cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

123 additional call charges

graham2657
Hooked
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎14-05-2020

123 additional call charges

Hi ALL

WHAT IS 123 CALL CHARGES? , this the 2nd month i have additional charges for 123 calls when i have no home phone only use mobiles.

Can plusnet enlighten me and has anyone else get charged for 123 calls.

Thanks for any help.

14 REPLIES 14
Alex
Community Veteran
Posts: 5,500
Thanks: 921
Fixes: 13
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: 123 additional call charges

I have read about this before. (Ah I cheated and Googled it), I thought I was right - the speaking clock.

It was on another thread ages ago this has happened before when engineers dial it having clipped onto your line.

The only thing you can do is report it to PlusNet as fraud (which it is) and you didn't make those calls.

mort7890
Pro
Posts: 580
Thanks: 92
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎28-06-2007

Re: 123 additional call charges

Hi @Alex @graham2657 

Not a fraud as somewhere in the forum it has been noted as the BT engineer testing the line, it does need reporting to PN to obtain credit for the calls and to inform them that this still continues

Alex
Community Veteran
Posts: 5,500
Thanks: 921
Fixes: 13
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: 123 additional call charges

Yes @mort7890 

It is fraud in my view, someone is charging you for something without your consent. Fraud.

Hope the OP gets their problem sorted.

198kHz
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 5,730
Thanks: 2,773
Fixes: 41
Registered: ‎30-07-2008

Re: 123 additional call charges

It's been going on since time immoral [sic], but of course only visible to customers since the introduction of itemised billing.

 

It's blatant fraud by lazy BTOR and contractor staff who can't be bothered to use the official test procedures when searching for spare cable pairs.

Someone from the Plusnet Help Team should spot this thread and make amends.

198 (ex-BT)

Murphy was an optimist
Zen FTTC 40/10 + Digital Voice   FRITZ!Box 7530
BT technician (Retired)
Alex
Community Veteran
Posts: 5,500
Thanks: 921
Fixes: 13
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: 123 additional call charges

Yep @198kHz 

When I did my last post, I looked it up. 40p per call. What?

Some engineers are on the take. Do that to many landlines and get a few £'s for them.

I am not one of those people, but for some it is a good earner as many customers won't realise.

198kHz
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 5,730
Thanks: 2,773
Fixes: 41
Registered: ‎30-07-2008

Re: 123 additional call charges


@Alex wrote:

...40p per call. What?

Some engineers are on the take.


To clarify, the engineers are not making any money out of it. They're just lazy or incompetent and it's the customer who is charged and then refunded, if they notce. Otherwise, it's a bit extra for Openeach.

It's 50p with Plusnet.

Murphy was an optimist
Zen FTTC 40/10 + Digital Voice   FRITZ!Box 7530
BT technician (Retired)
Alex
Community Veteran
Posts: 5,500
Thanks: 921
Fixes: 13
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: 123 additional call charges

I don't believe it (as Victor Meldrew once said).

Make a few (false) errors and expect a backhander from your boss.

billnotben
Community Veteran
Posts: 7,689
Thanks: 2,164
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎23-09-2010

Re: 123 additional call charges

It's a downright crooked practice and it's about time someone from BT/Plusnet ended up in the dock to answer long overdue questions.

198kHz
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 5,730
Thanks: 2,773
Fixes: 41
Registered: ‎30-07-2008

Re: 123 additional call charges


@billnotben wrote:

...time someone from BT/Plusnet ended up in the dock to answer long overdue questions.


 

It's been happening since I was a GPO apprentice in 1965, and no doubt before that, so I'm not expecting any action soon. 🤔

 

The simple answer is to make the service free, or do as the Australians have done and close down the speaking clock.

It's hardly an essential service these days.

Murphy was an optimist
Zen FTTC 40/10 + Digital Voice   FRITZ!Box 7530
BT technician (Retired)
billnotben
Community Veteran
Posts: 7,689
Thanks: 2,164
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎23-09-2010

Re: 123 additional call charges

I don't see the point of it either. Especially as it's so open to abuse.

Maybe I'm wrong but I seem to remember from years gone by that the clock used to be either an extremely cheap service or free. Probably just cheap as not much is free even back then.

mort7890
Pro
Posts: 580
Thanks: 92
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎28-06-2007

Re: 123 additional call charges

I have been trying to cast my mind back as I also thought it was free back in the press A/B phone times

billnotben
Community Veteran
Posts: 7,689
Thanks: 2,164
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎23-09-2010

Re: 123 additional call charges

Anyway you would think it obvious to BT/Plusnet that there is next to no reason for someone to call the clock from their home phone. Let alone multiple times.

mort7890
Pro
Posts: 580
Thanks: 92
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎28-06-2007

Re: 123 additional call charges

Perhaps the person involved cannot tell the time.

Alex
Community Veteran
Posts: 5,500
Thanks: 921
Fixes: 13
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: 123 additional call charges

In this era when people have "smart" phones that sync with mobile data and automatically update the time without you having to do anything, you have internet et al, it surprises me that anyone would need to call that number at 40p-ish a pop.