Say What? - Late Rated Charges??

mandala

I've just been hit by a mobile bill from Orange in the hundreds! I could not believe it as i'm on a monthly plan and never have exceeded my allocated minutes etc. My bill usually does not exceed £25 a month.

I called Orange up and was told that i have been hit with "late rated charges" for a call forwarding number that i had been using since January to make cheaper international calls.

I had been cautious when i used this number - calling it only once and then checking my itemised bill online to check what the charges were. Once i was satisfied that this was at the rate it was meant to be, i used it frequently. I even periodically checked the Orange website which lists the call forwarding charges and the numbers that it applied too.

January's phone bill was as expected. Paid by direct debit as usual.
Feb's phone bill was as expected and it was paid by direct debit.
It was when i received March's phone bill that i was charged in the hundreds and when i asked why, i was told that all the phone calls i made in January and February with this number were charged (even though on my January and February bills this was itemised and the charges were not inflated as they were now in the March's itemised bill).

Orange say i have to pay this and it's been going back and forth for a while - i have even said i was willing to pay for the inflated charges that covered my March's phone bill period (last half of Feb and first half of March) but i do not think i should have to pay for January and February period as those bills were already itemised and paid.

Has anyone else ever come across these late charged rates? How is that even possible for Orange to charge me for a call i made months earlier? Any help would be appreciated in how to tackle this. Orange has put a stop on my direct debit but they keep asking me to pay the bill. I intend to pay for my normal charges asap - but i do not think i should pay for these late rate charges.

grumbler

I think Orange a pulling a fast one.
I'd pay under protest, then complain as high as possible. Ultimately I'd sue them through a small claims court.

pjsmiffy

Are you using a service that by calling a 01 02 or 03 number routes your call to a foreign number? Personally if that is the case I would Politely point out that you have paid them for there service (Call to the UK number)

Almost any-other way I would ask them to point out the section of the contract detailing these charges.

I remember a time when you could get 0800 numbers free on Orange and people (Me) would use this to connect to calling cards that would avoid the high daytime call costs (also pre massive airtime allowances)

Also try to go to the website of the service you are using and see if they can give advice.

visidigi

its not against the contract you signed for them to charge you, frequently international calls for example may not bill to your account for a period of time.

The key thing I would question with Orange is Why the charges you have been hit with don't tie up with the information on Orange's website (from what you say, I haven't researched it..)

Buzby

The relevant point here is you can only be charged the rate for the call dialled. Orange must have a price list with the cost for calling this number (for the first 7 digits) to be reflected in the cost per minute.

Now, if you were charged a lower rate for these calls in Jan/Feb, if the rate changes, then you need to pay the new rate, but the cannot retrospectively go back and inflate calls already charged for. That's a direct complaint to OFCOM.

grumbler

visidigi wrote: »

its not against the contract you signed

Can you quote the relevant part of the contract that says that they can charge more than once for the same call?