Codes of Practice
Code of Practice for Complaint Handling & Dispute Resolution

THE PURPOSE OF THE CODE
This code sets out a statement of how we conduct our business and provides information about our relationship with you. It is intended for small and medium business customers. This code of practice may be obtained from our web site at http://www.pinnacle-telecom.net/ or by writing to us at the address below.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Details of the specific conditions relating to your contract are set out in the documentation provided when you first subscribed to our services or on our website http://www.pinnacle-telecom.net

You should note that these terms and conditions are specific to the service being supplied and, for example, those for lines and calls may vary from those for mobile. If you are unsure about which terms and conditions apply to your contract, please contact us using one of the methods below.

Additionally, contract lengths may vary according to the minimum term you agreed to at the beginning of your service provision. Our standard contract lengths are 12, 24, or 36 months. If you are unsure about your contract, please contact us.

OUR SERVICES
We provide the following Lines and Services:
Analogue Telephone Lines; Multilines; ISDN 2e; ISDN 30e; Select Services; Carrier Pre-Selection; Call Conferencing; Broadband; Number Translation Service; Engineering Services; Cellular Telephony Solutions.

For more information on any of our lines and services or to order additional services please call Customer Services on 08454 333222 or email help@pinnacle-telecom.net

CANCELLATION
In the unlikely event that you should wish to cancel the service we provide, you should write or email us at the address below telling us what you wish to cancel and when you wish it to be effective. There may be a charge for early termination of your contract and this will be explained to you. Early termination charges are also set down in your Terms and Conditions documentation or on your monthly telephone bill and on our web site.

PRICES AND TARIFFS
Because there are so many different rates that depend upon usage volumes and other separately negotiated criteria, and the changes in tariffs are being updated constantly, it is not possible to publish a standard set of rates that would apply to all customers.
Your own particular tariff, if you have not kept the one sent originally, can be obtained from our customer service department (see ‘Contacting Us’ Section below) on request.

BILLING
We will bill you monthly.

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.
We provide itemised bills as part of our service to you free of charge by email and for a fee of £2.50 by post.

If you have difficulty paying your bill, please contact us on 08454 333222 and we will try to arrange a different method of payment. We will do all we can to help our business customers to manage their bills and avoid disconnection.

IF YOU ARE MOVING OFFICE
Please call our Customer Service Team on 08454 333222 no later than 14 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
Pinnacle Telecom plc 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 08454 333222

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.

If you have a complaint about any part of our service, please contact our Customer Service Team on 08454 333222. Our advisors will ask you about your complaint and seek to resolve the problem while you are on the line. During any discussions we will protect the privacy of the information that we hold on you. To do this we may have to ask you questions to confirm that we are speaking to the right person.

You may also send your complaint to us in writing (see “How to contact us” above).

We will try to resolve your complaint quickly and efficiently, and to keep you informed at all times. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you can take it further within our company, and ultimately to the Chief Executive. If we cannot resolve the problem, we will write to you to say so.

If you remain unhappy and wish to pursue your complaint further, if your complaint has been outstanding for more than 12 weeks or you have received a letter from us saying that your complaint has reached “deadlock”, then you may ask for help from Otelo.

Otelo is an independent organisation which is approved by Ofcom to provide an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service. Ofcom-approved ADR services have been set up to sort out disagreements between communications providers and their consumer and small business customers. Their job is to investigate complaints fairly by listening to both sides of the story. They look at the facts given to them before recommending any action that may be needed to put things right.

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”. Typical services include TV votelines, mobile ringtone downloads, technical helplines, charity fund-raising and adult entertainment.

Charges for these services are added to your telephone bill. Calling a PRS number generally costs between 10 pence and £1.50 per minute, per call or per text (incl. vat). Calling these services from, for example, mobile phones, cable networks or public payphones will generally cost more than the advertised rate. Our charges for calling these services are 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 number of 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 0845 612 7045 for advice on this. We can give you a factsheet on PRS.

You can also ask for help from the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS), which is the industry-funded regulatory body for Premium Rate Services. ICSTIS operates a code of practice that sets out standards for the operation of PRS. You can use the ICSTIS website at www.icstis.org.uk to check PRS numbers direct or to download a complaint form.

ICSTIS has legal powers to require a provider of PRS to amend its service or promotional material (or both) and can also impose penalties on content service providers. For other ways to contact ICSTIS, see the “Useful addresses” section below.

