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It is the secret rip-off^ dozens of councils, police forces and Government departments are raking in the cash every time we pick up the phone and call them. And last night, police and council chiefs said they had no plans to end the practice of charging people more than they should just to make contact with them.

The Metropolitan Police has launched its new non-emergency telephone number which begins with 03, and every call to it is charged at the cheap, local rate. But in the West, anyone calling their police force has to pay more to do so. Three of the four police forces use an 0845 number, which charges people between 2p and 8p a minute from a BT landline and considerably more from a mobile phone.

It's not quite a premium rate number, they begin with 09, or a half-premium rate 087, but the organisations using 084 numbers receive some of the cost of the call, and according to telecom regulator Ofcom, they are not supposed to.  Last year, Ofcom introduced the 03 system of cheap, local rate numbers specifically designed for charities, public bodies, Government agencies, police forces and councils. But none in the West have begun to use them.

Bristol City Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire county councils have regular BT lines for their main switchboard, but use 084 numbers for other lines, such as out-of-hours calls or council payment lines.  Somerset County Council is the biggest user of 084 numbers in the West. Every department in Somerset County Council can only be contacted using the costly numbers.