Companies should be banned from forcing customers to call high-rate phone numbers to make a complaint, a consumer group has said.
Research from Which? found two-thirds of people (67%) believed firms used high-rate numbers to discourage people from calling them.
Three quarters (75%) said they were reluctant to contact customer services if they had to call a high-rate number, while three in five (63%) would be put off making a complaint due to a costly call charge, the poll of 2,070 people found.
Which? has now launched a campaign to call for all companies to provide a basic, local rate number for customer service inquiries and complaints by telephone.
High-rate charges apply to all telephone numbers which start with 09, 0845, 0844 and 0871. Premium rate numbers only apply to phone lines that start with 09 and 0871, which fall within the remit of the regulator PhonePayPlus, according to Which?
In its research, Which? also found two thirds (66%) of people had chosen a different method to complain, such as emailing, to avoid calling a high-rate number. Four in five people (80%) believed companies who have high-rate phone numbers do not value them as a customer.
Almost half of people (49%) have regretted calling a high-rate number in the past year because of the cost, while three in five people (58%) said they could not afford to call a high-rate number from their mobile. Four in five (79%) did not think it was reasonable for public bodies to have high-rate numbers, according to the poll.
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