Can I claim anything from BT?

timesup

Thanx Wantmemoney,
I wasn't aware that Eire had blocked calls to Tuvalu.If only I knew this at the time.I was made out by BT to be in the wrong so they wouldn't accept responsibility.Our provider Wanadoo was also insistent that they weren't to blame either. The PC was for our children to use, and it's only been the last few years that I've started to become more savvy with the PC.(I am still a novice of 52 years young!)
Thanks to all for support, although I realise it's too late to do anything now.

debsy42

When I worked for a telecomms co I spoke to quite a few customers who had the same problem with Tuvalu calls. All were all dial-up and somehow a rogue dialler had been installed on their pc's, maybe it was a dodgy link that had been clicked on.... The diallers seemed to do the rounds of tiny Pacific islands that no-one had ever heard of. I was concerned as my sister at the time was on dial-up, I checked her PC and found the dialler on there :eek: Luckily her calls were only about £5 so luckily she got off lightly but I had seen bills that were £1000 plus....

Browntoa

theres a whole thread here

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=133269

about ridding your Pc of this sort of thing and protecting it in the future

Bt also do some software that locks your dial up modem

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayProduct.do?productId=CON-3371

Free protection from dial-up fraud

If you connect to the Internet through a dial-up modem, you may unknowingly download a rogue 'dialler' - a software program that changes the way you connect to the Internet.
This could result in your dial-up number being changed to an international or Premium Rate number, giving you higher than normal phone bills.
BT Privacy Online helps protect your computer against rogue diallers while you are using your dial-up connection.
Free BT Privacy Online gives you:

• Modem protection software to help keep your modem safe from rogue diallers
• SMS text message alerts to let you know if there has been any unusual activity on your account

Download now

The BT Privacy Online software* will automatically launch each time you start your computer. It will monitor your Internet dial-up connection and alert you when unauthorised users attempt to dial restricted numbers.

wantmemoney

@ timesup. there's a pm

bicycle_repair_man_2

once a call has been made from your line, bt is then legally obliged to pay the owner of the premium rate line, therefore it is fully justified that the OP was charged for the call. Any calls that go through his line are entirely his responsiblity

Steve_xx

bicycle_repair_man wrote: »

once a call has been made from your line, bt is then legally obliged to pay the owner of the premium rate line, therefore it is fully justified that the OP was charged for the call. Any calls that go through his line are entirely his responsiblity

So I go into the street, open one of BT's cabinets and crimp two wires onto your exchange line. I then make umpteen calls at your expense and sometime later you get the bill for that from BT. You are entirely responsible for that because those calls were made on your exchange line. You accept that, do you?

wantmemoney

bicycle_repair_man wrote:

once a call has been made from your line, bt is then legally obliged to pay the owner of the premium rate line

That is purely a matter between BT and the operator of the international/premium rate number and the "regulators".
The OP has no commercial agreement with the owner/operator of that number.

The OP agreement to pay for calls is with BT and BT alone. The OP has never agreed to pay for calls that are fraudulently generated.

The use of "rogue diallers" is illegal. It's illegal to bill for companies that are using these diallers.
http://www.icstis.org/pdfs_news/IQSpring04.pdf

NB Although it is rare, some diallers can be set to download automatically – i.e. without the consent of the user. This is a serious breach of our Code (as well as being illegal under the Computer Misuse Act) and should be reported to us as a matter of urgency.
We will refer such cases to the police. We will also notify the originating (billing) networks of apparent fraud and will use our Emergency Procedure to put an immediate stop to services.
page 6

It's a criminal offence to continue billing if you have reason to believe the company may be using illegal internet diallers.
http://www.icstis.org.uk/pdfs/ocpinternational.pdf

Why did the government instruct the police nationally to refer all complaints concerning "rogue diallers" to Icstis?

littleboo

Steve_xx wrote: »

So I go into the street, open one of BT's cabinets and crimp two wires onto your exchange line. I then make umpteen calls at your expense and sometime later you get the bill for that from BT. You are entirely responsible for that because those calls were made on your exchange line. You accept that, do you?

I dont think anyone would suggest that that would be reasonable - thats an event happening outside of your premises on equipment you have no control over

But surely it's reasonable to take responsibility for equipment that you own and have chosen connect to your line within your premises.

Steve_xx

littleboo wrote: »

I dont think anyone would suggest that that would be reasonable - thats an event happening outside of your premises on equipment you have no control over

But surely it's reasonable to take responsibility for equipment that you own and have chosen connect to your line within your premises.

No, I have to disagree. The poster did not invite an opportunist to invade his pc and to my mind there is nothing different about this being done to what I suggested I could do with one of BT's street cabinets

The original poster had his pc infiltrated illegally from as you put it "outside of your premises". Therefore this amounts to theft and it is a criminal offence. He should not have had to bear the chargeable consequence.

littleboo

The point remains that you have to take responsibility for what you are responsible for.

If I leave my house, I lock the doors, whilst leaving the door open doesnt make any theft acceptable, I would be negligent and reckless if I didnt take reasonable steps to secure my property.

Rogue diallers dont just appear from nowhere, they are the result of actions ( websites visited ) and inactions ( lack of protection on the PC and call barring on the line ) by the owner. If you connect a PC to the internet and your phone line, you need to take reasonable steps to protect both those items.

You cant stop someone hacking your phone line from street, you can and should significantly reduce the risk of someone hacking your PC. The two scenarios are not equal.