Cheap calls though 18185 - experiences please?

SpanishBlue

[quote=[Deleted User];72965007]Got my bill today, first bill for some time as I used TalkTalk for years, 18185 invoice says total £1.16 which is correct.

It also says at the bottom of the invoice: advertised tariffs include VAT.

My bill is for £1.79 + VAT 0.36 =£2.15

I don't understand why the amount difference and why they are adding vat to my bill. There doesn't seem to be a way of contacting customer services, so I will give them one more month and is the difference persists I will find another company.[/QUOTE]

Their advertised rates already include VAT. They just show it separately on your bill.

Eg if your bill was for £1.20 they would show it as £1.00 + VAT = £1.20

[Deleted User]

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

18185 don't invoice under a certain sum. You may have had previous calls that have accumulated and have just been included.

Thanks for your reply. Yes that is a possibility, in that case they should have made it clear.

As far as VAT goes, I am probably being thick, but when I call Italy it says 2p a minute, that is the advertised rate, so 36 minutes is: 36x2+4p= 76p, so far so good........, why add the VAT on top of that?

Ian011

UK and EU law requires prices to be shown including VAT.

SpanishBlue

[quote=[Deleted User];72986733]Thanks for your reply. Yes that is a possibility, in that case they should have made it clear.

As far as VAT goes, I am probably being thick, but when I call Italy it says 2p a minute, that is the advertised rate, so 36 minutes is: 36x2+4p= 76p, so far so good........, why add the VAT on top of that?[/QUOTE]

As I stated above VAT is not added to that, it's already included.

An advertised rate of 2p per minute (which includes VAT) is actually about 1.7p per minute + VAT.

pgcemadness

hi there
I signed up to 18185 but have not been able to use the service as this pops up:
Your 18185 account may possibly be blocked at the moment or in the near future, although you have paid all outstanding invoices related to this account.
This is most likely caused by having another customer number with an outstanding amount.

Please ensure you pay the outstanding invoices for all your customer numbers to prevent your account(s) from being blocked (instructions how to pay can be found on the website by logging in with the respective customer number).

If you are certain you do not have any other customer numbers this may be a system fault; please contact customer services via the "contact us" option on the website and mention reference 'code 5'.

I have emailed numerous times and even managed to speak to a human but there has been no satisfactory response.
When I try to unsubscribe the same message pops up, so I can neither use or unsubscribe from 18185.

Anyone else had this problem and did they resolve it? I am 100 per cent sure I have no debts with them or other companies.... Thanks.

Ian011

Is it possible that a previous owner of your telephone number had an account with them?

pgcemadness

very possibly but not at all clear and no-one at 18185 is able to answer in any sensible way. The latest is that I insisted that the man on the end of the phone, who always claims that he cannot do anything, spoke to someone who agreed to call me on my mobile as a high priority. That was last Wednesday. I am still waiting...I just want to use their service!

Humdinger1

Hi PGCE I had one day of successful calls with them (maybe 30 numbers in Ireland as part of a due diligence process) and every time afterwards I tried to dial I got a message implying that I'd somehow broken their ts and cs. Paid in full by direct debit so no money outstanding.

No explanation ever given and having scoured their ts and cs, I couldn't see where I'd gone wrong. Have you tried 123.co.uk as I've used them ever since and have never had a problem. I may be wrong but get the impression that 18185 is way out of its depth and can't really offer the service it claims. Good luck Humdinger

SpanishBlue

Despite still advertising 1P a minute for UK calls on their website WHEN USING THE 0808 number, they are now charging 2P a minute plus the 4p connection charge.

It wasn't that long ago they charged 5P a call. Time to look for a cheaper alternative perhaps?

TCA

SpanishBlue wrote: »

Despite still advertising 1P a minute for UK calls on their website WHEN USING THE 0808 number, they are now charging 2P a minute plus the 4p connection charge.

It wasn't that long ago they charged 5P a call. Time to look for a cheaper alternative perhaps?

I called a landline from my mobile yesterday using the 0808 number. The call lasted 53 seconds and was charged at 5p. i.e. 4p connection plus 1p per minute.

If you use the 0808 number from a landline I think you're charged 1.5p per minute plus a 5p connection charge.