OK so let me get this straight, if someone has used a number to con ppl before, then they won't be able to get one again........unless they turn up with a different trading name and a different director?!?!

When they dreamed up this idea did they really think that a con artist would be honest when applying for a number they were going to use dis-honestly?

Swing and a miss OFCOM

...else you'd see ITV on the blacklist for sure.

Of course, if a company's that dodgy, they'll just shut their doors and magically a new company with a new name will appear in the same place, with the same employees...

Ofcom acting on the behalf of the consumer, shurely shome mishtake?

Now all they have to do is stop ISPs from using the word unlimited in adverts, though I expect we'll see that when I see a bacon bearing mammal cruising past my office at 50ft.

Mine's the one with the barbecue tongs in it

There should be no consideration of "how long" they need to be on the barred list, bar them for good! It is time OFCOM sorted this out once and for all. Operators should have to lodge a bond against possible fines for abuse before being allocated numbers - NO 07xx numbers should be issued and those already in use should be withdrawn - this prefix should be mobiles only, that would stop one of the scams - I had a "missed call" only yesterday - on checking it was an 07033 personal number.

Stop pussy-footing around OFCOM and regulate NOW - it is long overdue and you have been "watching" us get ripped off for way too long. The industry has had enough chances to put its house in order, now it is time to make them behave.

Does this mean the BBC, ITV etc. won't be allowed them, or was that a different kind of scam?

As they have taken part i scams in the past they are buggered

...the BBC and ITV?

Lets hope they include hospitals on the naughty list. The bedside phones they provide are all 070 numbers & costs a fortune to call sick relatives.

There are a load of 07 numbers that operators, especially mobile ones, charge higher rates for than normal mobile lines. Surely all should carry a warning before connecting?

is to make it so that phone subscribers have to explicitly "opt-in" to be able to make premium rate calls, and prevent telecom providers from being able to offer a "discount" if you do opt-in.

Surely a responsible telecoms provider would have no problem with that ? Unless they rely on people dialling premium rate numbers unwittingly (or in the case of my son, without my permission).

In view of the large number of nuisance phone calls, a Whitelist directory would be a useful tool.

I'm sick of those Double Glazing / Debt Resolution / Opinion Pollsters who "don't want to sell anything" and claim exemption from TPS.

> is to make it so that phone subscribers have to explicitly "opt-in" to be able to make premium rate calls

Back in 1994, during the days of 0898 chat/ sex lines, there was an attempt to do exactly that which virtually killed the income of the businesses who, perfectly legally and legitimately, operated these lines, because nobody wanted to phone up an operator and say "please let me access these numbers". Eventually the system was quietly dropped.