Ofcom wanted to make companies add pre-recorded tariff warnings to non-geographic numbers that begin with 0870.
Many banks and call centres use the prefix, calls to which often involve long waits and can cost up to three times the standard national rate.
Ofcom decided to take action on the numbers following consumer complaints that firms were taking as much as 40 per cent of the total call cost in profit.
But following pressure from trade bodies Ofcom has postponed its plans, which were due to take effect on the 1st February 2008.
Organisations like the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) said the proposed pre-call announcements could prevent important burglar alarm calls from getting through in an emergency.
Many security communication devices – including monitoring systems for the vulnerable – use the 0870 range of numbers.
“Such devices may well ‘time-out’ if a pre-call announcement is added and a recognised phone signal is not heard,” said the BSIA’s technical director Alex Carmichael.
“This may result in alarm signals not getting through to the emergency services, with potentially life-threatening consequences.”
Ofcom’s decision has sparked anger from members of Saynoto0870.com, a website which aims to give consumers alternative landline numbers to avoid the ‘0870 scam’.
“We have been waiting patiently for the new rules to come into place and finally end the rip-off that 0870 numbers represent. To find that Ofcom has suspended this at the eleventh hour is both frustrating and very disappointing,” one member told The Guardian.
Ofcom has kept its decision quiet and has not yet issued an official statement. The regulator has agreed to consult more widely on the issue and a statement confirming the changes is now due for Spring next year.
