The findings on unsolicited calls are among those in the Telephone Service in 1991 report published by the Office of Telecommunications. The survey also found that complaints and enquiries about telephone services rose to average 12,000 per quarter in 1991, a rise of 3,000 on the average for 1990. The biggest single cause of complaint was disputed accounts, with British Telecommunications Plc’s implementation of the value-added tax rise to 17.5% from 15% being responsible for much of the increase. Other findings showed that 84% of customers were very, or fairly, satisfied with BT’s phone services, although there was a drop in the number of customers that felt that BT’s service represented good value for money. Some 95% of BT’s public call boxes were found serviceable, slightly lower than the comparable figure for Mercury Communications Ltd, which had just one in 50 call boxes out of action in the second quarter, 1990.
