Residents Pestered by Sex Chatline Cheats

11.57.33am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 12th Aug 2003

MP Vincent Cable has taken up with the Telecommunications regulator OFTEL the case of a company which is marketing an extremely expensive sex chatline service using a normal 0207 number to avoid the restrictions on 090 premium rate adult lines.

He was alerted to the problem by an elderly man who is being threatened by the company for not paying a large phone bill for calls he never made.

Vincent Cable has investigated the matter and discovered that the company, Telecom Billing Services, which trades as TELE TBS, has a base in this part of London. Even the shortest call, even one made by accident, can cost £12.95 and the charge for several minutes can be very steep:

"I am concerned that children, or others by accident or from curiosity, will run up large bills without understanding the consequences. This is a scam which the authorities seem powerless to prevent. It is outside the premium line jurisdiction of ICSTIS (Independent Committee for the Supervision of standards of Telephone Information Services)."

"If OFTEL wont or can't deal with the matter, Ministers may have to introduce new powers in telecommunications legislation".

Contact Mike Walker 020 7219 4412