Have we been scammed ????

lilybell_2

On the weekend we had a power cut . Because our house phone is connected to the electric , my husband had to use his mobile to call british gas . He googled what he thought was b.g. The number that came up was 09069590530 . He connected to that number .
He was on the phone for nearly 11 minutes and he was asked all sorts of questions including date of birth , full name and address etc. ( not bank details though ).
We were promised a call back that never happened .
Today my husband has checked his mobile to find he was charged £31 for that call and the number doesn't seem to exist on any b.g. website .
Have we been scammed , we're very worried !!!!

littleredhen

can't you check your history on your computer and see who he called

lilybell_2

he used his mobile . I've tried to find out who the number belongs to but I've had no joy . We have checked the history on the phone but strangely the number now showing on the web page is the 0800 number

Ich_2

It looks that way as BG only give out one emergency number (0800) which is for Gas Leaks, they give a link to help you find your DNO who you should report power failures to anyway

lilybell_2

just called this number from our house phone .The recorded message said - putting you through to british gas on the 0800 number . Please get the message out , this looks like a queue jumping scam that charges premium rates to put you through to a free phone number . BEWARE !!!!!

Ich_2

Might be shutting the door after the horse, but dig out an old electricity bill, on it you will find the name and phone number of your DNO for future reference. Save it in the old fashioned way by writing it down somewhere

zerog

0113 298 0900 to call BG from a mobile

macman

Power cut-nothing to do with your supplier, it's the job of the DNO. And as pointed out above, their contact number is given on every bill.

mangotango

Yes you have been scammed. 09 numbers are premium rate numbers. A fraudster has put this number on the web so that anyone googling 'british gas telephone number' will get a hit that shows this premium rate number. You should have gone to the BG website to find the number. PS same thing can happen if you google 'paypal helpline' or many other number. Never call an 09 number unless you want to pay up to several pounds a minute. They are not called premium rate numbers for nothing!