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UK CURRENT SURVEY 16[2006/2007]4 ULR 191
customers whether their service includes access to emergency services. Four types of
VoIP service exist:
• Peer-to-peer services that make and receive calls to other PCs and connected devices;
• VoIP out services that allow users to call ordinary phone numbers but not receive
them;
• VoIP in services that allow users to receive calls from ordinary phone numbers but
not make them; and
• Full service VoIP, which allows users to make and receive calls to and from ordinary
numbers.
VoIP is not bound by national borders.
Mis-selling in mobile market Ofcom has published a new code of practice for the mobile phone industry which aims to
31 July 2007 stamp out misleading sales and marketing practices in the market. Five mobile network
operators exist in the mobile phone market and Ofcom currently receives 400 complaints
per month. The new code sets out:
• minimum business standards including prohibited sales and marketing practices,
• how retailers must comply, including details of proactive monitoring of mobile network
operators and potential sanctions,
• due diligence exercises to determine which retailers should be engaged, and
• how complaints to mobile network operators should be monitored and handled.
If there is no significant reduction in the number of mis-selling complaints, more formal
regulatory options will be put in place.
Financial Services Authority
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/
Call centre outsourcing The FSA recently carried out a thematic review into general insurance telephone sales
14 June 2007 practices within outsourced and captive call centre operations. The review provides
examples of good and bad practice for outbound and inbound sales calls, covering areas
such as call quality, systems and controls, training and competence regimes, outsourcing
and sales staff remuneration. The overall quality of inbound sales for general insurance was
‘generally acceptable’, but the quality of outbound sales was found to be ‘unacceptably low’
and the FSA criticised the lack of oversight of team leaders and supervisors, finding common
systems and controls weaknesses in both inbound and outbound call centres. Sales of
payment protection insurance were not specifically included within the scope of the review
because the FSA thematic work has already taken place in this area, but the majority of the
FSA’s findings are also relevant to the payment protection industry.
TRANSPORT
GENERAL
Office of Fair Trading
www.oft.gov.uk
Misleading holiday and travel pricing The deadline for compliance with the OFT’s warning to holiday and travel suppliers to
72/07 11 May 2007 include all fixed non-optional costs in the basic advertised prices of their holidays has
expired. While most airlines have agreed to review their pricing practices and some have
agreed to change their pricing to make it more transparent, a minority of airlines have
failed to comply. The OFT therefore intends to bring enforcement proceedings against
these airlines.
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