Premium O

Premium O is a specialist B2B telecommunications solutions provider.


Premium O Consumer Code of Practice

Nothing in this Code of Practice detracts from your statutory or common law rights, nor does anything it contains form part of any contract between Premium O and a customer. The Telecommunications services described in this Code are subject to availability and may be modified from time to time. This Code of Practice is published by Premium O (referred to as Premium O in this document).

1. About Premium O

Established in 2009 Premium O is a leading business to business telecoms solutions provider. Our offices are based in Buckinghamshire. Premium O owns a UK National telecommunications network which is interconnected to BT and a number of other network operators. This network allows us to operate efficiently resulting in competitive call costs.

2. The Purpose of the Code

The purpose of this Code of Practice is to inform our customers of their relationship with us. It is written for residential and Small Business consumers who purchase telecommunications services from us directly. A Small Business is defined as a company having 15 employees/volunteers or fewer and is not itself a telecommunications service provider.

This code aims to provide:

• Information on how to contact Premium O
• Information on sales and marketing activities
• Information on some of our main services
• Information on billing and pricing issues
• Information on how to make a complaint
• Contact details for alternative complaint bodies

3. General Philosophy

Premium O offers voice telephony services primarily to the Corporate and SME (small and medium sized enterprises) markets in the UK. Premium O strategy is for the group to lease transmission capacity and focus capital investment on the development of bespoke intelligent network solutions. Against a background of deregulation in the market for telecommunications services, Premium O has been successful in winning new business and growing customer revenue streams rapidly. Through an investment in technology, Premium O is a major player in the delivery of business focused telecom solutions that are at the forefront of the new communications era.

4. Sales, marketing, advertising and promotion

Premium O adheres to all applicable Codes of Practice, including advertising and consumer protection regulations. We always aim to ensure that our advertising and promotional literature is clear, unambiguous, accurate and fair and that it does not contain any false or misleading information about price, value or service. We do not denigrate other providers of telecoms services.

Sales training

After recruitment, all our sales agents are trained to ensure they have a sufficient understanding of the relevant sections of this Code of Practice.

5. Responsibility for complying with the code

Responsibility for code compliance by all Premium O representatives, including any 3rd party sales agency lies with Premium O. The Sales Director for Premium O is accountable for ensuring that Premium O and its agents observe the code, and is also responsible for handling of the complaints relevant to the code.

Should you have an enquiry relating to Premium O's Code of Practice, please call 0800 849 8877 or e-mail us at info@premiumO.co.uk

6. Remuneration systems

Remuneration systems for Premium O are such that they do not encourage misleading or exploitative sales practices. All agencies representing Premium O disclose all details of incentive schemes related to
Premium O.

7. How the customer enters into a contract with Premium O

A customer may conclude a contract for Premium O services in three separate ways:

• Website registration
• In writing sent to our offices
• Verbally (when the customer has agreed over the phone to take the Premium O service).

Whatever the way, we have safeguards in place to ensure that the customer understands the service they are buying from Premium O and that they are entering into a legally binding contract. The format of these safeguards differs slightly between the ways to ensure the highest possible standard of consumer protection.

When the customer signs a contract for our voice telephony service

The customer will be asked to sign and date the agreement over the word CONTRACT.
The contract will clearly state next to the place of signature that the terms and conditions for the Premium O are available to read. The contract will also state the business name and address for Premium O.

When the customer enters into a contract for our voice telephony service by visiting the
Premium O website

The customer will be prompted to agree to the terms and conditions before completing the transaction of signing up for Premium O. The final page will confirm their personal details. This Code of Practice is available on the Premium O website.

Every customer will receive a letter which contains the following information

• Confirmed service start date
• List of services
• Premium O contact details for any queries;
• Note of the Code of Practice and how to obtain a copy of it.

If you wish to cancel your Premium O service you can do this in writing or by e-mail. We reserve the right not to enter into agreements.

8. Consumer protection and other legal requirements

We comply with all applicable consumer protection legislation and other legal requirements.

9. Audit

Premium O will make regular audits of our systems, procedures and documentation to deliver compliance with our code of practice.

10. Customer Service

Our customer service representatives are able to help with all your queries including products, billing and tariffs. Where possible, we will respond to your enquiries within 2 hours. Our service centre is open to deal with your enquiries from Monday to Friday between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm.

