Home phone News

Ofcom investigates Lycatel international calling cards

Tuesday 23 March, 2010

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

Telecoms regulator Ofcom is investigating pre-paid phone card company Lycatel, after receiving complaints from consumers.

Lycatel, one of the world’s largest international phone card providers, is under investigation by regulator Ofcom, after the regulator received complaints from consumers about hidden charges and getting less calling minutes than they pay for.

The company, which sells its international calling cards in 16 countries, could be fined up to 10% of its turnover if found to be breaching its terms and conditions.

Ofcom said it has launched the investigation after complaints about the company came in from Consumer Direct, the Trading Standards Office, and its own consumer advisory team.

Millions of Brits use the cards to call relatives abroad, and they are very popular with overseas workers phoning home.

Simon Piper, business development manager at Homephonechoices.co.uk, said: “If you regularly call friends or family abroad, instead of using a calling card from a company like Lycatel, it may be worth speaking to your home phone provider and seeing if you can get an international calling plan add-on or discount.”

He continued: “Both BT (www.bt.com) and Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com) offer add-ons that reduce the price of calling overseas. And TalkTalk (www.talktalk.co.uk) includes 36 international destinations, such as Greece, Ireland and the US, in its free calls.”

“Compare international calling costs using the Homephonechoices.co.uk price comparison service, and see if you could save money by ditching the calling cards and signing up to a new home phone tariff which includes overseas calls.”