Called company and it said it would be £1.45 a minute but my provider is charging me £11 a minute

somethingabstract

I called Whizz Air because their website wasn't working and they had changed the destination of my flight.  They charged me £1.45 per minute for the privilege and we had an 11 minute conversation where nothing was resolved.  So I'll never use them again.  Any suggestions on how to get that money back would be gratefully received.

But that's not what I'm here to ask about.  My mobile provider has charged me £11 a minute.  I queried it and said that Whizz Air announced how much they would charged at the beginning of the call and I couldn't see how they could justify their costs.

The phone provider has said that is how much they are charged by the network.  But I don't believe them, it seems like a huge hike.  If they had added 50p per minute or even a pound I would probably have just paid it, but their adding so much more.

It's not the first time this has happened they constantly make mistakes with my bill, sometimes randomly charging me £1,000.  I'll be moving away but I need to settle this bill first.  Can anyone help me to understand the best way to challenge this?

DE_612183

who was the provider?
have you checked what it says in your contract about charges for numbers?

elsien

Whizz air seem to use an 0905 number which is a premium rate and always charges hugely over the odds. 

More details here on the Ofcom site.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/phone-numbers/how-much-does-a-phone-call-really-cost/

you seem to have got off lightly.
https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/23254062.wizz-air-charges-man-220-phoning-customer-service-line/

DullGreyGuy

somethingabstract said:

But that's not what I'm here to ask about.  My mobile provider has charged me £11 a minute.  I queried it and said that Whizz Air announced how much they would charged at the beginning of the call and I couldn't see how they could justify their costs.

The phone provider has said that is how much they are charged by the network.  But I don't believe them, it seems like a huge hike.  If they had added 50p per minute or even a pound I would probably have just paid it, but their adding so much more.

It's not the first time this has happened they constantly make mistakes with my bill, sometimes randomly charging me £1,000.  I'll be moving away but I need to settle this bill first.  Can anyone help me to understand the best way to challenge this?

Their number is a SC037 rate of charge, BT Landline standard price for this category is 145p/min inline with what Whizz has said. You would need to check what your mobile phone operator charges for this class. Looking at O2 and Vodafone they add 60p and 55p respectively on top of the standard charge per minute but guessing you aren't with either of those operators

born_again

• Calls from mobile networks may be charged at higher rates

https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/contact/contact-us

Voyager2002

elsien said:

Whizz air seem to use an 0905 number which is a premium rate and always charges hugely over the odds. 

More details here on the Ofcom site.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/phone-numbers/how-much-does-a-phone-call-really-cost/

you seem to have got off lightly.
https://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/23254062.wizz-air-charges-man-220-phoning-customer-service-line/

From the second link:
""But after waiting half an hour each time to speak to someone I was given conflicting information."

I understood that operators of premium rate numbers were not allowed to put customers on hold: is that no longer the case?

macy08

Whilst this doesn't help on this occasion, you may find https://www.saynoto0870.com/search.php useful. If available they will give you a cheaper and/or landline alternative for a Company

Frozen_up_north

Saynoto0870 could have helped. Even Ryanair are not as bad as Wizz... probably the worst airline in Europe!

Ryanair have an ordinary phone line, listed on their web site (+44 113 868 4151)

PHK

Just to clarify, some years ago Ofcom decided that the cost of premium numbers should be split into two. How much the premium rate provider  charges and how much your phone provider charges. 

They both have to publish how much these charges are and you should hear at the start of the call how much you will be charged by your phone provider. As you’ve found this varies hugely (eg Lebara are 45p, Lyca are £3.49)

Who is your phone provider?

zagfles

The phone provider charge is known as the "access charge" and the charge you should see the company declare is the "service charge". Your phone provider should have the "access charge" in their tariff list.

If you do have to phone these premium rate numbers (always check the saynoto0870 site above for alternatives first), then if you can, do it from a landline as landline access charges are usually much cheaper than mobiles.