Outrageous BT call charges

Ian011

You should take up any issues you have with this 118 service with the regulator - the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA). Stick to the facts as known, and make sure you quote the correct 118 number.

P.S. the charges for calls to 118118 are £8.98 per call plus £4.49 per minute after the first 60 seconds, plus your phone provider's Access Charge. Most other 118 providers are cheaper. The cheapest is around 40p per call plus Access Charge.

iniltous

DominicM wrote: »

I was with my 85 year old father at the weekend and he wanted my help to download and print his BT phone bill - he likes to have paper copies of such items.

His phone bill was a lot higher than normal and in checking we found two phone calls that together cost more than £123.00 - they were both to the same number, 118-444. The first call of just under 11 minutes was charged at just over £21 and the second call lasting 27 minutes was charged at £100.47. Neither he or my mother have any recollection of calling this number.

I did a search for 188-444 and found their website, they indicated their charges as being £3.60 per call + £3.60 per minute.

I contacted their customer service email and got a really fishy reply back that just screamed SCAM - I can provide a link to the email if required. It used dodgy English, promised a refund as a "Commercial Gesture" and enclosed an image of an IBAN payment example using the fictitious "Wessex Bank" as they proposed making a direct repayment rather than refunding the charge to BT.

I have warned my father not to have any contact with this outfit as they look extremely dodgy.

I have 2 questions for this forum.

1: Has anyone else had experience of this outfit - 118-444.co.uk?
2: Do we have any redress against BT? From my perspective BT are facilitating a fraud against their own customers in allowing such a dubious operation to bill through their systems and in allowing such extortionate call charges to be levied.

I look forward to the collective wisdom of this community responding to this post.

If your parents were customers of any provider they would have the same outrageous bill so why single out BT ?, the number called ( you may dispute they made the calls ) isn't a 'BT' company, BT cannot pick and chose which company's can be contacted via their network, if it's a valid number , they connect the call, the company gets the money from BT , BT charge the caller via their phone bill.
If you are looking to apportion blame , Ofcom decided that directorys needed to be opened up to competitors , and introduced the 118 number range , and allowed company's to pretty much charge whatever they liked for calls to their 118 numbers.

[Deleted User]

iniltous wrote: »

If your parents were customers of any provider they would have the same outrageous bill so why single out BT ?, the number called ( you may dispute they made the calls ) isn't a 'BT' company, BT cannot pick and chose which company's can be contacted via their network, if it's a valid number , they connect the call, the company gets the money from BT , BT charge the caller via their phone bill.
If you are looking to apportion blame , Ofcom decided that directorys needed to be opened up to competitors , and introduced the 118 number range , and allowed company's to pretty much charge whatever they liked for calls to their 118 numbers.

Correct, and BT have already credited the £21 call and are having a look at the £100 one, neither of which they're obliged to.

onomatopoeia99

Colin_Maybe wrote: »

If you give their bank details over be assured that more money will be taken.

How do they do that then? If I had your account code and sort code, (e.g. because you'd written me a cheque), I couldn't take money out of your account.

micky2phones

Hi, its too late now but can you set a limit so the call charges wont be above that set amount.

boatman

Stephane ODIER, Stephan Odier, possibly Stephane BACH

www.118712.fr, http://www.118-918.fr/

pmduk

There is an issue with these call connection services. I've seen users call them to be connected to numbers that are others barred e.g. Premium numbers etc.