Code of Practice

Including our Code of Practice for Premium Rate Services and NTS calls

Part 1 - Fluid Network Solutions Code of Practice for Small Business Customers

Introduction to our company and services

FLUID NETWORK SOLUTIONS is an independent company that delivers communications services to 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 and 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, customer-care policies and where to find information about our charges and terms and conditions. This Code of Practice is published on our website at www.fluidnetworksolutions.co.uk Additional copies are available on request and free of charge to any small business customer. It is also available in alternative formats on request.

How to contact us

Please contact our Customer Service Team

By phone: From 9am until 5pm Monday-Friday 0333 222 6650
By email: customercare@fluidns.co.uk
By letter: Communications House, Unit11 Keel Row, The Watermark, Metro Riverside, Tyne and Wear NE11 9SZ
Website: www.fluidnetworksolutions.co.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 services
• Non-geographic numbers
• Intelligent Call Routing
• Internet
• Directory enquiries
• Mobile telephone and data services
• Wide area/local paging services
• Equipment and maintenance service

For more details on any of our products and services, or to place an order, please contact our Sales Team on info@fluidns.co.uk - 0333 222 6650.

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 FLUID NETWORK SOLUTIONS, we will send you our Standard Terms and Conditions and ask you to sign a contract, if applicable. If you have any questions, please phone our Customer Service Team on 0333 222 6650. We may carry out a credit check as part of our assessment procedures.

Where applicable there will be a minimum contract term for our services will be 12 months. We aim to provide our services within ten working days of your original request, subject to the availability and installation of any service or equipment required to operate this 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 before we have provided any services within ten working days of your order being placed. For cancellations 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 12 months, please call our Customer Service Helpdesk on 0333 222 6650. We will charge you a fee as set out in your contract. After the minimum term, you can cancel any service by calling our Customer Service Helpdesk on 0333 222 6650, giving us 90 days' notice

Faults and repairs

Please call our Faults Team on 0333 222 6650 if you experience a fault with any of our services. We will have this investigated as set out in your service level agreement.

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 30 working days. Any refunds that are due will be credited to the next months invoice.

Price lists

We will write to you in advance if we change the pricing structure on your products and services. Please call our Customer Service Team on 0333 222 6650 if you have any questions in this

Billing

We will bill you monthly and we provide itemised bills via email at no extra charge as part of our service to you

You can choose to pay us via a range of options including 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 0333 222 6650.

If you have difficulty paying your bill, please contact us and we will try to work with you.

We will do all we can to help our small business customers to manage their bills and avoid disconnection. In any event, you will be given 48 hours’ notice of any decision to disconnect your service.

If you are moving home or office

Please call our Customer Service Team on 0333 222 6650 no later than 30 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

Fluid Network Solutions 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 0333 222 6650.

Directory Entries

You are entitled to a Directory Entry 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 0333 222 6650.

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 Code of Practice on Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution 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 on our website at www.fluidnetworksolutions.co.uk. Alternatively, copies are available free of charge and on request from our Customer Service Team on 0333 222 6650.

Services for people with special needs

We are committed to helping all our customers to communicate easily. Please contact our Customer Service Team on 0333 222 6650 if you need assistance in any way.

Copies of this Code are available in larger print

Data protection

We comply fully with our obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Part 2 - Fluid Network Solutions

Code of Practice for Premium Rate Service and Number Translation Service Calls

Purpose of this Code of Practice

This code informs you our small business 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.