Sit-up TV channels breakdown

Last time they had a power cut the website went down too - suspect it's hosted in the same building with it being so linked to the buying system although there's no absolute requirement for that to be the case.

The silent auction format on Bid was interesting - obviously the problem was upstream of the gallery otherwise they wouldn't have been going out for 5 minute in sound only before anybody realised.

The names on the screen are of people who have bought from the channel before. The system simply recognises the phone number and the recorded name for that telephone number. No more different to any telephone with a phonebook functionality and Caller ID. If the system didn't recognise the number, they're a new buyer as far as the graphics are concerned.

Same principle for the online purchases. Stick your price in, if the price falls below your "bid", you win. This is how half a dozen of the stock figure disappears after a price plunge even with locked lines.

Yes I know all that but I was unsure if their system had changed to allow the names of people who are hanging on the line but haven't yet purchased to appear on screen.

In a power cut in 2009 Peter Simon came back on air and said "There's no power in this part of Acton" so somehow they managed to get some kind of back-up power from somewhere. While Peter was doing his comedy bit, the studio lights and background monitors kept going on and off.

Realistically if you're hanging on the line in the first place, you clearly don't want it otherwise you're just throwing £1.53 down the drain every time you phone up and sit there. I never cease to be amazed at the lingo of "I have x people on the line" who then don't press 1. Taking into account the number of pulse dialling telephones there must be still in use (a very tiny percentage by my reckoning) that the Sit-up system isn't going to be able to talk to anyway, that is a fortune in call charges that somebody is pocketing.

The system should surely be able to listen for pulses and put you through to a human?

The system probably could, but they have no humans for placing bids.

Regarding fake buyers, if the stock is reduced artificially then the ASA and Ofcom wouldn't be too happy. Shopping channels are quite restricted in what they can do.

Why would people with pulse phones (or more likely incorrectly configured tone phones) need to speak to a human being? I would assume that if the system detects the two tones that correspond to the 1 key or a pulse on the line then it simply says "Thanks for purchasing" and then cuts the caller off.

As for 'fake buyers', I have wondered if we are right to assume that the quantity left graphic corresponds to people purchasing the product or if the quantity left just means exactly that, the quantity they have left to sell. This might go down because they withdraw the items from the sale as the auction goes along. I then wonder how would they benefit from doing this. It is in their interest to actually sell products rather than pretend to sell products.

I think you pretty much get what you see with the Sit-up channels. The Daily Mail have had a go and the worst they found was the fact that they show (clearly sign posted) pre-recorded demonstrations of some products but still leave the DOG on screen which has the word 'live' in it. The Daily Mail tried to claim they were misleading viewers by claiming the channel is live when it isn't. Of course, this was actually the Daily Mail misleading their readers.

Price-Drop had another breakdown last night with the phone-lines so they stuck on SpeedAuction whilst they tried to sort out the problem. They kept cutting to the Price-Drop presenter between the Speed Auction products and he was going through things that 'should have been coming up'.