[AidyD]

Thought I'd give this a try on these forums, unsure of any forums

that can directly help with this problem.

(Any suggestions are great though thanks)

A bill from BT came through, with a premium rated billing total of £180.

I'm using broadband, with sky, have a digital wireless phone and sky box.

I 100% have not called a premium rate phone number, due to being a

tight Bstd with my wallet - iv been researching this on the net, but seems

to be an out-dated problem....

The auto-dialers of the net only work on dial-up.

Iv had a few strange phonecalls where no-one speaks, its an international

number and sometimes sounded digital.. (sound effects)

Any help to possible scams etc?

[oldnewbie]

If you give bt a ring they will tell you what company the phone number belongs to, Might jog your memory Also try typing the number off the bill into google could give some results.

[AidyD]

ah thanks for the reply -

Are you implying that its impossible to be a scam/devious means of gains?

Just in general, is it (say) 90% chance it was somehow me?

Because I couldn't find any recent reports of these scams -

I'm not sure what to think...

I'l try that though, thanks for the info

[oldnewbie]

I think there is a very very small chance of it being a scam, Give what I suggested a try and report back because it may be of help to others.

[AidyD]

yea will do

[961]

I wonder if you can describe what is on the itemised bill from BT apart from line rent and the call charges that you are happy with?

[nvingo]

Originally Posted by AidyD

A bill from BT came through, with a premium rated billing total of £180.

I'm using broadband, with sky, have a digital wireless phone and sky box.

Aren't you with Sky for a combined package (cheapest) and therefore no longer with BT? How long since you signed up to Sky Broadband?

Originally Posted by AidyD

I 100% have not called a premium rate phone number...
The auto-dialers of the net only work on dial-up.

I have my modem still connected as well as Broadband via a router - it logs CallerIDs for me - but I assume you'll know if your dial-up is disconnected.

Originally Posted by AidyD

Iv had a few strange phonecalls where no-one speaks, its an international number and sometimes sounded digital.. (sound effects)

As long as no-one responds to the call (by pressing any numbers when requested by the caller) it should not be possible to charge the call to you...hang up as soon as you are aware, or better still don't (and don't allow the answerphone to) pick up if the CallerID identifies this type of call.

[Ayub]

Around 2 months ago i received a bill for £350. I almost died, my phone bill is around £20-30 a month not anymore.

I contacted my cable company ) virginmedia who hold my phone contract) and told them i did not make the calls. They put me through to their "fraud" dept. They sent an engineer out around 4 days later to test the line. No fault was found.
I was told if no fault was found i would have to pay for it. Anyway when he finished checking the line we discovered that the wir which comes into the house had been tampered. Its very easy to "hack" a phone line, its only 2 wires and 2x croc clips and your off.

Anyway as a result the bill was credited to my acount and that was the last of that. I did find out what the number was about and it was a " ring this number 20 times and receive £20 on your o2 phone" scam.
You would ring them number, they would charge you £2 a connection x20 and you can see why they do it.

Kids do this in town on contract phone i have been told to gain credit on their phones.

Bloody hell i thought nicking apples from peoples trees "cool".

If you can prove your phone line "may" of been tampered i dont see why you would pay. They would also look at your calling record and check for pattens.

[AidyD]

Wow thanks for the replys -

Ok, basically I didn't get an itemised bill (as usual) it was a simplified bill -

the customer service dept didn't know why, and i have an itemised bill en

route.

Also, to have sky you have to have BT - they are charging 'line-rental'

and sky charge for the actual calls.

BT are saying this will be the last bill I pay in regards to phone charges.

(I changed to sky only last month)

So until I get the itemised bill I cant get cross-reference it with the ICTIS

regulator website.

Im actually looking forward to finding out what company it is,

because im 100% sure i have not -

and if I have it would of been false advertising.

Thanks for the reply's though, and i will ask BT to check the line.

(what was the charge like? steep no doubt)

[Mr Incredible]

Originally Posted by AidyD

Wow thanks for the replys -

Ok, basically I didn't get an itemised bill (as usual) it was a simplified bill -

the customer service dept didn't know why, and i have an itemised bill en

route.

