BT trialling initiatives to tackle internet dialler problems



BT is trialling two new initiatives to tackle internet dialler problems and to help customers protect themselves.

-/15 March, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- BT has been working hard to find solutions to the industry problem of internet diallers and has developed these innovative products from scratch, which are designed to alert customers when their computer connects to a dialler and when there are dramatic increases in their bills.

Both products have been undergoing successful trials in Northern Ireland and it is planned to make them available to all BT customers by May.

BT Modem Protection is a free software download, which will stop a customer?s computer dialling higher-cost premium rate or international numbers, even if dialler software is present. Customers will be warned if their modem begins to dial any number other than a list of ?approved numbers?, such as the national call and freephone numbers used by Internet Service Providers. Some customers have been surprised at how much these calls can cost and this new software will help them make informed choices.

The other groundbreaking measure is a new early warning alert for customers affected by diallers. If a customer?s bill rises dramatically above its usual pattern in a day or a call is made to a destination suspected of operating unregistered diallers, they will receive a warning alert from BT. A text message will immediately be sent to the customer?s landline, alerting them to the sharp increase in their bill. Customers who do not have a text-enabled handset at home will receive it as a voice message.

Customers worried about their bill will be given a BT number to call. If they have connected to an internet dialler and want to stop it happening again, BT will be able to immediately place a premium rate bar on the line or suggest options such as international barring.

This announcement comes at a time when almost two million customers are now using call-barring tools from BT. A million take BT?s free premium rate barring option, 900,000 use customer-controlled barring, which allows them to choose the calls they wish to block, and 55,000 have the premium and international bar, costing ?1.75 a month.

Gavin Patterson, group managing director, Consumer and Ventures, said: ?BT has led the way in trying to tackle this very distressing issue. Although we haven?t created this problem, we have ploughed resources and a tremendous amount of time into developing new products to help our customers. We hope these will build on our previous efforts, including raising customer awareness, which has resulted in more people making the choice to avoid diallers completely by taking up our existing call-barring tools.

?We now want to ensure there are even stronger safeguards for our customers, who we would urge to make use of these new options to protect themselves. We?re making this software available for free. Take the time to download it and you will always be warned if your computer tries to connect to a dialler.

?If you use BT Modem Protection, then there?s no reason why you can?t immediately disconnect before it costs you a penny.

?But we realise that prevention is only half of the solution. For those customers who may well be unaware of the costs that diallers can run-up, the key thing is to give them the earliest possible warning that their bill has increased dramatically. Our new text message alert could mean the difference between incurring a small charge and racking up hundreds of pounds.

?With 20 million customers, early warning for sharp rises in bills is an awesome task, but we?ve introduced these warning messages as part of a co-ordinated two-pronged approach to help customers make informed choices in the first place and to minimise the impact if they have been adversely affected.?


About BT here: http://www.btplc.com