Failure to disconnect a call properly: who's fault is it?

SaffronFlower

TalkTalk have charged me £42 for a call to a local electrical engineering firm. When I queried it, they say that the call was not correctly disconnected from my end and so the call continued for almost 9 hours.(08:41:00).

I have never heard of this happening to anyone before!

The telephone number called was confirmed as belonging to a business and there is no way that an extended call of 9 hours would have been made on purpose. I ended the call on my handset and replaced it correctly to it's holder. It makes a noise; you know when it has not been seated correctly!

I have requested that the charge be waived in full as this was a technical fault totally beyond my control. They are saying that the charges stand.

Any advice or experience of similar happening would be gratefully received. Feeling very frustrated...:(

[Deleted User]

SaffronFlower wrote: »

It makes a noise; you know when it has not been seated correctly!

It won't make this noise if you continue to be connected to another party! I once had a call improperly ended where I could hear the other party moving around and talking even though the phone was (half) back on the receiver. Luckily I was able to call a mobile to have the call terminated before too long.

SaffronFlower wrote: »

I have requested that the charge be waived in full as this was a technical fault totally beyond my control. They are saying that the charges stand.

Good luck with your appeal, but I think you'll have to pay as the "technical fault" will have been you not replacing the receiver properly I'm afraid.

scootw1

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

It won't make this noise if you continue to be connected to another party! I once had a call improperly ended where I could hear the other party moving around and talking even though the phone was (half) back on the receiver. Luckily I was able to call a mobile to have the call terminated before too long.


Good luck with your appeal, but I think you'll have to pay as the "technical fault" will have been you not replacing the receiver properly I'm afraid.

Op also said he ended call so didn't need to replace receiver as it should have ended call anyway

[Deleted User]

scootw1 wrote: »

Op also said he ended call so didn't need to replace receiver as it should have ended call

Ended the call by saying "goodbye", presumably?
That doesn't end the call physically. If he didn't replace the receiver correctly it's entirely possible for the caller to remain connected, just as my own experience attests. Anyone picking up the phone at the business called would have found it impossible to ring out or end the call at that end. Of course, it's likely the business concerned had numerous lines out.

I would have hoped that Talk Talk would have offered at least a "goodwill" gesture as it's obvious the call wouldn't have lasted nine hours, but the OP can hardly demand a refund.

Sparx

99% impossible that there was a "technical error" for a phone call to not finish.

We are all human and mistakes happen, unfortunately yours cost you £42.

SaffronFlower

Update:

TalkTalk accepted my request to investigate the "apparent" error; they have agreed to a full refund!

hop3y

SaffronFlower wrote: »

Update:

TalkTalk accepted my request to investigate the "apparent" error; they have agreed to a full refund!

Good news!:cool:

TerryR_2

Interested in this as I have had the same problem, but when calling what turned out to be an automated mail box. I got a 'busy' signal, hung up, but when I used my phone the next day still had a busy signal. Emailed talktalk to report fault, and it was back to normal after 18 minutes, BUT they are charging me £150 for 22hrs 48min!
I am currently resisting this, as I consider it to be a fault with their system not disconnecting properly, and intend going to Offcom if I do not get a satisfactory (to me!) outcome.
Watch this thread!

Buzby

Sorry - but no. The distant end does NOT control the call, only the call originator does this. If you did not clear the call down then the distant end would not be able to do anything except play the audio tones. Even if it stopped the tones, you still have the ability to keep the call active, and the charging continues.

If they are not prepared to offer a goodwill gesture, the cost is yours alone, I'm afraid.

JohnDinton

Buzby is right that that is the way the telephone network used to work. First Party Clear has been around for about 40 years. What it means is that the call is terminated when either the caller or the called person hangs up. It can be a nuisance because it can cause calls to be dropped if the cradle switch is accidentally knocked or while swapping phones, but the solution is to have a delay before the call is cleared. I have two BT lines. One has a First Party Clear delay of about 2 seconds. On the other it is 2 minutes.

Recently has there has been concern about fraudsters calling about pretended bank or credit card problems and inviting the person called to call the bank's number. The caller holds the line and plays a pretend dial tone so the call continues to be connected to the fraudster.

A suggested solution has been to make the First Party Clear delay shorter.

I suggest you ask Ofcom what the requirements are for First Party Clear in the UK, and then complain that TalkTalk has failed to implement them.

JohnDinton

See this BT Openreach document about changes to First Party Clearing on BT analogue lines.
http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/updates/briefings/wholesalelinerentalbriefings/wholesalelinerentalbriefingsarticles/wlr00314.do