(18-12-2009 13:34 )DT17 Wrote: Not only have they started highlighting it but they use the big black box of doom to do it, so that you cant see whats going on. I was particularly annoyed by this the last time Tia Jones was on cos I got beaten in the queue by a female caller.
The reason why the
"big black box of doom" is on screen is to let the viewer/potential caller know that the service being offered is
not a live one-to-one chat, but purely an
"eavesdrop" service. If a caller thinks that they are in a queue to speak to the presenter on screen, then as far as Phone Pay Plus regulations go, the caller has incorrectly come to that conclusion themselves and not from what was advertised on screen.
Phone Pay Plus have previously dished out hefty fines for channels advertising
"GET STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE GIRL ON-SCREEN", when in fact they would be joining a queue:
From a previous Phone Pay Plus adjudication:
"The Secretariat believed that most callers would wish to speak to the on-screen operator, as this was the part of the service which was being actively promoted. It was the opinion of the Secretariat that callers should not be kept on hold, or be given the option of being kept on hold, to speak to an operator on a premium rate service for an undue period of time. It was therefore the opinion of the Secretariat that the service was unreasonably prolonged or delayed."
So the
"Hot Girl Caller is on the phone, listen in!" method is a winning formula. The caller who thought that they may have had a chance to speak to the Girl on screen may be dissatisfied when the call times out, but the channel owner has raked in the profits from the call when the were waiting to chat rather than just listen in.
Although it may be viewed as a scam, according to the Phone Pay Plus code of practice it is completely legal.
Quote:when the same lady (now joined by her boyfriend, apparently) were still on the line FORTY MINUTES LATER!!!
Since the automatic "cut-off/time out" is set between 15 to 18 minutes per call, then that should be sufficient proof that this is not someone calling from their home.