Call charges to connect to a mobile?

Calathea_2

Do BT charge you to call a mobile even if the person doesnt pick up? My wife gives her sister two rings and then she calls her back as she gets free calls. Looking at our bill there are lots of 2-3 second calls charged at 21p each time. So do you get charged just for attempting to make a call?

BT_company_representative

Hi Calathea,

I've just sent you a PM could you reply by return.

Thanks,
Jon.

Heinz

And the answer to the question is .........?

Buzby

The issue is the same - so the originating network caller is at the mercy of the recipient network. When the distant network signals with an 'answer-charge' flag, the call is then billed by the home network as being successfully connected. Of course, if it is answered by Voicemail, this still counts - as BT knows to its profit due to making all lines default to voicemail, and providing the called network with its own 'answer-charge' message.

Even if the call was only 2-3 seconds, it remains that the call was siccessfully delivered, and the call set-up fee becomes chargeable. The duration of the call (of 2-3 secons) may have meant something when we were actually billed for calls to the second, but many are rounded up to the first minute anyway, so add this to the call connection fee, and you can see just how expensive a 3 second call actually can be.