Warning over premium numbers - DecisionMarketing

Anyone tempted to follow a Yorkshire man, who set up his own premium rate number so marketing companies have to pay to phone him, has been warned they could end up facing a fine from the regulator.
Leeds businessman Lee Beaumont (pictured) launched his service in November 2011 after being bombarded with marketing calls. Instead of signing up to the Telephone Preference Service or the Corporate TPS he paid £10 plus VAT to set up a personal 0871 line.
It costs 10p a minute to call him, from which he receives 7p. However, he is now slightly irked that the number of calls he receives has fallen from up to 30 a month to just over 10.
He admitted the scheme had changed his attitude, saying: “I want cold calls”, and that he had moved on to encouraging companies to make contact. But premium rate regulator Phone Pay Plus said it strongly discouraged people from following suit.
It said: “Premium rate numbers are not designed to be used in this way and we would strongly discourage any listeners from adopting this idea, as they will be liable under our code for any breaches and subsequent fines that result.”
And consumer expert Fergus Muirhead told BBC Breakfast: “If you have a premium rate number you are supposed to be offering a service, so questions have to asked about how Beaumont got it passed the regulator in the first place.
“As well as offering a service, the rules state you’ve got to tell people you are charging them to call you, and how much, and, you have to have a robust complaints service in place.”
Although Beaumont has been told he is not breaking the code, others could face monetary penalties of tens of thousands of pounds, said Muirhead.