RECENTLY I wrote to Ofcom questioning why many telephone companies impose a £5 non-direct debit charge on accounts. Many customers pay by cheque or at a Paypoint centre found in many retail shops. The Paypoint charge is 50p.
Ofcom's reply, short and to the point, suggested that the non-direct debit charge reflected the increasing costs of processing and bad debt management costs. Given that Ofcom is supposed to be the telecommunications watchdog it could suggest that telephone companies switch to the method of payments to that used by mobile telephone companies - pay as you use!
All residential telephone customers would be given a top-up card so that each customer could buy as much or as little call time that they expected to use within any period. The landline cost would be built in to the charge, including bill listings.
The proviso to this scheme would be that incoming calls could be still received even if the pay-as-you-use funds needed topping-up.
RAY ANGEL, Southampton.
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