Boxx Communications’ Regulatory Compliance Policy
Boxx Communications’ aim is to be compliant with all regulatory requirements for its industry. Boxx Communications consistently works towards fulfilling these requirements by training and monitoring our people, auditing and updating our policies and processes so they reflect new and existing regulations.
Ofcom Regulations
Boxx Communications and all other UK communications providers are regulated under Ofcom’s General Conditions of Entitlement. These regulations apply to anyone who provides an electronic communication service or an electronic communications network.
More specifically, General Condition 22 regulates how communications providers are able to market and sell fixed-line telephony services to customers.
General Condition 23 regulates how communications providers are able to market and sell mobile telephony services to customers.
Download full details of Ofcom’s General Conditions of Migration and Home Moves
Download full details of Ofcom’s General Conditions of Entitlement
Code of Practice
Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution for Small Business & Domestic Customers (Part 1) Premium Rate Services and NTS calls (Part 2)
Part 1 - BOXX COMMUNICATIONS Code of Practice for Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution for Small Business and Domestic Customers
Introduction to our Company and Services:
BOXX COMMUNICATIONS is an independent company that delivers communications services to domestic and business customers. While we may not provide all the component parts of our services ourselves, we do take responsibility for the services delivered to you. So we will liaise with our suppliers to ensure that any problems with their services are resolved promptly.
Purpose of this Code of Practice:
This code informs you about our products, services, and customer-care policies. This Code of Practice is published on our website at boxx.wpsecurehosting.uk. Additional copies are available on request and free of charge to any domestic and small business customer. It is also available in alternative formats, (e.g. large print)
How to Contact us:
- By phone: 01908 350 750 (From 9am until 5.30pm Monday-Friday, except bank holidays)
- By email: info@boxx.wpsecurehosting.uk
- By fax: 01908 3503751
- By letter: BOXX COMMUNICATIONS, Studio C/2, Witan Studios, 24 Witan Gate West, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 1EJ
- Website: boxx.wpsecurehosting.uk
Our Commitment to You:
We are committed to giving you the highest quality of customer service. When we purchase our services from wholesale providers, we choose those providers carefully to ensure that you get a high-quality service. We make every reasonable effort to supply services that satisfy your requirements. We work to all relevant laws and regulations.
Our Products and Services:
- Landline Telephones
- Landline Calls
- CPS - Carrier Pre-Selection
- WLR - Wholesale Line Rental
- ISDN - Digital Telephone Lines
- Broadband Access
- VoIP & IP Telephony
- Non-Geographic Numbers
- Intelligent Call Routing
- Internet
- Directory Enquiries
- Mobile Telephone & Data Services
- Wide Area/Local Paging Services
- Equipment & Maintenance Service
For more details on any of our products and services, or to place an order immediately, please contact our Service Delivery Team on 01908 350 750.
You may also purchase our services from local dealers and retailers around the UK. For more information, please contact the Service Delivery Team on 01908 350 750.
Marketing:
We work to the principles in the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing, which are set out on the website www.cap.org.uk
Terms and Conditions:
When you subscribe to a service from BOXX COMMUNICATIONS, we will send you our Standard Terms and Conditions we will also confirm that you have received those terms and conditions. If you have any questions, please phone our Customer Service Team on 01908 350 750. We may carry out a credit check as part of our assessment procedures.
Where applicable, the minimum contract term for our services is 24 months. We aim to provide services within ten working days of your original request, subject to the availability and installation of any equipment and, where appropriate, lines to your premises. If we need to carry out a survey of your premises or lay additional cabling, we will inform you of the revised timescales as soon as we can.
Cancellation:
If you decide to cancel your order or agreement before we have provided the services, you may do so without charge within ten working days after your order is placed. After (ten) working days we will charge you an administration fee as set out in your contract. If you wish to terminate your contract within the minimum term of 24 months, please call our Customer service Helpdesk on 01908 350 750 we will charge you a fee as set out in your contract.
Faults and Repairs:
Please call our Fault Service Team on 01908 350 750 if you experience a fault with any of our services. We aim to have this investigated and repaired within 2-3 days. However we do not offer service level guarantees for this.
Compensation and Refund Policy:
Our policy is to assess each claim on a case by case basis. We aim to investigate any claims and respond within 14 working days. Any refunds that are due will be credited to the next month’s invoice.
Price Lists:
Our pricing structure is available from our Customer Service Team on 01908 350 750 and via our website. We will write to you in advance if we change the pricing structure on your products and services.
Billing:
We will bill you on a monthly direct debit basis.
You can choose to pay us via a range of options including credit card, cheque and direct debit. These are agreed at the start of your contract. If you wish to change your method of payment at any time, please call our Customer Service Team on 01908 350 750.
We provide itemised bills at flat rate as part of our service to you, on request and for a fee of £3.50 per month or for free via email.
If you have difficulty paying your bill, please contact us on 01908 350 750 and we will try to arrange a different method of payment. We will do all we can to help our residential and small business customers to manage their bills and avoid disconnection.
