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The Telegraph has published an expos? of the privations to which young people are subjected today, including having to get a taxi to the station. Sallust is sure this will resonate with people born in the 1950s.
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offsite link John Torode Sacked From MasterChef After Complaint About ?Racist Comment? Seven Years Ago Tue Jul 15, 2025 17:55 | Will Jones
John Torode has been sacked from MasterChef after a complaint that he?used racist language on one occasion in 2018 or 2019, first made in 2024, was upheld.
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offsite link Labour to Reintroduce Grants for Electric Cars to ?Bribe? Motorists Tue Jul 15, 2025 15:00 | Will Jones
Labour will?give out new grants for electric cars, the Department for Transport has confirmed,?despite a previous 'bribe' scheme that failed to spark enthusiasm for EVs being scrapped three years ago.
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offsite link A School Excluding a 12 Year-Old Girl for Wearing a Union Jack Dress Must be a Wake-Up Call Tue Jul 15, 2025 13:19 | C.J. Strachan
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offsite link University Staff Face Punishment if They Breach Labour?s Islamophobia Definition Tue Jul 15, 2025 11:00 | Will Jones
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offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

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offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

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Premium Rate mobile phone rip-off

category national | consumer issues | news report author Monday April 27, 2009 11:38author by Plato Report this post to the editors

Last year, Minister Ryan indicated that he would soon bring legislation forward so as to stop the rip-off by "subscription services" Alas.nothing has happened

The premiunm rate mobile phone rip-off is actually getting much, much worse, A report today indicates that the known problem has tripled. This is a quote from the report,

"Premium rate service complaints trebled in 2008
In this section »
McGuinness tells of his face-to-face showdownFive people die on roads over weekendPAUL CULLEN, Consumer Affairs CorrespondentCOMPLAINTS BY phone users about premium rate services more than trebled last year because of bad service and the “dubious” activities of some operators, according to the regulator for the sector.
RegTel received 6,062 complaints in 2007/08, compared to 1,704 the previous year, according to its latest annual report.
The biggest concern was the number of consumers who denied having subscribed to expensive premium rate services.
Another 22,000 people contacted RegTel seeking advice on how to unsubscribe from such service".

Can anyone out there give any explanation as to why this rip-off is being allowed to continue unchecked? Has Minister Ryan had a change of mind regarding his promise to stamp out the exploitation or has he been got to by those that are making a fortune out of these rackets?

author by Platopublication date Wed Jul 14, 2010 09:21author address author phone Report this post to the editors

In an interview on RTE 9th july 2010, the Minister claimed that he has stopped the "exploitation of children" by mobile phone operators. This is not true, in fact the situation is going to get worse as Zamano are now running a new campign using pop-ups on the internet which target indescriminately. To lure the unsuspecting into opening these ads they state they use the line "you have won a prize". This method of misleading advertising is the same that was used when this problem first rared its head some years ago. Remember, "you have won €100 free credit" scams?
What the Minister needs to explain is why he refuses to ban altogether the use of the "reverse billing" facility for so called "fun" mobile phone activity. So long as he fails to do that, these problems will persist and with it the view that the comnpanies invovled in these scams are big contributors to political parties and that is the reason they are let behave in this disgraceful manner.

 
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