£0.50 charge added to my latest bill for a 123 call that I did not make

[#1]

[#2 · Accepted solution]

Hey @daveplus,

Thanks for getting in touch.

You may already know this but the 123 charge is something regularly utilised by Openreach engineers when working at the exchange/circuit. I have provided a further update here for you.

Thanks.

[#3]

Thanks Maddy

Dave

[#4]

The "123 charge" should not be being used by Openreach or any other engineers.

Described in detail here  and here several years ago.

[#5]

@Owain_2 

See Message 7 here (note: Mads didn't reply) and this thread.

This has been a perennial problem for many years. I get the distinct impression that the telecoms industry are never going to take it seriously.

[#6]

The big issue here is who owns the problem?

The CP? (PlusNET / BT Retail etc)
BTOR?
The subcontractors they pass maintenance out to? (Some of whom are notorious for this practice.)

What is plain is that the end user / the retail CP is picking up the cost whilst no one is seeking to address the practise.

[#7]

If this happens as part of a fault report we have raised with our suppliers, we can raise this with our suppliers so the appropriate action is taking in regards to feedback and training with the engineer that was assigned the job at the time it happened.

If the call and subsequent charge occurred randomly (i.e. not as part of a fault report we had open with our suppliers for the line) you can report it directly to Openreach.

Quote from https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Account-Billing/Billed-for-calls-not-made/m-p/1652514#M42274

I've discussed it with a colleague and have been advised that we unfortunately can't raise it if it didn't happen on a job we raised. However, you can report it directly to Openreach(I've had a look over the form and it sounds like it'd fit in the "I'm not happy with an Openreach employee or someone working on your behalf"issue reason on their complaint form)

I hope this helps.