In April, Vodafone introduced new international roaming charges for 60 countries outside the European Union, and told customers via text message.

Ofcom said it had “intervened” because it had “concerns about the clarity of that text message”.

In a statement, Vodafone said its customers “like” its products.

Vodafone’s Roam Further charges, introduced in 2017, mean customers on a monthly contract are charged a flat fee of £6 per day to use their phone in 60 countries including the US, Canada and Russia.

The changes mean customers will be charged the flat £6 fee even if they only send one text message.

Previously customers were charged for their usage and fees varied between countries.

‘Bill shock’

Ofcom considered that light users would be more affected by the changes because “they could no longer send texts, make calls or use data on a ‘pay-per-use’ basis'”.

Mobile phone networks must give customers 30 days’ notice of any contract changes likely to be of “material detriment”, and must let customers end their contracts without penalty if they do not agree to the changes.

Some customers had complained and Ofcom said it was concerned that Vodafone’s communication had not been clear.

It said right to exit information should be provided “in the main body of the text or email” rather than linking to a separate webpage as Vodafone had done.

In response to Ofcom’s concerns, Vodafone sent another message to affected customers and gave them a further 30 days to leave their contract.

It said it had identified 55,000 customers who were likely to face “material detriment” following the introduction of the new charges.

In a statement, Vodafone said Roam Further “removes the fear of bill shock”.

“We took on board Ofcom’s views about notifications and will be sure to follow them,” it said.

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Source: BBC

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Citizens Advice found that customers who do not take out a new contract are paying an average extra £22 a month.

The government said the mobile firms needed to inform customers when they had paid for their handsets.

The operators said that their billing systems were fair.

Digital skills minister Matt Hancock said: “It’s only right that mobile customers should be notified when they have paid off the price of their handset, and that their future bills should reflect this.

“I welcome Citizens Advice’s call for better billing information for consumers, and hope that providers will now take the initiative by clearly separating the cost of handsets and tariffs in mobile contracts.”
Vodafone told the BBC it strives to give customers “the price plan that best suits them”.

“Wherever possible, we contact customers nearing the end of their contract to offer them a range of options. These include being able to upgrade their handset, receiving an extra allowance to enhance their existing plan or, if they choose, a sim-only plan,” the firm said in a statement.

Three said: “Whenever a new customer signs with us, we make the end-date of the contract term very clear. We also let them know that they can contact us at any time to discuss the range of options available should they wish to change their plan with us.”

And EE commented: “Separating phone and tariff doesn’t always represent the best deal for consumers, it can sometimes result in them paying more.”

Exploiting customers

The majority of those who take out a mobile phone contract with the cost of the new handset included in the price will have paid off the price of phone over a period of two years, the study found.

The research suggested that users paying out for handsets such as the iPhone 7, the Galaxy S and Xperia XZ Premium, paid £38 extra a month, after the two-year period.

According to the study, people aged over 65 were the most likely to be stung – with 23% staying on their contract past the end of the fixed deal period.

Overall, 36% of people with a handset-inclusive contract failed to change it after the end of the fixed deal period.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “The cost of handsets are hidden within some mobile phone contracts giving phone providers a way to exploit their customers.

“It is clearly unfair that some phone providers are charging loyal customers for handsets that they have already paid for. It’s especially concerning that older customers are more likely to be stung by this sharp practice.”

She called on the phone providers to make sure that any customers staying on a contract past the end of the fixed deal have their monthly bill reduced to reflect the fact they have paid for the handset.

“Providers could make it much easier for consumers to compare prices by separating out the cost of handsets from the cost of services like data and minutes for all contracts; that way it would be much clearer what they’re paying for,” she added.

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Source: BBC

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The Board of Trustees of SSNIT has begun investigations into how the former management acquired a OBS software System for $66 million.

[contextly_sidebar id=”kP26wzf14aSAcrhSrVsa0BGubp9kq5KH”]The system was installed to network all branches of SSNIT nationwide to enhance efficiency but the current administration questioned the cost and have contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers to audit the transaction.

