EE Bills - Charged £15 for calling Support!!!

Darkhawk

Dear MSE members,

I have today received my bill from EE and was shocked to find that it cost £48.60. My normal bill is supposed to be £26.99.

It all started when I logged onto the 'My EE' app to check my data and minute usage when I found that I had been charged £3.50 for something - the app did not show what.

I tried to contact them through 150 (Which I believe is free?) to no avail. Each time I pressed call it would hang up. Thinking it was a one time thing I let it go, only to receive a text the very next day saying that I subscribed to a game (Buongiorno or something), and that I am being charged £1.50 weekly.

I tried calling EE to find out what was happening but again, the 150 number did not work. I was forced to seek alternative numbers such as 08438370205 - which finally got me through.

I told them to prevent any future additional charges on my account, e.g (If I was over my limit, they should cut the call and not allow me to make any more calls).

Today I got a bill for £48.60. What can I do? I was forced to use the other numbers as the 150 number did not work.

I look forward to your replies. :money:

Ian011

The 0843 number is owned by a third party 'call connection service', not by EE.

The connection service simply sets up a premium rate number which they then promote through their own website, alongside similar numbers for almost every other UK business you have ever heard of.

When you call their number, they forward the call on to the appropriate company and pocket the bundle of cash you paid for the call.

While this may look and feel like a scam, it's all perfectly legal, although many of the companies have been criticised by Advertising Standards for not making clear what the arrangement is. Of course, if they made that clear, no-one would ever call the number. They are services that rely on people being unsure about phone tariffs and who are in a hurry and don't read the disclaimers often placed tens of paragraphs down the page far away from the phone number.

Regulation 41 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 requires retailers, traders and passenger transport companies to use 01, 02, 03 or 080 numbers for post sales helplines. The FCA has recently published similar regulation covering financial services including banks and insurance companies. The Cabinet Office published guidance for government departments and public services. The result of that is most of these now use 01, 02, 03 or 080 numbers. In future only call those numbers and avoid calling 084, 087 and 09 numbers. Always make sure you get the correct phone number from the official website of the organisation you want to call.

If you feel you were misled, chase the connection service for a refund. If this were a service on an 087 or 09 number with a Service Charge of more than 7p per minute you could complain to PhonepayPlus. Connection services mainly use 084 numbers where all Service Charges are 7p per minute or less and exempt from PhonepayPlus regulation.

d123

Darkhawk wrote: »

I tried calling EE to find out what was happening but again, the 150 number did not work. I was forced to seek alternative numbers such as 08438370205 - which finally got me through.

Less than 2 minutes on Google finds this page:
https://explore.ee.co.uk/forms/we-are-listening

Which says:

If you are not happy with any aspect of our service there are two ways you can contact us:

Either, call one of our specialist team on 0808 121 3333 (open 08:00-20:00)

Or, use the form below and we will aim to be in touch in 72 hours.

Note: Call charges are free from your Orange, T-Mobile or EE mobile phone however charges from another mobile network or landline may vary.
Title *

First name *

Last name *

Your account number

Your account number can be found on your most recent bill or with in our self service apps (Your Account, My T-Mobile or My EE)
What is your problem about? *
Indoor Coverage
Outdoor Coverage
Data Speed
Dropped Calls
My Phone
Broadband Speed
Broadband Router
Billing - Payment & Refunds
Billing - Collections, Fraud & Credit Decision
Billing - Contract Set-up
Billing - Charging Query
Billing - Other
EE TV
Website
Porting your number
Sales
Stores
Call Centre
Roaming
Other

Ian011

ASA has recently adjudicated on similar issues involving call connection services:
http://www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/Media-Centre/2015/Call-forwarding-services.aspx

Darkhawk

Thanks guys, my issue has been sorted.

EE very kindly cancelled the charges for calling them on the phone numbers in my OP.

They also placed a block so I can no longer be overcharged.