Also, to have sky you have to have BT - they are charging 'line-rental'

and sky charge for the actual calls.

BT are saying this will be the last bill I pay in regards to phone charges.

(I changed to sky only last month)

So until I get the itemised bill I cant get cross-reference it with the ICTIS

regulator website.

Im actually looking forward to finding out what company it is,

because im 100% sure i have not -

and if I have it would of been false advertising.

Thanks for the reply's though, and i will ask BT to check the line.

(what was the charge like? steep no doubt)

Not true. Sky can manage and charge for line rental. In fact they are slightly cheaper than BT.

The only charges made by BT on my line (I'm with Sky too) are for services like call minder, call sign, three-way calling etc. Sky bill ALL other phone calls, including premium rate calls.

Have you looked at the Sky online itemised bill for your phone?

Something is wrong if BT are charging you for any calls, period.

[AidyD]

This is what annoys me -

I specifically asked sky if I have to keep BT ...

I was told i have to keep BT as line rental, and that without BT I can't

have sky..

So your saying - 100%, paying ANY money to BT is optional.

dependent on the service/s you want.

I could ditch them tomorrow and somehow get sky to take over the line?

ed* also the BT bill/premium rate thing is the previous months before I signed with sky.

[nvingo]

Originally Posted by AidyD

I specifically asked sky if I have to keep BT ...

I was told i have to keep BT as line rental, and that without BT I can't

have sky..

So your saying - 100%, paying ANY money to BT is optional.

I expect the situation with Sky may be similar:
Two years ago we had broadband set up from Tiscali.
They charged for the broadband, plus ~£10 for line rental, which they paid to BT.
Then over a year ago Tiscali install there own equipment at the local exchange (known as LLU, Local Loop Unbinding IIRC) and they are able to supply the line (their own) for free.
Now maybe Sky aren't doing the LLU thing, but they can negotiate bulk purchase of line rental from BT, saving you money. It's possible (but IMO unlikely) that depends on which exchange you are on.

[kentish_lad]

Originally Posted by AidyD

This is what annoys me -

I specifically asked sky if I have to keep BT ...

I was told i have to keep BT as line rental, and that without BT I can't

have sky..

So your saying - 100%, paying ANY money to BT is optional.

dependent on the service/s you want.

I could ditch them tomorrow and somehow get sky to take over the line?

ed* also the BT bill/premium rate thing is the previous months before I signed with sky.

Yes sky will do the line rental aswell, i pay £10 per month, i dont pay BT anything now

[AidyD]

Ok thanks for that - I'l be sorting that out tomorrow..

Especially if its a cheaper rate!

[961]

Originally Posted by AidyD

Ok thanks for that - I'l be sorting that out tomorrow..

Especially if its a cheaper rate!

The difference in cost between sky and bt line rental (where sky don't do local loop unbundling) is very small. The hassle if the (voice) line goes wrong is that sky terms state they will "try to rectify within 5 working days" whereas bt seem to get round here in a couple of days tops

If you are in town this may not matter, in the sticks it certainly does

As for the BT bill, just demand an itemised bill to see what has happened here

And if they prove difficult, ring the chairman's office and complain:-
0207 356 5000 asking for the chairman's office

[AidyD]

Originally Posted by 961

The difference in cost between sky and bt line rental (where sky don't do local loop unbundling) is very small. The hassle if the (voice) line goes wrong is that sky terms state they will "try to rectify within 5 working days" whereas bt seem to get round here in a couple of days tops

If you are in town this may not matter, in the sticks it certainly does

As for the BT bill, just demand an itemised bill to see what has happened here

And if they prove difficult, ring the chairman's office and complain:-
0207 356 5000 asking for the chairman's office

Thanks for the phone number -got it jotted down cheers

[JohnG]

Are there other people living in the house with you who could have made these calls ?

[AidyD]

yes there are, but no-one really use's the phone, we all agreed to share the

line rental, but for our own sake not rack up bills,

we all use our mobiles tbh -

of course on the bills there will be perhaps £5 or £10 on calls,

but we work it out.

