Telephone Bill

[nelliebee]

Have just paid my landline telephone bill , quite shocked, used 118 118 once, (never used it before) and the charge for a 1 min 04 sec call was £5.57, is this normal or should I query with B.T. ?! Thank you

[Dee Sa]

its about right, charlatans but someone has to pay for all those tv adverts !

[sunny-dave]

I'm afraid it's probably right - if you let them connect the call for you, you pay the premium rate for that too.

Legalised Robbery

[emmie]

normal, i once asked them for a number, they asked me if i wanted them to connect me, thought nothing of it, and said yes, when i got the bill i was astonished, this was more than one call, i queried it, they said they charge you to connect calls, and that goes for however long the call is

[sunny-dave]

"Calls to 118 118 cost £1.59 per call plus £1.99 per minute, (minimum 60 second charge) from most landlines"

So you got hit for the £1.59 plus two minutes at £1.99 per minute

[nelliebee]

Thank you very much, for once I took notice of an advert, I have learned my lesson, never again !!

[Svejk]

good lesson for everyone

[lozzer50]

These services are a total rip off. i remember when directory enquiries were free!

[nelliebee]

Have just complained to the 118 " helpline", (no charge for the call ) the person on the other end of the phone has said they will send me a cheque for £3.76 as a goodwill gesture. Watch this space !! I will let you know if I get it.

[tiggerblue10]

I'm surprised they're still in business with their charges.

[sunny-dave]

Most of their calls come from business lines - where the person making the call doesn't actually pay the bill ...

[Svejk]

they'll send you £3.86 and charge you £7.94 for ringing the help-line. :)

[tiggerblue10]

With the internet available almost everywhere you would have thought that numbers could be easily and freely accessed.

[Svejk]

that's a good point, dave. I wonder do gov depts. and councils use them as well.

[Daffy6543]

If I need a phone number for anyone (business) these days I use the internet.

[sunny-dave]

Just as a start, svejk ...

http://www.parliament.uk/site-information/foi/foi-responses/foi-disclosures-20121/speaking-clock-and-directory-enquiries-calls/

[nelliebee]

Very interesting, thank you, a bit of an eye opener !