If you have any service enquiries please call us on 0800 849 8877 or e-mail us at info@premiumO.co.uk

11. Direct Sales

Premium O contacts new potential business customers by phone. Prior to making a call, we ensure that the number being called is not registered with the telephone preference service (TPS). We also check that it is not a number that we have called before where we have been requested not to call again. Our sales advisers aim to ensure that they are speaking to the person who is responsible for purchasing telecommunications services. Once we have established that we are speaking to the correct person we will ask to discuss their various telecommunications requirements. We need to establish the technical requirements and potential savings that you could make if you were to use the services of Premium O. We would normally request a meeting with one of our sales consultants to discuss in detail the requirements that you might have.

12. Order processing

Usually, as a new Premium O customer you will speak to one of our sales advisers who will review all of your telecommunications needs. We may arrange a visit to your premises in order to carry out a detailed survey
or we may discuss your needs over the phone. We will agree your requirements with you and then supply you with a written agreement together with our terms and conditions. Once we receive your completed agreement, we will aim to process this as quickly as possible. We reserve the right not to accept agreements according to our terms and conditions.

13. Cancellation

If you wish to cancel your service with Premium O you can usually do this immediately in writing or by
E-mail. Our contact details and Office hours are given above. Most of Premium O services do not have a minimum contract period but for those that do, we would be happy to discuss your requirements. Some services take a little time to cancel, as they require us to work with special industry processes. When you cancel your service, we aim to advise you of the time period from us receiving your cancellation request to the time at which the service is withdrawn. During this period, you remain liable for the costs of any services we provide. If any cancellation is made during a contract term, termination fees may apply.

14. Pricing

We will be pleased to provide you with our prices on request. To obtain pricing information please call us on 0800 849 8877.

15. Billing

We provide you with a monthly bill. Your first bill will normally be issued within the first 4 working days of the month following your connection to the Premium O Network and then at the same time of the month in subsequent months. Payment is usually by direct debit, but if you wish to discuss alternative payment methods then please contact us on the number above. Itemised Bills are provided free of charge and we normally detail each item that costs more than 10 pence. On request, we are able to provide full itemisation.

Prompt payment of bills helps us keep our costs down so that we can continue to offer a highly competitive service. Please call us as soon as possible if you think you may have difficulty in paying your bill. If there are special circumstances, we may be able to agree special arrangements with you to prevent disruption of your telephone service. In the event that a bill is not paid we will make all reasonable attempts to resolve the matter with you. However, if we are unable to get a satisfactory explanation for the non-payment we may suspend or disconnect your service in accordance with our terms and conditions.

Billing Queries

We take billing accuracy very seriously. If you do not understand or disagree with part of your bill, please call us on the number quoted on your bill. You are liable for the costs of any calls that you make over our network. If you query the charge for dialled calls, we will re-check the bill. If we find a mistake you will be credited accordingly.

16. If you are not satisfied with Premium O service

We are committed to providing you with the best value telecommunications service in the UK. We understand that faults can occur, and when they do, we want to correct them quickly. We provide a comprehensive complaint handling process to solve your problem as soon as possible. When you call us, a customer service adviser will note the details of the problem and will agree a course of action with you. Due to the complex nature of some queries, these may take a little longer to resolve. If you are not happy with the response you receive you may ask for the matter to be referred to a senior manager for further investigation. In the rare event we are unable to resolve your problem we will write to you informing you of the position.
This is sometimes called the ...deadlock's letter. When you receive this letter and your annual bill is less than 5000, you have the right to refer your case to the Ombudsman. The contact details can be found at in section 11 of this code. The Ombudsman will want to ensure that you have followed this process through before contacting them. If this is not evident the Ombudsman is likely to refer the matter back to Premium O for resolution. Premium O is happy to work with other independent bodies, such as ICSTIS, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Consumer Advice Centres and Trading Standards Departments.

17. Your rights and obligations

Data protection

We may collect personal information about you from a number of sources.

These may include:

The customer agreement, i.e. the agreement that you sign when you take a service from Premium O.

This may include your name, address, other contract details and banking details.

• If you contact us with an enquiry
• From direct marketing organisations
• From other publicly available sources such as the electoral role

Premium O is registered under the Data Protection Act and takes all reasonable steps to ensure that there is no unauthorised access to your personal data. We may use the personal data that we have to promote Premium O products and services but these details will not be passed to any other organisations for marketing purposes. In some circumstances we may supply information to organisations such as the police where the law permits us to do this.

