22 May 2007
Telecommunications regulator Ofcom declared yesterday that it was to up its activities with regards to preventing mis-selling of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services, including 'slamming'.
Slamming is the name given to the practice where customers can be switched from one company to another "without their express knowledge and consent".
The decision to crack down on unfair VoIP services was prompted by the 1,200 complaints made about mis-selling of VoIP services between January and March 2007.
Ofcom also said that it would continue to enforce the rules of the new General Condition of Entitlement which includes the code of good practice for sales and marketing. This is despite the fact that it has already investigated 11 providers including the Post Office, Scottish and Southern Energy, Tesco, and Universal Telecom.
"Mis-selling causes problems for consumers," said Ed Richards, Chief Executive of Ofcom.
"We want competition and choice to continue to grow, and we want consumers to benefit from these changes. Consumers need to be able to shop around with confidence. Extending these rules and our enforcement activity will protect consumers from inappropriate sales and marketing techniques."
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