"Jack Torrence" <room217[at]overlook.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4815ee90$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net...
> "Gareth" <hotmail.com@dgareth_nospam.com> wrote in message
> news:48125d33$0$32041$da0feed9@news.zen.co.uk...
>>
>>
>> "Steve Terry" <gFOURwwk@tesco.net> wrote in message
>> news:fuq2su$rag$1@news.albasani.net...
>>> "Unimobiles.com" <sales@unimobiles.com> wrote in message
>>> news:22379442-d3a0-4a68-bb3a-9a52097eaa3d@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>>>> Three are now charging all calls a minimum of 1 MINUTE for their
>>>> contract customers. So a short call of a few seconds that went through
>>>> to answerphone results in a full minute being deducted from inclusive
>>>> minutes, or a charge of a full 1 minute from excluded calls.
>>>>
>>> Word is all the networks are looking at slipping in an increase on
>>> minimum call charge to compensate their forced decrease in Roaming rates
>>>
>>> AFAIK Voda are upping theirs next month
>>
>> Virgin too.
>>
>> The interesting thing about this is that it is presented, in Virgin's
>> case, as them "coming in to line" with other operators. What happened to
>> the concept of competition?!
>
> Hopefully the OFT will look into this, as it smacks of the networks
> getting together on this and price fixing.

I agree. This very odd problem arose a few years ago when T-Mobile adjusted
its pre pay tariff - the recorded announcement spoke about the change as
coming about as a result of the "coming in to line" with other operators. I
don't understand the rationale behind it - if a marketplace is competitive
then why the need to come "in to line"??

Crazily it can now actually be cheaper to make cross network calls from the
EU than it can be from the UK.

Gareth.