O2 bill - £64 - can I get a refund?

missing_string

I've just had my pay monthly sim only bill come in for this month and my normal £11/month is £64 for this month.

I was shocked to see this figure so I've logged into my account to see what's going on and the problem was a phone call I made to O2 themselves lasting 2 hours and 3 minutes. Now, if you use 202 from your mobile it's free, but I used the 0344 8090202 number, which isn't free, this is the landline number. So, sure, I shouldn't have used this but:

a) I would have been under my allowance for the month without this phonecall added in the calculation
b) They hung up on me anyway at the 2 hour 3 minute mark! I went to the O2 shop and got it sorted out in the end, but was still extremely annoyed to be on hold for 2 hours then hung up on
c) The reason I was phoning up was because I couldn't receive any service in my house. None. So I ended up phoning O2 and was on hold for 2 hours because of a problem with THEIR service. I have since got the TuGo app and am able to use that to make phone calls in my house
d) I received no email, text, phone call, nothing to inform me that I was approaching my allowance. Now, I know it's not in their interests to do this as this is how they catch people out and rip them off, but I'm still annoyed.

I'm phoning tomorrow and demanding a refund as I'm furious. What are my chances?

forgotmyname

Poor choice of words " demanding " & " furious "

If i were the customer service person you speak to then you would get nothing or a fiver at most.

Phone and be polite and act stupid. Tell them a long story you were having problems.. waffle on so they want you to go away. Being polite and no raised voices at all.
Then get onto the fact you called them to complain about the service and they have rewarded you with a large bill.

Failing that its not their fault you used that number rather than the free customer service number.

Quiet_Spark

missing_string wrote: »

I've just had my pay monthly sim only bill come in for this month and my normal £11/month is £64 for this month.

I was shocked to see this figure so I've logged into my account to see what's going on and the problem was a phone call I made to O2 themselves lasting 2 hours and 3 minutes. Now, if you use 202 from your mobile it's free, but I used the 0344 8090202 number, which isn't free, this is the landline number. So, sure, I shouldn't have used this but:

a) I would have been under my allowance for the month without this phonecall added in the calculation
b) They hung up on me anyway at the 2 hour 3 minute mark! I went to the O2 shop and got it sorted out in the end, but was still extremely annoyed to be on hold for 2 hours then hung up on
c) The reason I was phoning up was because I couldn't receive any service in my house. None. So I ended up phoning O2 and was on hold for 2 hours because of a problem with THEIR service. I have since got the TuGo app and am able to use that to make phone calls in my house
d) I received no email, text, phone call, nothing to inform me that I was approaching my allowance. Now, I know it's not in their interests to do this as this is how they catch people out and rip them off, but I'm still annoyed.

I'm phoning tomorrow and demanding a refund as I'm furious. What are my chances?

Ignoring the fact that no service provider will guarantee a signal inside a building, you knew you could contact CS for free but still insisted on making a chargeable call and now want recompense for something that was entirely your fault?

missing_string

Hey forgotmyname:
Was quite angry (and still am!) when writing this, but I wouldn't be angry on the phone, I'll just hassle them until I do get compensated in some manner.

Quietspark:
I only discovered the mistake of using the wrong number after the fact. I didn't know it beforehand.

Regardless of whether it was my fault or not, wouldn't you be annoyed at a bill 6 times what you were expecting? You make it sound like I should sigh at the amount and carry on with life.

augustusgloop

@missing string Unfortunately the 'I know better' attitude you have experienced from others seems to happen a lot here.

Good luck with the refund - you should get something - after all 2 hours on a customer service line is appalling!

I just wish I was as good at never making mistakes as others on here

missing_string

augustusgloop wrote: »

@missing string Unfortunately the 'I know better' attitude you have experienced from others seems to happen a lot here.

Good luck with the refund - you should get something - after all 2 hours on a customer service line is appalling!

I just wish I was as good at never making mistakes as others on here

Thanks for the support. I talked with someone on the online chat and from the way they were talking I think I will get a refund. They were talking about personally watching the incident that had been raised and stuff like that.

I'll now take steps to ensure this never happens again. First time I've ever gone over my allowance.

grumbler

missing_string wrote: »

Regardless of whether it was my fault or not, wouldn't you be annoyed at a bill 6 times what you were expecting? ...

Unless it's a capped contract or your usage remains within allowances, the only you can realistically expect is to get charged for your actual usage.
It's unrealistic to expect a call to some landline geographical number to be free regardless of it's length unless your allowance is unlimited.

cookie365

£50 for a 2 hour call? Seriously? They charge 40p a minute for 03 numbers?

If that isn't a reason to stay away from o2 I don't know what is.

Silk

cookie365 wrote: »

£50 for a 2 hour call? Seriously? They charge 40p a minute for 03 numbers?

If that isn't a reason to stay away from o2 I don't know what is.

The OP used up all his call allowance which meant he was being charged out of bundle rates for all calls after that, calling 03 numbers is just the same cost as 01 and 02 numbers.

brightonman123

pay bill, less lost of the call to O2. send a letter / email explaining why, ask them to credit difference as a two hour call is OUTRAGEOUS!


disclaimer- I worked for a small telecoms co, and had a small discretionary allowance.. something like this should easily be cleared up / OK'd by a line manager.


If they get funny, ask for their 'compliance manager' (or Data Protection Officer) to send a recording of the call - someone will have to listen to what's been said. If they sound stoopid, a credit and apology should be forthcoming!

Quiet_Spark

augustusgloop wrote: »

I just wish I was as good at never making mistakes as others on here

I'm not saying I don't make mistakes, but I do know (as already pointed out by Grumbler) that calls to geographical landline numbers are chargeable and that calls to CS are free (because I read the T&C's before signing).

missing_string wrote: »

I'll now take steps to ensure this never happens again. First time I've ever gone over my allowance.

Install the My O2 app from the Play store, you can check the status of your account any time you like.