NUMBER TRANSLATION SERVICES
Number translation services (NTS) are based on numbers that are normally pre-fixed “08”. For example, 0800 and 0808 are used to provide freephone services (some freephone services are also provided on 0500 numbers). 0844 and 0845 numbers are used for dial-up pay-as-you-go Internet access and customer service helplines. 0870 and 0871 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.

Charges for calling services on NTS numbers are added to your telephone bill and prices range from free up to a maximum of 10p per minute or per call (incl. vat). Calling these services from, for example, mobile phones, cable networks or public payphones will generally cost more than the advertised rate. Our charges for calling these services are shown in our price list, which is available on request from our Customer Services Team and via our website.

If you are unhappy with the help you have received from us on a problem with PRS or NTS, you may also complain using the complaints procedure set out in this code including, ultimately, referring your complaint to Otelo/CISAS.

COMPENSATION AND REFUNDS

Our service provision to you is dependant upon the continued operation of the major networks (Openreach for example). If service is lost for any reason we will claim compensation on your behalf at the scales appropriate to your particular network.

CONTACTING US

Pinnacle Telecom Plc have always put the Customer first and our Customer Service Team are dedicated to providing prompt and effective support to customers experiencing difficulties in any way.
They are available Monday to Friday between the hours of 08.30 and 18.00 by:

Telephone: 08454 333222, Fax: 0845 433 4333

e-mail: help@pinnacle-telecom.net

Pinnacle Telecom Plc
Pinnacle House
6 Straiton View
Edinburgh
EH20 9QZ

COMPLAINTS

If you have a complaint about any aspect of the service provided by Pinnacle Telecom Plc, we want to know. If you don’t tell us, we cannot put things right.
In the unlikely event you consider a complaint about your service is necessary, what should you do first?

Call our Customer Services Team on the number below or write to us.

Telephone: 08454 333222 , Fax: 0845 433 4333

e-mail: help@pinnacle-telecom.net or by post to:

Pinnacle Telecom Plc
Pinnacle House
6 Straiton View
Edinburgh
EH20 9QZ

It would be helpful to keep a proper record of your complaint that lists:
• the date and time you spoke to a Pinnacle representative;
• who you spoke to; and
• what they said or promised to do.

You should also:
• ask our customer service advisor when you can expect your complaint to be answered or resolved (or both);
• keep copies of all correspondence; and
• check your terms and conditions of service to ensure that your complaint is a valid one.
What if you don’t get the answer you want?
• If you feel you have been dealt with poorly or unreasonably, you can ask for your complaint to go to a higher level. Ask to speak to the Customer Service Team Leader.
• If at any time you feel that you are not being attended to as quickly as you would like, you may wish to write to us with your complaint at: help@pinnacle-telecom.net <mailto:help@pinnacle-telecom.net> This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• If we are unable to resolve your complaint satisfactorily, we will issue a ”deadlock” letter so that you may make a complaint through Otelo, an independent alternative dispute resolution scheme (ADR). We can provide you with details of this service.

Alternatively if more than three months has passed since you first made your complaint, please contact the ADR scheme directly.

Contact details:

Otelo
PO Box 730
Warrington
WA4 6WU

Telephone 0845 050 1614
or 01925 430 049

E-mail enquiries@otelo.org.uk

Web site: http://www.otelo.org.uk

Ofcom
Ofcom is the regulatory body for the communications industry and provides oversight of our service provision within the terms of the Communications Act 2003 that are relevant to us. They are located at:

Riverside House, 2a, Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HA.

Telephone 020 7981 3000, Fax 020 7981 3040

Website: http://www.ofcom.org.uk

Other useful addresses:
Citizens Advice Myddleton House, 115-123, Pentonville Rd, London, N1 9LZ. Tel: 0207 833 2181

Otelo PO Box 730, Warrington,WA4 6WU
0845 050 1614 or
01925 430 049

Ofcom Riverside House, 2a, Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HA. Ofcom contact centre (020 7981 3040)

Trading Standards Department http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/consumers/consumers.cfm Web only

This Code has been approved by Ofcom for the purposes of section 52 of the Communications Act 2003. The Guidelines for producing codes of practice are on Ofcom’s Web site at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/ioi/g_a_regime/gce/ccodes/ccodes.pd

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