§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the President of the Board of Trade What research she has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the costs incurred by consumers through the use of call-queueing and automated telephone-answering systems. [50208]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 14 July 1998]: Call-queuing and telephone-answering equipment has been introduced by companies and other organisations since the 1980s, with the aim of making their telephone-answering operations more efficient for themselves and their callers. Companies have a wide choice of switchboard equipment to choose from, and have responsibility for choosing equipment and setting it up so that their consumers' needs are met. Calls are legitimately charged to the calling party, but companies can set up their inquiry lines to run on Lo-call or even Freephone numbers, which will reduce or remove the cost to the consumer. No research has been commissioned or evaluated into the costs incurred by consumers through the use of call-queueing and automated telephone-answering machines, but the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) is working with the telecommunications industry to ensure that switchboard recorded messages inform members of the public who ring that they are being held in a queue, where this is the case. Once informed of this, callers have the choice of continuing to wait in the queue, which may incur a cost, or of hanging up and trying again later.