by Telecom Billing Services Ltd. but has previously been of the view that it has no direct regulatory powers over these services. However Ofcom is, in the process of reviewing this position in order to identify whether it may have the power to take action, in certain circumstances.The OFT, and other enforcers including Trading Standards and Ofcom, have powers under part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002 to seek assurances from traders (including debt collectors like Persolvo) who consistently infringe a wide range of consumer protection legislation, that they will stop doing so. If traders continue to break the law they will face a fine and/or imprisonment.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 22546; 438 c1096W;438 c1094W
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Billing Fraud Telephone services Trading standards Telecom Billing Services