BT charging me £9000+ for reverse calls...help

stupidinlove

I have an outstanding dispute with BT for reverse call charges to my landline from the caribbean. Despite me calling them first to check call charges before accepting the calls which took place over approx 6 weeks they are insisting I never made the call to check the charge. I was told by their operator (whose name I failed to take) it was 19p- 21p depending on the time of the call. It in fact turned out to be around £13 a minute from the overseas operator and BT.....I am now in major debt and no way of paying. I have been to the Ombudsman but they have supported BT as I cannot prove I called first to check call charges...I'm at a loss what to do and despite starting to pay back some of the charges I am no longer able to keep the payments up.....Any advice where to go now?

Steve_xx

OTELO may be able to help you in this dispute as BT are members. See here:

http://www.otelo.org.uk/membercompanies.php

The operator who told you that the calls were 19-21p may have thought that these were directly dialled calls from your phone, rather than reversed charges calls which are normally charged for at a horrendous surcharge.

The cost of receiving a call from Jamaica via reversed charging would cost £4.80 per minute. On top of that charge there is a surcharge of £9.00 per call. You can see detail of BT's charging methodology here:

http://www.serviceview.bt.com/list/public/current/Int_Operator_boo/1119_d0e1.htm

stupidinlove

I already been to Otelo...they favoured BT as I couldn't prove the BT operator told me the wrong call charges. I have told them I will pay £3000 charged after they told me but I don't think they are being fair to charge me the full amount...its a rip off and if I go to court I'm not sure if it will make any difference...Does anyone know if I can appeal the Otelo decision?

Steve_xx

I'm not sure if going to court over it would be a good idea. As I said, the operator may have understood you to have meant that the calls were from you to them. Who can say for sure what was said during that conversation? However, I know for sure that BT operators will give out a variety of answers on a given topic. Therefore they can be unreliable. But this does not help your plight.

A court may look at it and may decide to set some of it aside, but not all. On the other hand you may be able to try and persuade BT to reduce it?

It's a lot of money. I don't know what your circumstances are, but you may feel it possible for you to service the debt via an Individual Voluntary Arrangement. Have a look at this link and see if this is useful for you:

http://www.iva.co.uk/what_is_an_iva.asp

patwa_2

Hello. When you say there's a problem proving you made the call to check prices with BT, I assume you've already tried to get them to find the call recording? I know they may not record all calls but you may be lucky. Just a thought.

H.

Paul_Varjak

If you have been to OTELO then there is not much you can do except take the case to court. You cannot appeal an OTELO decision with OTELO itself.

If you had won the OTELO case then BT would have been bound by that (they could not challenge it in the courts). But you are not bound to accept the OTELO decision and you can take the case to court. OTELO will provide some guidance on that I am sure but, remember, they are not an advisory service!

Although the court is not bound to follow the OTELO decision there is a strong possibility they will. The OTELO service is a semi-judicial one and, although not part of the court system, any decision by them is bound to carry some weight in a subsequent court hearing.

I can understand that you feel aggrieved. I used to work for BT as an operator and I know just how bad they are at provding correct information on call charges - and that was in the days of amuch less complex pricing structure!

Who did you contact to find the cost of these calls? The BT International operators are usually very good (unlike those who operate inland calls only). Maybe you rang 150? If so, they are next to useless at getting the charges correct!

BritBrat

Sorry to read that and I wish you well.

I do have a question, was it an Indian call center that told you the lower price.

topherxp

Well you will probably have to bite the bullet and pay up.

As for reducing the amount, you will have a job and a half, as a big portion of those charges will be for the cost of the reverse charge call from the other operator.

19-21p per minute for a international reverse charge call would off made it a damn sight cheaper than making a reverse charge call within the UK.

As for recorded calls, even though not all calls are recorded, even if it was recorded, if your account was never accessed they wouldn't have recorded the contact.

Good luck in your quest!!!

alf

It in fact turned out to be around £13 a minute from the overseas operator

How is this? the most expensive is charge band D at £5.20/min.

Steve_xx

alf wrote: »

How is this? the most expensive is charge band D at £5.20/min.

There is a £9 connection charge!

Lyncroft

I make a point of checking my recent calls on my BT account on a regular basis just to make sure I'm not getting ripped off.