Code of Practice for Business Communication Services

Including our Basic Code of Practice and our Code of Practice for Premium Rate Services and NTS Calls

Part 1 – Venture Telecom’s Basic Code of Practice for Small Business Customers

Introduction to Our Company and Services

Venture Telecom is an independent brand that delivers communication services to business customers globally. While we may not provide all the component parts of our service offering ourselves, we do take responsibility for the service/s delivered to you hence we will liaise with our suppliers to ensure that any problem/s with your service/s are resolved promptly.

Purpose of Code of Practice

This code informs you about our Products, Services, Customer Care Policies and where to find information about our Terms & Conditions and Charges. This Code of Practice is published on our website at www.venturetelecom.co.uk. Additional copies are available upon request and free of charge to any domestic and small business customer. It is also available in alternative formats, i.e. large print.

How to Contact Us

By Telephone: 0808-141-1010 (9am to 5.30pm Monday-Friday)
By Email: support@venturetelecom.co.uk
By Post: Venture Telecom, Innovation House, Innovation Way, Discovery Park, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9FF
Website: www.venturetelecom.co.uk

Our Commitment to You

We are committed to providing you with the highest quality of customer service. When we purchase our services from wholesale providers we choose/select those providers carefully to ensure that you receive a consistently high standard of service. We make every reasonable effort to supply services that satisfy your requirements. We adhere to all applicable Laws & Regulations.

Our Products and Services

Audio, Video and Web Conferencing
‘CPS’ (Carrier Pre-Selection) – Outbound Call Routing
‘WLR’ (Wholesale Line Rental) – BT Line Provision
Internet Access (ADSL; SDSL; Fibre to Cabinet; EFM & Lease Lines)
VOIP & IP Connectivity / Telephony
Non-Geographic Number Provision & Routing
Mobile Airtime & Equipment
Telephone Systems; Engineering & Maintenance

For more details on any of our products and services, or to place an order immediately, please contact
our Sales Team on 0808-141-1050.

Marketing

We work to the principles outlined in the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing, which are set out on the website www.cap.org.uk

Terms & Conditions

When you subscribe to a service provided by Venture Telecom, we will provide you with our Terms and Conditions and ask you to sign a Contract. Should you have any questions, please phone our Sales Team on 0808-141-1050. We may carry out a credit check as part of our assessment procedure.

The minimum contract term is dependent upon the service you subscribe to. We aim to implement / provide service as quickly as possible. If we need to implement a survey of your premises or lay additional cabling, we will inform you of any revised timescales as soon as we can.

Cancellation

Should you decide to cancel your order / agreement before we have provided the service/s, you may do so without charge unless ordering a more complex service whereby the committed delivery date dictates cancellation charges apply. After the minimum term has expired you may cancel any service by providing us the required 90 day notice in writing and serving the full 90 day notice period.

Faults and Repairs

Should you experience a fault with any of our services please contact our Customer Services Team immediately on 0808-141-1010. We aim to investigate and repair as quickly as possible.

Compensation and Refund Policy

Our policy is to assess each claim on a case by case basis. We aim to investigate any claim/s and respond within 20 working days. Any refunds that are due will be credited to the following month’s invoice.

Price lists

Our pricing structure is available from your designated Account Manager contactable via our Customer Service Team on 0808-141-1010

Billing

We will bill / invoice monthly; quarterly or annually dependent upon the service/s you subscribe to

Venture Telecom requires all customers pay by direct debit; if you are unable to make payment by direct debit or should you wish to change your method of payment at any time, please call our Credit Control Team on 0808-141-1010.

We provide itemised bills free of charge.

Should you have difficulty paying your bill you must contact Credit Control Team on 0808-141-1010 and they will try to assist you. We will do all that we can to help our Residential and Small Business customers manage their bills and avoid disconnection.

If you are moving home or office

You should contact the Customer Service Team on 0808 141 1010 no later than 60 days before your move date. We will amend your account and billing requirements as necessary. We will endeavour to offer you the same telephone number to minimise disruption but please note that for geographic numbers this is not always possible.

Number porting

Venture Telecom recognise that keeping your existing telephone number/s may be important to you. If you move your business to us and wish to keep the number that you have with your old provider, we will arrange if possible. We will work with you to ensure that the services are switched over at a convenient and appropriate time. For more information, please call our Customer Service Team on 0808-141-1010.

Directory Entries

You are entitled to a Directory Enquiry listing (including an entry in the Phone Book) for both your Fixed and Mobile Telephone Numbers. If you want your details included please contact the Customer Service Team on 0808-141-1010.

Complaints

We make every effort to ensure that our customers are happy with the level of service, and the products and service they receive from us. However, despite our best efforts, things can go wrong. We take customer complaints very seriously and aim to resolve them quickly and efficiently.

Our Code of Practice on Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution explains how customers can complain. The code also provides information on how we deal with complaints and your right to take unresolved complaints to Alternative Dispute Resolution. You can find a copy of our Complaints Code on our website at www.venturetelecom.co.uk. Alternatively copies are available free of charge and on request from our Customer Service Team on 0808-141-1010.

