Non-motoring > Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Dulwich Estate Replies: 18
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New Thu 12 Apr 12 23:44 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Dulwich Estate
I never call the message service on my mobile phone in UK - nobody leaves me messages !

I have been billed for two phantom calls when I was in New Zealand. One call was for around £6 and the other £4, so say about a tenner in all. £10 won't break the bank but it's irritating.

As I said above, I never call 123 and never did from down under. I am obsessive about locking the keypad and even if I didn't lock it, what an amazing coincidence that it called the same number twice about a week apart and with other calls in between.

When I called Orange to query it after seeing my bill they told me there was no mistake - but of course they couldn't check because the charges came from a roaming partner and not Orange's system.

So far I've only talked to the person at the bottom of the food chain and had no satisfaction. The problem is that I have no absolute proof I didn't make the calls even though I was whale watching a few miles out into the Pacific Ocean when one of these alleged calls was made.

I have a calls only contract with no actual rental figure so my usual monthly bill is between £3 and £5. So there's not a lot of point threatening to take my business elsewhere as I'm sure they'd be delighted.

What would you do now? Forget it and get on with life or complain higher up the seniority structure. How to complain ?
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 07:38 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - AnotherJohnH
Probably not waste my time. Blood pressure and phone calls on Orange but I might check the call logs in the mobile - just to be sure

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New Fri 13 Apr 12 07:53 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - John H
Are you sure that 123 does not put the call thorugh when the keypad is locked? Some combinations, such as 999, bypass the lock.

As anotherJohnH said, check your handset memory for the dialled call logs.
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 08:10 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Pat
Could this have been the charge for incoming calls?

Pat
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 09:34 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - henry k
>>So far I've only talked to the person at the bottom of the food chain and had no satisfaction.

I recently had several weeks of problems with " Everything Everywhere ™: One company, running two of Britain’s most famous brands – Orange and T-Mobile"
( No longer called Orange)

After my first compaint to India where surprise surprise the tick sheet did not cover my complaint. I called again in the morning shift and spoke to a really good UK guy.
He was unable to get the engineers to pull there fingure out so I emailed the CEO. and his office called me. They had never been aware of such a fault but it did get fixed soon after ( no apology or call).


>>The problem is that I have no absolute proof I didn't make the calls even though I was whale watching a few miles out into the Pacific Ocean when one of these alleged calls was made.

Just tell them you have proof and if pushed I suspect the whale co will back you.
Kaikoura will help come to your aid!
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 09:49 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Iffy
I would want the complaint properly recorded, so you at least have some ammo if it happens again.

There's an email address for 'Orange chief executive' Tom Alexander here:

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1724511/How-to-complain-to-the-chief-executive.html

The article is from June of last year, so there's a fair chance the address is still current.
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 10:12 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - henry k
>> There's an email address for 'Orange chief executive' Tom Alexander here:
>>
>> www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1724511/How-to-complain-to-the-chief-executive.html
>>
Latest list
www.ceoemail.com/
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 12:10 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Dulwich Estate
Well, I checked my calls made list and there was no sign of any of the 2 phantom calls. Boosted by this and your comments, I gave Orange another go.

The wait was long, but I got onto a very reasonable guy and after much discussion he offered 50% off. I politely said that my acceptance of only half would compromise my own case. After further lengthy discussion and probably just to terminate my bleating he offered a full discount for the phantom calls.

Nothing ventured - nothing gained. Thanks all.
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 13:03 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Focusless
>> The wait was long

...but hopefully didn't cost you anything :)
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 13:11 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Zero
Shouting, name calling, threats, "do you know who I am" rarely works.

Whining pathetically however, annoys so much, they will do anything to get rid of you.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 13 Apr 12 at 13:11
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 17:41 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Ian (Cape Town)
Errr, OP - you received a call.
Your phone was on roaming.
Therefore you pay.
If I call somebody, and his phone is on roaming, he pays. Why should I? I've called a 'local' number... not my fault he's out of the country.
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 17:48 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Runfer D'Hills
Friend of ours works in Russia a lot. For years some of us used to call him on his mobile several times a day when he was there just to wind him up. Totally childish of course. We've stopped now.

:-)
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 17:49 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Pat
They might listen to you Ian, they ignore a female logical explanation:)

Pat
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 17:54 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Ian (Cape Town)
Yeah, what do women know about this technical stuff anyways?
I assume (me being JohnnyForeigner) that your 123 is directory enquiries or summat?
Is it one of those 'if you want us to dial this number for you, press "One"'.
which will come through on your line as a 123 call.
(I use this ploy to get hold of folk who don't want to take my calls.)
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 18:07 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Dulwich Estate
Ian (Cape Town), I think you're barking up the wrong tree twice;

I did not receive the call. It was allegedly made by me.

123 is the UK number on my network for retrieving messages. The number actually shown on the bill is +447973100123 which is another way of retrieving messages when abroad. As I said, no one left any messages (I checked only when I got home) because I'm sad enough not to have many callers and NEVER give out that number to strangers.

PS I keep a cheap (£9.95) pay-as-you go phone solely to use to give out to people for deliveries, competitions, subscriptions, car service, ferry bookings etc. This way MY phone only gets calls from people I want to talk to.
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 19:33 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - AnotherJohnH
>> This way MY phone only gets calls from people I want to talk to.
>>

You've been fortunate so far that your number has not been randomly generated for the cold callers, or dialled by fat fingers.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 14 Apr 12 at 00:06
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 17:56 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Zero
>> They might listen to you Ian, they ignore a female logical explanation:)

Thats because such a thing does not exist.
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 18:12 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - Pat
Man maths=Logical?

No way, I rest my case.:)

Pat
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New Fri 13 Apr 12 18:51 
 Phantom calls from mobile abroad - billed for - R.P.
Man maths is far from logical - that's the whole point of it !
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