[Bradford] New Ofcom regulations etc.

[Brian]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/may/26/ofcom-bans-three-year-contracts

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Three-year broadband and phone contracts have been banned by the
communications regulator Ofcom, with providers now only able to offer
maximum contracts of two years. They must also make 12-month contracts
available under the new regulations which bring the UK in line with EU
telecoms law.

The regulations also require mobile providers to transfer customers'
mobile phone numbers to a new provider within one working day.
Providers must now pay "reasonable compensation" to customers should
they not do so, or if there is an abuse of the process. Ofcom is
allowing providers to design their own compensation schemes, but will
review them after 12 months to make sure they are adequate.

In addition, for those switching landlines steps have been introduced
to prevent "slamming", where a customer is switched to another
provider without their permission or knowledge.

Ofcom has also introduced an emergency SMS scheme which allows
registered users to text the details of emergencies to the emergency
services instead of calling 999. The scheme, which has been running on
a voluntary basis since 2009, already has around 14,500 users and is
predominantly used by hearing and speech-impaired people who find it
difficult to use the phone.

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