Since the stricter rules for 0906 numbers, 163 telephone numbers have already been made unusable. In the coming weeks, the regulator will pull in another 250. This includes telephone numbers of which it is not immediately clear to the caller that they are paid numbers.
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has inspected all 1,657 active 0906 numbers in the past six months. ACM itself discovered violations at ten telephone numbers. Requests were also received to withdraw numbers, after which ACM withdrew 153 telephone numbers.
At the end of last year, the rules for 0906 numbers were tightened. “With the amended rules, we can tackle deception via forwarding services much better,” says ACM board member Manon Leijten. “That prevents a lot of annoyance and unnecessarily high calling costs for consumers and companies.”
In the coming period, the regulator will focus on information numbers starting with 18. Callers can request telephone numbers or the address of a company there.
Anyone who previously wanted to call a free number, for example from the Tax Information Line, could be put on the wrong track on the internet. There, advertisements of paid forwarding services appeared at the top of the search results.
People often do not realize if they are connected via a paid forwarding service to a service that they could have called for free. According to ACM, even if the call forwarding services indicate the costs involved, many callers do not realize that they are calling via a paid service. Call forwarding services often cost around one euro per minute.
2023-05-26 06:10:58
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