Elderly relative and calls to 118500

cavyslave

Hello. I'm looking for some advice please. My brother-in-law will be 92 years old in October and suffers from dementia and is virtually deaf. He lives alone but has carers coming in daily to look after him. I visit him regularly and also manage all his bills as he is no longer capable of managing his affairs himself. On 6th Feb I recieved his BT phone bill and noticed that on 30/12/14 between 11.02am and 11.26am he apparently made 4 calls to 118500 totalling £52.84. I queried this with him and he had no recollection of making the calls and would certainly not have known the 118500 number to call them anyway as in his day you dialled 0 for the operator! I contacted an advisor online at BT who said that the calls were definitely made from the property and therefore he would have to pay for them. I checked with the carers to see if maybe one of them had made the calls, but their records show that they left the property that morning at 9.30am and did not return until 1.07pm (they have to log in and out via telephone) I asked the advisor at BT if there was a way of stopping these calls and she said yes, call barring, and that she would set it up and send a PIN number to activate it. Fast forward 2 weeks and still no PIN number, so again this morning I called BT in person this time and waited half an hour in a queue only to be told that it would appear the PIN hadn't been sent out. In the meantime I had googled 'complaints about 118500' and been informed that this happens quite a lot to elderly and vulnerable people who do not understand the call charges and accidentally run up exhorbitant bills in the belief that it is a local call rate or free (as it used to be). My personal theory is that BIL may have dialled 100 (old operator number) and been automatically put through to the new 118500 number. I have no idea how he then kept putting the phone down and redialling, but I suppose it's possible. I asked the advisor if the charges could be refunded and she went away to consult her supervisor who said no, and in fact the money has already been debited from his account. This has left his bank account very low as his phone bill is usually very small, I haven't told him about this yet as don't want to worry him! What are the chances of getting these charges refunded, especially given the fact that if I hadn't called again today asking about the order for call barring nothing would have ever happened. Sorry for the essay!

Mojisola

When my parents became less capable at home, I bought them one of these - http://shop.rnib.org.uk/corded-home-phones/doro-phoneeasy-319ph/invt/dh255n

The big buttons on the side are programmed to the four main numbers they need - one press and the number is dialled. The main keypad can be covered up if the person gets confused, keeps phoning other numbers and running up bills.

cavyslave

Oh thank you Mojisola, I shall look into that!

Mojisola

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/phones/2015/02/just-been-charged-183-for-one-call-via-118-118--thats-more-than-a-sex-line?_ga=1.212434452.1239568150.1415361750

This is about 118118 rather than 118500 but still shocking!

Also found this -
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2551432/Callers-BTs-118-500-directory-enquiries-claim-refund.html
A tribunal ruled that BT should pay refunds to all affected customers who claim one, for the full amount spent by them on the service.

cavyslave

Thank you again. I did phone BT about claiming a refund but they said no. I'm wondering if I should contact Offcom?

Buzby

You can try - but there is no dispute the service was used. If BT refuse to make a goodwill gesture, then you're stuffed. I had an aunt that started dilling 09 gaming numbers she saw in the newspapers - she had no grasp that any cost other than the call could be placed on her bill. The charges had to be paid, but we got the PIN and were able to stop this from happening again, even by accident.

It is no reflection on your BIL, but when vulnerable, you need to formalise this and a Power of Attorney speedily obtained to head off further issues that will surely come.

Mojisola

Buzby wrote: »

You can try - but there is no dispute the service was used. If BT refuse to make a goodwill gesture, then you're stuffed.

That isn't what the "This Is Money" article says.

"If you phoned 118 500 any time since September 2011, you may be able to claim back the full cost of the call.

If you a BT customer, phone 0800 800 150 or dial 150 from a BT landline and your claim will be considered. You will need to give details of the calls you made to 118 500.

If you have any further issues - whether a BT customer or not - contact PhonepayPlus.

You will not be contacted for a refund - if you think you are eligible, you will have to apply."

cavyslave

Yes, the only problem is that article is over a year old now and I'm wondering if it's still applicable? I have no idea how to go about claiming, I tried to complain on the phone and they said no, they wouldn't refund the charges. What's my next step if I'm not happy with that decision?

Ypaymore

cavyslave wrote: »

Thank you again. I did phone BT about claiming a refund but they said no. I'm wondering if I should contact Offcom?

DQ numbers are classed as Premium Rate Numbers, and any complaints if you cant come to a satisfactory outcome with the provider are deal with by :http://www.phonepayplus.org.uk/For-the-Public/Make-a-complaint.aspx

cavyslave

Thank you

poppasmurf_bewdley

The BT operator you spoke to initially gave you false information. You cannot bar calls to 118 lines . BT will not allow it. 118 calls are not included in Premium Rate Call Barring.