Sir – Oxfordshire County Council has begun using a telephone system that generates much income by the way it leads the caller on a path to nowhere while using a premium rate number.

I called to report an error to the highways department and was given five choices of where to go next. Whichever choice was selected one, two, three, four, or five, the system then directs the caller to another set of options and so on.

Again this is repeated rather than connect the caller to the department needed.

My call cost almost £10 and I didn’t get the highways department to boot, so I ended the call before the cost rose even more.

I will now invoice the county council for reimbursement of my call costs.

Either this is a deliberate ploy to prevent any department having to deal with a live person calling them, or a deliberate ploy to generate income, which is not helpful as the council pretend to offer.

Adrian Taylor, Duncan Close, Eynsham