We may record phone conversations in order to provide training services or to provide evidence of a transaction.

If you wish to know what personal information Premium O holds on you, you can obtain this by writing to us.

Please write the following address:

Operations Director

Park House
38 Station Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP10 9UN

Terms and Conditions

Premium O provides terms and conditions which are available on request from our customer service advisers. Please call 0800 849 8877.

Services for disabled and elderly customers

If you are older or may have a disability and wish to discuss any special telecommunications requirements you may have then please contact our customer service centre at the above address and we will try and accommodate your requirements where possible.

18. Social Responsibilities

Environmental Policy

Protection of the environment in which we live and operate is part of Premium O values and principles and we consider it to be sound business practice. Care for the environment is one of our key responsibilities and an important part of the way in which we do business.

In this policy statement we commit our company to:

• Complying with all relevant environmental legislation, regulations and approved codes of practice;
• Protecting the environment by striving to prevent and minimise our contribution to pollution of land, air, and water;
• Seeking to keep wastage to a minimum and maximise the efficient use of materials and resources;
• Managing and disposing of all waste in a responsible manner;
• Providing training for our staff so that we all work in accordance with this policy and within an environmentally aware culture;
• Regularly communicating our environmental performance to our employees and other significant stakeholders;
• Developing our management processes to ensure that environmental factors are considered during planning and implementation;
• Monitoring and continuously improving our environmental performance.

Premium O is predominately a supplier of telecommunications service to larger business customers.
We understand that some of our customers may have special needs and so require particular attention.
It is our policy to assist any customers who may have difficulty using telephony services whether they have
a disability or are from other vulnerable groups.

Malicious Calls

We understand the annoyance and distress that can be caused by malicious calls and take this problem very seriously. If you are receiving malicious calls we would like to provide you with every assistance to try to resolve the problem. This may involve working with the police and other network operators where appropriate. You should be prepared to give evidence if the caller is traced and brought to court. We may also recommend that you change your phone number and ask for this to be ex-directory if you continue to receive such calls.

19. Premium Rate Services

Otelo - The Telecommunications Ombudsman

The Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo) is the organisation who decides what action should be taken should a disagreement arise between you and ourselves. As an Otelo member, Premium O has undertaken to honour the Ombudsman's decision. If you feel that you have a genuine complaint about our products or services and feel that you have not achieved an agreeable outcome after speaking directly with Premium O, Otelo may be able to help. Otelo have an on-line complaints procedure which can be found on their web site at: www.otelo.org.uk.

20. PhonepayPlus

PhonepayPlus (previously known as ICSTIS) regulate premium rate (or phone-paid) services in the UK. These are the premium rate goods and services that you can buy by charging the cost to your phone bill or pre-pay account.

Services are regulated using the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice. This sets out the rules with which all providers of premium rate services must comply.

The latest PhonepayPlus Code of Practice can be accessed here.

There are a number of options for submitting a complaint to PPP. Either:

• Complete an online complaint form here.
• Call free help line on 0800 500 (open 0900-1700 Monday to Friday)
• Write to PhonepayPlus at Freepost, WC5468, London SE1 2BR
• Text through the PPP textlink on 020 7407 3430

21. Further Information

Office of Communications (Ofcom)
Ofcom Contact Centre
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA

Tel: 0845 456 3000 Fax: 020 7981 3333
Email: contact@ofcom.org.uk
Website: www.ofcom.org.uk

The Telecommunications Ombudsman (Otelo)

Otelo
PO Box 730
Warrington
WA4 6WU

Tel: 0845 050 1614
Email: enquiries@otelo.org.uk
Website: www.otelo.org.uk

The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS)

Fourth Floor
Clove Building
4 Maguire Street
London
SE1 2NQ

Tel: 020 7940 7474
Website: www.icstis.org.uk/icstis2002

Telephone Preference Service

If you do not wish to receive unsolicited telemarketing faxes,
register on line at www.fpsonline.org.uk or call 020 7766 4422

Premium O Code of Practice

FAO Operations Director
Premium O Limited
Park House
38 Station Road
Loudwater
HP10 9UN

Tel: 0800 849 8877

Email: info@premiumo.co.uk
Website: www.premiumo.co.uk

Premium O Limited
Park House
38 Station Road
Loudwater Bucks
HP10 9UN

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