118118 Charges on my phone bill??

Just received my BT phone bill.Listed on the invoice are two charges of £5.85 each for calls to 118118 enquirers, which I have not made on the 19th of November 2015. One for a duration of.06 sec and one for .15 sec ( no time to even talk)There is no way I would or have ever used 118118 or ever would! and there is only me that can use the phone concerned.

Complaining to BT has got nowhere as they say someone must have dialed that number from the phone concerned.

What worries me is that this could happen again somehow.I wonder if somehow I have been connected without my knowledge to 118118 by some scam or other.

Has anyone on the forum had a similar experience?

£5.85 per call? Ouch! Is that the standard rate for dialling that number? Extortionate if so! It could potentially be a billing error but they are pretty rare these days as it's all automated and electronic. If you are adamant that no one in your house made that call, you can escalate with BT, especially if you think it may be a scam of some sort.

What is 118118 and what do they do exactly? I'm sick to death of those two skinny, gimpy looking guys who moronically prance around advertising it, and as such have no wish to investigate further as to wether I'd require their services.

What is 118118 and what do they do exactly? I'm sick to death of those two skinny, gimpy looking guys who moronically prance around advertising it, and as such have no wish to investigate further as to wether I'd require their services.

Directory enquiries.

Just received my BT phone bill.Listed on the invoice are two charges of £5.85 each for calls to 118118 enquirers, which I have not made on the 19th of November 2015. One for a duration of.06 sec and one for .15 sec ( no time to even talk)There is no way I would or have ever used 118118 or ever would! and there is only me that can use the phone concerned.

Complaining to BT has got nowhere as they say someone must have dialed that number from the phone concerned.

What worries me is that this could happen again somehow.I wonder if somehow I have been connected without my knowledge to 118118 by some scam or other.

Has anyone on the forum had a similar experience?

Those calls cannot be for that short a period of time. There are limits as to what any call can cost, and it's a lot less than that. Directory enquiry calls cannot exceed £3.71 a minute

https://www.gov.uk/call-charges

If they are charging more per call than they should, I'd dispute it and suggest that since they are charging an illegal amount, it's clear there is a billing error and you expect the calls to be waived.

Also get a premium rate block on your line added in. Stops the problems from someone opening your street cabinet and tapping the line - a common problem with less than honest contracters in some areas.

Calls to 118118 (and other 118XXX) numbers have like £1.50 connection charge then like £2/min after... and calls are always rounded up to nearest full minute..

But that £5 odd is right... take a look... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2720408/Not-good-talk-Phone-giant-charges-5-68-just-one-number-118-118.html

EDIT: from 118118s own website...

What Does it Cost to Use 118 118?

Calls to 118 118 cost £2.75 per call plus £2.99 per minute, (minimum 60 second charge applies). In addition you will be charged an access charge per minute by the company that bills you for calls.

Calls to 118118 (and other 118XXX) numbers have like £1.50 connection charge then like £2/min after... and calls are always rounded up to nearest full minute..

 

But that £5 odd is right... take a look... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2720408/Not-good-talk-Phone-giant-charges-5-68-just-one-number-118-118.html

 

EDIT: from 118118s own website...

Calls to 118118 (and other 118XXX) numbers have like £1.50 connection charge then like £2/min after... and calls are always rounded up to nearest full minute..

 

But that £5 odd is right... take a look... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2720408/Not-good-talk-Phone-giant-charges-5-68-just-one-number-118-118.html

 

EDIT: from 118118s own website...

If thats the case it seems that the Gov needs to update their website then!

.......Thanks for the info! however I never made the calls in the first place to 118118,BT say I must have done so I am stuck!it may be that my number has been used somehow but only for a maximum of 0.21 secs, and certainly not from my phone by anyone else.

Just dialling it, and hanging up will be enough - because it's an instant connection usually (especially from landlines) and even if it's 0.21 seconds, it still connects (that's £2.75 straight away) then the per minute, rounded up to one full minute (£2.99) and that's £5.98

it could be that someone was going to use it, then someone else said "stop, they charge a fortune" but the call was already connected....

what visitors did you have, maybe a family member or someone?

.......Thanks for the info! however I never made the calls in the first place to 118118,BT say I must have done so I am stuck!it may be that my number has been used somehow but only for a maximum of 0.21 secs, and certainly not from my phone by anyone else.

It is possible that you have a crossed line, speak to BT and ask them to raise a phone fault. However, it is unlikely that this is the case and more likely that someone in your home made the calls.

I cannot reiterate strongly enough that no one except myself could have used the phone,the only other person in the house is my wife who is unable to use the phone through illness!

No ,there is something very fishy about the matter which I cannot understand!I have never attempted to use 118118 for any reason whatsoever,but somehow it has appeared on my bill as two separate charges.

http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/services-and-billing/disp_bill

Speak to BT again and tell them you will escalate it via the above process unless the charges are removed.