Broadband talk fiasco

[boycie]

I was wondering if anybody else has had a problem with their BT Broadband talk facility when it comes to incorrect charging.Having been with BT Broadband since October 2007 i have never used the Broadband Talk facility ever.Two months ago i noticed charges to this service that i have never used.Having contacted BT on numerous occassions to rectify the problem,they investigated the issue and surprise surprise they said there wasn't one.They assured me the line had'nt been tapped and the line wasn't faulty.As i live on my own i know what calls i make,and none have ever been made from this service.

Tracking back my bills i noticed this problem went back to April 2008,but went unnoticed due to the miniscule amounts charged to the Broadband Talk number,only when the bill amounts were much higher than usual did i see the problem.

I was unaware that the Broadband Talk Phone account should be deactivated after 90 days if never used,so the problem i have should never have arisen.It also took BT a month to cancel the account when it can be done straight away.The calls i was suppossed to have made were calls to a mobile number i'd never heard of,and 0845 numbers i'd never called.Has anyone else encountered this problem,and can a Broadband Talk line be hacked into?

[locutus]

Broadband Talk is not a "line" as in a phisical bit of wire, it's similar to skype called "VoIP" or "Voice over internet protocol" as to the "can it be hacked into?" I S'pose if someone set it up using your username and password for it they could... Here is some nice contact info for BT :- http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/telecoms-mobile-fixed/199136-bt-exec-management-contact.html , ask them to investigate it, tell them you suspect either a clerical error or someone is connecting fraudulently as you've never used broadband talk. Hopefully they'll refund you without too much hastle!

[shining Light]

Not exactly the same problem but very similar.

 

I have not been a BT customer for a number of years but I did have an issue before I left them. I had 2 lines, one of which was used as a fax line only. One day I glanced at the bill for this number and spotted a couple of calls to mobile numbers, when checking the previous 2 bills I found a similar thing.

I complained to BT and did get a credit, it was only for abour £5 but that isn't the point. A mistake on one bill I can accept, but on 3 successive bills?

It did make me think.. multiply the number of BT customers by say 80p per bill and that is a lot of money. I'm not suggesting that is what they do/did but it did make me wonder!

[locutus]

Phisical lines do get hijacked a lot more than people think... I remember having the same cordless telephone as a neighbour once and when they rang we rang (thats going back a long long time tho ) Good advice to check your bill always (even when you thing it's impossible for it to be wrong... they're the ones that get overlooked for a long time!)