Petition Stop companies charging us before we can speak to customer service!

Telephone "waiting time" means the time which passes before consumers are connected to a person who actually handles a query. Companies often charge consumers 10p-75p per minute during this "waiting time"!

Just last week, I spent more than 18 minutes on the 'phone waiting to speak with Opodo twice in 1 day - at 10p per minute this “waiting time” alone cost me £3.60. Imagine if each adult in the UK paid this charge just once a year, it would mean we pay out £170mil to companies without even receiving a service. France passed a similar law in 2008 (Chatel Act no. 2008-3). Why does our government still let companies earn revenue from us simply because they won't hire sufficient staff to avoid keeping us waiting unnecessarily (and being charged for it)?

This petition demands the law changes so companies won't be allowed to charge consumers for "waiting time" regardless of the nature of the call (sales, after-sales, complaints, technical assistance) and across all operators.