Premium service 'telephone' calls

Included in my last telephone bill was an itemised charged for Premium Service Calls.

When I called for clarification, the girl at the help desk was very courteous but could not explain why the high charge or the type of service. She only said that it is similar to a cash donation made by phone to a charity, after which the donated amount will be reflected in a subsequent telephone bill for payment by the benefactor.

The premium service calls shown on my bill were one to an emergency veterinarian (two minutes 52 seconds) and one to a flight enquiries number (39 seconds). Both numbers have a prefix of 500. These local calls cost Lm2.60.

In the same bill I had a charge for 14 International Direct Calls using VOIP to Australia, Japan, Austria, Netherlands, the US and the UK. The total duration of calls to Australia was 29 minutes and the US nearly 40 minutes. The total cost for these 14 international calls was Lm1.87.

What are the criteria used for applying and operating a 500 prefix 'service calls' telephone number? Can anybody apply? Who decides on the amount to be charged? Is the net collector of this revenue/charge the holder of the 'Service Number'? How is the consumer to know that these 'service call' numbers attract so high a charge?

There are many organisations in Malta which advocate and beg people in distress or people desperate for a particular need to ring them for help and immediate assistance. I do not think that these worthy institutions generate revenue from telephone calls made by unfortunate individuals seeking help.

In my particular case I was trying to locate a vet after hours to attend to an cat which was run over by a car.