If You Are Moving Home or Office:
Please call our Customer Service Team on 01908 350 750 no later than ten 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:
BOXX COMMUNICATIONS recognise that keeping your existing telephone numbers 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 it if you ask us. 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 01908 350 750.
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 do want your details included, please contact our Customer Service Team on 01908 350 750.
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 Complaints Code 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 here. Alternatively, copies are available free of charge and on request from our Customer Service Team on 01908 350 750.
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 01908 350 750 to report the incident and for information on how to deal with it.
We encourage parents to register the mobile phones of their children, and take responsibility for all customer care enquiries.
Service 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:
- Priority access to the Service Delivery Team
- Priority fault repair and assistance
- Additional help and support if you have difficulty paying your bill
Copies of this Code are available in larger print and other formats on request.
Data Protection:
We comply fully with our obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Part 2 - BOXX COMMUNICATIONS Code of Practice for Premium Rate Services and NTS Calls
Purpose of this Code of Practice:
This code informs you, our customers, about our policies on providing information about Premium Rate Service (PRS) and Number Translation Service (NTS) calls and on our charging policy for calls to PRS and NTS numbers.
Premium Rate Services:
Premium rate services (PRS) are telephone numbers that offer some form of information or entertainment that is charged to your phone bill. UK-based PRS numbers are normally prefixed by “09” or “118”. Numbers starting 087 are also designated as Premium Rate numbers and subject to PRS regulation when they cost 7p per minute or more. Typical services include TV votelines, mobile ringtone downloads, technical helplines, charity fund-raising and adult entertainment.
Charges for these services are made up of two parts, a service charge and an access charge and the total is added to your telephone bill. You will see the service charge advertised by the company providing the service alongside the number and this can be between 7p and £3.60 per minute, or £6 per call or per text (including VAT) for 08 and 09 prefixes. Calls to 118 services can cost up to £15.98 per call plus a £7.99 per minute charge (including VAT). The access charge is kept by us, your phone company. Our access charge for calling these services is shown in our price list, which is available on request from our Customer Services Team and via our website.
If you have a problem with PRS, we can help. We can provide advice on checking the telephone number of any PRS charges that appear on your bill and will try to help you identify the premium rate service provider. We can use call barring to restrict access to “09” numbers. Please call our Customer Service Team on 01908 350750 for advice on this. We can give you a factsheet on PRS.
You can also ask for help from the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) which is the industry-funded regulatory body for Premium Rate Services. PSA operates a Code of Practice that sets out standards for the operation of PRS. You can use the PSA website at www.psauthority.org.uk to check PRS numbers direct and find contact details for the company in question or to submit a complaint. PSA has the legal powers to require a provider of PRS to amend its service or promotional material (or both) and can also order refunds and impose penalties on service providers for breaches of the PSA Code. For other ways to contact Phone-paid Services Authority, see the “Useful addresses” section below.
Number Translation Services:
Number translation services (NTS) are based on numbers that are normally prefixed “08”. For example, 0800 and 0808 are used to provide freephone services (some freephone services are also provided on 0500 numbers). Numbers starting 084 are normally used for customer service helplines. 087 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. Numbers starting 087 are also designated as Premium Rate numbers and subject to PRS regulation when they cost 7p per minute or more. Personal numbers prefixed 070 are also used for providing NTS such as “follow me” type services.
Charges for calling services on NTS numbers are made up of two parts, a service charge and an access charge and the total is added to your telephone bill. You will see the service charge advertised by the company providing the service alongside the number and this can range from free up to 13p per minute or per call (including VAT). The access charge is kept by us, your phone company. Our access charge for calling these services is shown in our price list, which is available on request from our Customer Services Team and via our website. We can also give you a factsheet on NTS.
If you are unhappy with the help you have received from us on a problem with PRS or NTS, please contact Steven Davie (tel 01908 350 750 or email steven.davie@boxx.wpsecurehosting.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 Ombudsman Services.
Internet Diallers:
If you use the Internet via a dial up connection, it is possible for software to be placed on your computer without you knowing - using the same methods as for computer viruses. This type of software (known as Internet or rogue diallers) can then make calls to PRS and NTS numbers without your knowledge. Software is available to detect this activity and we can help you to access this - please contact our Customer Services Team for details. Phone-paid Services Authority has been given responsibility for policing this type of activity and you can contact them via www.psauthority.org.uk to ask for help or to report examples of this type of abuse. For other ways to contact Phone-paid Services Authority, see the “Useful Addresses” section below. We can also help by barring calls to 09 numbers.
The Telephone Preference Service:
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 Telephone Preference Service (TPS). If your number is on the list, it is illegal for a company to call you for marketing purposes. You can contact the Telephone Preference Service via www.tpsonline.org.uk or by telephoning 0845 070 0707.
Useful Addresses:
Ofcom
Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HA
Tel: 020 7981 3040 or 0300 123 3333
E-mail: contact@ofcom.org.uk
Website: www.ofcom.org.uk
Federation of Communication Services (FCS)
Burnhill Business Centre, Provident House, Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent BR3 1AT
Tel: 0820 8249 6363
E-mail: fcs@fcs.org.uk
Website: www.fcs.org.uk