Plus, going from that to £180 on premium rate numbers just doesn't add up.

Its a possibility but i feel its far more likely to be dodgy.

[stealther]

Originally Posted by JohnG

Are there other people living in the house with you who could have made these calls ?

I was going to ask are there any teenagers in the house lying little toe rags could get caught red handed and still say it wasnt them!

[Mr Incredible]

Originally Posted by JohnG

Are there other people living in the house with you who could have made these calls ?

I think you're forgetting that the OP is with Sky Talk for all his calls. BT is line rental only. There is no reason for BT to be billing any dialled calls, even premium rate calls.

[nvingo]

Originally Posted by Mr Incredible

I think you're forgetting that the OP is with Sky Talk for all his calls. BT is line rental only. There is no reason for BT to be billing any dialled calls, even premium rate calls.

Originally Posted by AidyD

BT are saying this will be the last bill I pay in regards to phone charges.

(I changed to sky only last month)

Already been clarified.

[dougieb1962]

Originally Posted by AidyD

Thought I'd give this a try on these forums, unsure of any forums

that can directly help with this problem.

(Any suggestions are great though thanks)

A bill from BT came through, with a premium rated billing total of £180.

I'm using broadband, with sky, have a digital wireless phone and sky box.

I 100% have not called a premium rate phone number, due to being a

tight Bstd with my wallet - iv been researching this on the net, but seems

to be an out-dated problem....

The auto-dialers of the net only work on dial-up.

Iv had a few strange phonecalls where no-one speaks, its an international

number and sometimes sounded digital.. (sound effects)

Any help to possible scams etc?

this has also happend to me

i think its a scam but have had no help from anybody

[nheather]

Sky seem to have reversed the way they operate.

I was automatically moved across to Sky line rental without notification.

Well I was sort of notified - it was in the SPAM letter that accompanies the magazine that goes straight to recycling. It was one of those "we will transfer you to Sky unless you notify us you don't want to".

I did complain and they did give me 1 year free line rental as a result.

But if I'd known at the time I would have stayed with BT because

(i) If you get a line problem it's much easier to deal with BT than Sky.

(ii) The saving in rental is small (about £1 per month)

(iii) Should I ever want to move my phone\broadband from Sky then BT may charge me a reconnection fee of around £150.

Cheers,

Nigel

[wormvortex]

define easier to deal with BT than Sky? Do you mean customer service wise as it should be the same to get an actual engineer out unless sky just **** around taking there time getting one booked.

[Miss Chief]

I've needed an openreach engineer for a fault on my line when i've been with Sky. Phoned them up, they offered a callback on my mobile to reduce the cost to me. A few checks which as it happened I'd already done, they ran a line test which came back as a line fault, they logged it that day and was fixed within 2 days. I've not got any experience with BT Line rental though but my experience with Sky was pretty painless.

Sky Line rental is £11.25 per month, I'm sure with BT on a quarterly billing cycle non Direct Debit is nearly £14 per month unless you pay in advance now? you get £1 off for monthly DD and 50p for paperless billing I think?

[Knyght_byte]

Given that you stated you live in a property with other people, sorry to say but the chances are one of them has racked up the calls. I work for a company that supplies energy and telephony (I normally handle energy side of things), and we frequently get people phone up and say 'I never called this number at all' etc, so we find out what the number is and it turns out to be a hospital bedside number that their sister was calling, or a premium rate Sony Playstation game cheats line that their son has been calling, or with multi-tenant properties, just the other tenants abusing the the fact there is a phone line in the property and then moving out before a bill is due.

Its always possible that there has been fraud commited, but if they can prove the calls came from your property (very easy to do with modern technology), then you will be liable, unless it can be proven the charges have been levied to BT by an international agency for an inbound reverse charge call.....but even then they can still levy it as typically you have to say or press something to accept it (in other words, you might not have, but someone else did).

I hope it is an error obviously, for your sake, but if you live with other people, there is a good chance it is not.

[Greg]

Looking at his history I don't think aidyd visits anymore but it would have been very interesting what the outcome to his big bill problem was.