Horoscopes, chat lines, competitions, lottery results, sports results, weather, traffic information, new dial tones for your mobile phone, all have one thing in common - they're available at the end of a phone line.
You can play the games, enter the competitions, and access lots of information and advice via premium-rate phone lines.
When TV3 wanted to tell viewers it would be screening Coronation Street from January 1st this year, the marketing gurus decided to run a competition giving away 12 Ford Fiestas over the first 12 episodes. To enter, you had to watch during the ad break, identify a street, and then ring a premium-rate phone line. By the time the second car was given away, 60,000 people had called the line and entered the competition. The cost: 58 pence per minute.
This is something all premium-rate lines have in common: they're going to significantly increase your phone bill. These lines begin with the digits 1-5 and the cost varies (see panel). They are all much more expensive than regular calls because a third party is taking a cut of the profits. Part of the money is passed by the network operator (such as Eircom) to a service provider. The longer you stay on a call, the more money the service provider makes.
So, who uses them? Last year a total of 9.6 million calls were made in the State, according to Regtel, the body which regulates premium-rate calls. This was an increase of 11.6 per cent on the previous year.
As well as making more calls, we stayed on the line longer. Calls lasted an average of 2.75 minutes last year, compared to 2.44 minutes the year before. Regtel puts the increased use of these lines down to three factors - live psychic services, more advertising and more Internet-access calls.
Live services, especially tarot and other psychic lines, are growing in popularity. Service providers are advertising heavily. (Try this: "Love, life, happiness, the secrets are in the tarot cards." Who do you ring? Almost any teenage girl could tell you - it's Mystic Meg, of course. There were 716 adverts placed in daily newspapers, magazines, evening and Sunday newspapers in one recent four-week period, compared with 494 over the same time in 1999. Radio and television ads are also increasing.
The use of "high-speed" or "autodialler" systems to access Internet websites is growing rapidly in Europe. It is primarily used by sites offering an "erotic" content. Customers are offered a short programme download, which enables them to have unlimited access to the site. This programme can disconnect the customer's usual low-cost browser and switch to an "auto-dialler". Call charges are usually either premium-rate or long distance and charges vary from £1 to £2 per minute. There is growing concern at the potential misuses of such systems, according to Regtel.
Regtel has a code of practice which it is currently updating. Areas singled out for special attention include revised conditions for the protection of minors, live services such as tarot and psychic services, virtual chat/dating and contact services.
Although the number of complaints received by Regtel is small, it is increasing. Last year, Regtel upheld 53 complaints, with 18 of these relating to contact/dating/virtual chat, 12 relating to live tarot/advisory and 12 relating to the lack of price details. Other complaints included unauthorised use.
Parents can get premium-rate phone numbers barred from the home phone (dial 1901 - this barring facility is free). But more and more teenagers have their own mobile phones.
The regulator of premium-rate telephone services, Fred Hayden, warns it can cost significantly more to ring a premium-rate service from a mobile than from a fixed line. "Like everyone else, teenagers should check the prices and find out what they will be paying," he says.
The Consumers Association of Ireland says premium-rate calls should be approached with caution.
If you have a complaint about a premium-rate service you can telephone 1 850 741 741 - that's not a premium-rate number - or write to the regulator, Regtel, at Crescent Hall, Mount Street Crescent, Dublin 2. Complaints should include as much detail about the offending service as possible. The regulator will need the name and telephone number of the service, the date and time you called, and, if possible, a copy of any promotional material - e.g. the ad that encouraged you to call.
The function of the regulator is to supervise the standard of premium-rate services, with regards both to content and promotion. He also sets standards for the industry. For instance, services aimed at children aged under 16 - like the many lines that link into young people's television shows - must not "contain anything which is likely to result in harm to children or which exploits their credulity, lack of experience or sense of loyalty". It must not involve an invasion of privacy of any child or make direct appeals to children to buy, unless the product or service is one which they could reasonably be expected to afford for themselves.
Children's services must cost no more than £2 per call and must not encourage children to use other premium-rate services or to use the same service again.
If you or your friends feel you have been ripped off by a premium-rate service, you should complain to Regtel. But remember, if you use a premium-rate service and find yourself with no credit left on your mobile or a huge home phone bill, you may be the only one to blame. Check the charge before you dial.
