§ Mr. Stratton Millsasked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that callers making long-distance calls and being unable to get through and having to make the call via the operator are charged the full three minute rate; and if he will amend the procedure so that they can get the benefit of subscriber trunk dialling charges.
§ Mr. StonehouseSTD charges are lower than charges for calls made through an operator because the saving in operator's time is passed on to the customer. If an operator is used the economic justification for a lower charge no longer arises. Operators cannot distinguish between callers who prefer to374W make their trunk calls through an operator and those who are having genuine difficulty; not all call failures are the fault of the Post Office. Callers without STD have no choice but to pay operator rates and I do not think it would be right to allow customers with STD to use both services at the lower rate.