Speaking on Eyewitness News however, Dr. Tenkorang gave the assurance that the necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure Ghanaians are not affected by the development.

“I can assure that things are not bad at SSNIT. As I have already outlined to you. There is improvement before we took office. We use to disinvest before paying pensions. Now we are paying pensions without disinvesting. We are cutting costs. We are mindful so I can assure Ghanaians that their monies are in safe and it all shall be well. So there is no need for panic,” he told Citi

About 5 people are currently being investigated by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) for their involvement in the acquisition of the software.

The Board Chairman of SSNIT, Kwame Addo Kufuor in an earlier interview with Citi News said about 15 people have already appeared before EOCO as witnesses in the matter.

Meanwhile, some previous Chairpersons and members of the SSNIT have denied their involvement in the approval of the deal to procure the software which many say has a bloated cost.

SSNIT software project cost $72m, not $66m – SSNIT boss

In a related development, Dr. Tenkorang clarified that the new management information system software contract secured by  SSNIT now stands at $72 million from $66 million.

Dr. Tenkorang added that the amount included the cost of the original tender, subsequent modifications, and yearly support fees as well as maintenance charges.

He further disclosed that the $72 million cost will continue to appreciate until the system is fully deployed and works effectively.

A document sighted by citifmonline.com stated that the company that was awarded the contract earlier demanded $27 million but some modifications added by SSNIT pushed the amount to $34 million.

The document suggested that the modifications were necessary for the success of the software customized for the operations of SSNIT.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The University of Cambridge researchers say their findings from more than 300 boys help unravel the causes of autism – a condition that affects both sexes but is far more common in males.

But they say it does not mean a prenatal test for autism is near.

Nor will it necessarily be possible to stop autism by blocking the hormones.

The hormones in question – testosterone and three other steroid hormones – were important for foetal development, which meant it could be too risky to block them, they told the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Autism link

But the findings did pinpoint an important window in foetal development when autism might be triggered, they said.

The study authors, Dr Michael Lombardo and Prof Simon Baron-Cohen, looked at stored samples of amniotic fluid – the liquid that surrounds a baby while in the womb – to see if there was anything about this early environment that might explain autism risk.

They found that for 128 boys who later went on to develop autism, levels of steroid hormone in the amniotic fluid that had bathed them as a baby in the womb were, on average, particularly high.

In comparison, far lower levels of steroid hormone were detected in the corresponding amniotic fluid of a control group of 217 boys without autism.

Prof Baron-Cohen said: “This is one of the earliest non-genetic biomarkers that has been identified in children who go on to develop autism.

“We previously knew that elevated prenatal testosterone is associated with slower social and language development, better attention to detail, and more autistic traits. Now, for the first time, we have also shown that these steroid hormones are elevated in children clinically diagnosed with autism.

“Because some of these hormones are produced in much higher quantities in males than in females, this may help us explain why autism is more common in males.”

The study did include some girls, but the researchers say they need to do more investigating to see if a similar association between sex hormones and autism might exist in females.

Steroid hormones influence how instructions in our genetic code – DNA – are translated into making important proteins.

The researchers believe that altering this process in early life when the building blocks for the brain are being laid down may explain how genetic risk factors for autism get expressed or “switched on”.

The exact causes of autism are unknown, although it is thought that genes and environmental factors are involved.

The developmental disorder usually starts to develop in childhood and can cause problems with social interaction, language skills and behaviour.

Prof Richard Sharpe, an expert at the University of Edinburgh, said the work was “an important first step” on the path to discovering what causes autism.

Richard Mills, of Research Autism said: “Despite a growing awareness of the biological and genetic nature of autism, there is currently no agreed biological or genetic marker for autism, with diagnosis made on the basis of early developmental history and behavioural criteria.

“So research that sheds light on this specific area is critical to our understanding of this mysterious and highly complex group of conditions.”

Source: BBC

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