Nuisance Calls

We take the problem of nuisance calls and malicious communications very seriously. We tackle it by working closely with the police and others in the communications industry. If you have been a victim of this activity, please call the Customer Service Team on 0808-141-1010 to report the incident and for information on how to deal with it.

Services for people with Special Needs

We are committed to helping all our customers to communicate easily. We offer the following additional services on request for customers who are older or who may have a disability, including:

Additional help and support if you have difficulty paying your bill.
Copies of bills in large print, on computer disc for customers who have difficulty reading their bill.

Copies of this Code are available in larger print on request.

Data protection

We comply fully with our obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Part 2 – Venture Telecom’s Code of Practice for Premium Rate Services and NTS Calls

Purpose of this Code of Practice

This code informs you about our policies on providing information about Premium Rate Service (PRS) calls and on our charging policy for calls to NTS and PRS Numbers.

Premium Rate Services (PRS)

PRS are telephone numbers that offer some form of Information or Entertainment and charged to your phone bill. UK-Based PRS Numbers are normally prefixed by “09”. 0871 is also designated as a Premium Rate Number and subject to PRS Regulation. Typical services include TV Vote Lines, Mobile Ringtone Downloads, Technical Helplines, Charity Fund-Raising and Adult Entertainment.

Charges for these services are added to your telephone bill. Calling a PRS number generally costs between 8.51p and £15.00 per minute, or £5 per Call or Text (excl. vat). Calling these services from mobile phones, cable networks or public payphones will generally cost more than the advertised rate. Our access charges for calling these services will be made available by your Account Manager contacted via our Customer Service Team on: 0808-141-1010

Should you have a problem with PRS we can provide advice on checking the telephone number relating to any PRS charge/s appearing on your phone bill and will try to identify the premium rate service provider. We can use Call Barring to restrict access to ’09’ numbers. Please call our Customer Service Team on 0808-141-1010 for advice on this.

You can also ask for help from PhonepayPlus which is the industry-funded regulatory body for PRS. PhonepayPlus operates a code of practice that sets out standards for the operation of PRS. You can use the PhonepayPlus website at www.phonepayplus.org.uk to check PRS Numbers direct or to submit a complaint. PhonepayPlus has legal powers to require a provider of PRS to amend its service or promotional material (or both) and can also impose penalties on content service providers. For other ways to contact PhonepayPlus, see the ‘Useful addresses’ section below.

Number Translation Services (NTS)

NTS are based on numbers that are normally prefixed ’08’. For example, 0800 and 0808 are used to provide free-phone services (some free-phone services are also provided on 0500 numbers). 0844 and 0845 numbers are normally used for customer service helplines. 0870 numbers are used for information services, technical helplines and telephone banking. They are also used by organisations to help them provide call-management features such as intelligent call routing and fax-to-email services.

Charges for calling services on NTS Numbers are added to your telephone bill and standard prices range from free to 50p per minute or per call (excl. VAT). Calling these services from mobile phones, cable networks or public payphones will generally cost more than the advertised rate but communications providers must publish prices for calls to 0870 numbers where these are higher than for calls to geographic numbers. Our access charges for calling these services are available on request from your Account Manager contactable via our Customer Services Team on 0808 141 1010. We can also give you a factsheet on NTS.

If you are unhappy with the help you have received from your Account Manager &/or our Customer Support Team on a problem with PRS or NTS please contact Mark Pollock (mark@venturetelecom.co.uk), who has responsibility for compliance with our code of practice for PRS and NTS. You may also complain using the Complaints Procedure set out in our Complaints Code including, ultimately, referring your complaint to CISAS.

The Telephone Preference Service (TPS)

If you don’t want to get sales and marketing calls you have not requested you can add your details to a list run by the TPS. If your number is on the list it is illegal for a company to call you for marketing purposes. You can contact the TPS via www.tpsonline.org.uk or by telephoning 0845-070-0707.

Useful addresses

CISAS
70 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1EU
Tel: 0845 1308 170 or 0207 520 3827
Email: info@cisas.org.uk
Website: www.cisas.org.uk

OFCOM
Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA
Tel: 020 7981 3040 or 0300 123 3333
Email: contact@ofcom.org.uk
Website: www.ofcom.org.uk

PhonepayPlus
Clove Building, 4 Maguire Street, London, SE1 2NQ
Tel: 0800 500 212 or 020 7940 7474
Email info@phonepayplus.org.uk
Website: www.phonepayplus.org.uk

Telephone Preference Service
DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SS
Tel: 0845 070 0707
Website: www.tpsonline.org.uk

Federation of Communication Services (FCS)
Burnhill Business Centre, Provident House, Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent BR3
1AT.
Tel: 020 7186 5432
Email: fcs@fcs.org.uk
Website: www.fcs.org.uk

This code has been licensed by The Federation of Communication Services Limited 2014

Licence number 1900