“Mobile 'free call' racket puts lives at risk”

Mobile 'free call' racket puts lives at risk

Posted: 21 Sep 2010 09:08 PM PDT

Suicide prevention and crisis support lines for kids say price gouging by mobile phone companies on calls to their helplines is putting lives in danger.

Telcos are charging almost $1 per minute when users call 1800 or 1300 numbers from their mobile phones, and exclude such numbers from the quotas provided on their cap plans. These calls are either free or the cost of a local call when dialled from landlines.

Crisis lines such as Lifeline and Kids Helpline say a large and increasing portion of their callers are on mobiles and the exorbitant fees are discouraging and preventing people from seeking help.

Peak consumer groups - including the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association (AFCCRA) and the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) - have lodged a joint so-called "super complaint" over the matter with the communications watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

They argue that the high costs associated with the calls prevents people from contacting essential services surrounding suicide, mental health and financial distress. Mobile users, many of whom are already facing financial troubles, are also being stung for calls to vital government agencies such as Centrelink, telcos and utility providers.

Dawn O'Neil, chief executive of Lifeline, said 25 per cent of calls to the crisis line came from mobiles and at the current rate of growth this number was likely to rise to half of all calls within 12 months.

"Lifeline is a crisis service, it's relied on by many many people to be there 24 hours a day and for people like doctors and psychologists and other service providers, we're the after-hours contact for many of their clients," said O'Neil.

She said many of Lifeline's callers were unemployed or on disability pensions and couldn't afford to have landlines, so only used prepaid phones.

"If they're in a crisis and their prepaid runs out, that could be very very serious and we know this is occurring. It's a barrier to people getting help when they need it and it could put people's lives at risk," said O'Neil.

Tracy Adams, chief executive of BoysTown, the charity that operates Kids Helpline, said two-thirds of all calls to the national telephone counselling service were from mobile phones. Only Optus customers were able to access the service - which can be reached at 1800 551 800 - for free from their mobiles.

"We have had young people who are receiving regular counselling support tell us their phone bills are exceeding $100 a month because of contacting Kids Helpline," said Adams.

She added that counselling calls to the service averaged 22 minutes while general calls lasted six minutes, meaning many children and young people were facing costs of at least $6 for a general call to more than $20 for a counselling session, excluding hold time. Many calls were over an hour long and cost over $60.

"We know many young people won't stay on hold because of the mobile costs and our counsellors have had children cut off in the middle of a call because the credit has run out on their prepaid phone," said Adams.

"Children and young people are also more likely to contact us on a mobile than a landline when they are seeking help for very serious issues such as suicidal thoughts and self-injury.

"This means kids who are in significant distress and need to speak with a counsellor for longer than average time are being significantly disadvantaged and even discouraged from seeking help."

ACMA is investigating the matter as part of a review into telephone numbering and said today a consultation paper would be released "in the coming weeks".

"As part of that program, the ACMA is conducting research regarding consumers' use, expectations and experience of phone numbers, including 1800 and 13 numbers, and this will inform the ACMA's assessment of the issue of concern raised by ACCAN," an ACMA spokesman said.

The mobile telco industry body, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, said it supported the
ACMA review and was co-operating with the regulator.

But none of the mobile telcos have opted to waive fees to 1800 and 1300 numbers in the meantime, with Telstra, Optus and Vodafone/Three saying they would wait for ACMA's review to be completed.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) or visit www.beyondblue.org.au.

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