Have you been charged for premium calls that you didnt make?

eyeofthetiger · 17-05-2008, 15:14

Hi everyone

i am a virgin media customer who is trying to get a list of customers who have been charged for premium rate calls they have not made from their phone and they do not have a dial up modem connection (to rule out a rogue dialler). I have recently come back from holiday to discover I have a Ã‚Â£400 bill from calling premium rate numbers, calls were made whilst the house was empty.
The customer service I have received is shocking, and Virgin media are adament that I have made the calls. I have asked Virgin Media whether this is a common fault and they are saying that they have not come across anything like this before which is a lie as i have been reading other peoples threads on other sites.
I am writing to Ofcom, Watchdog and Virgin Media in the hope that they stop denying what is happening and charging customers huge amounts of money for calls they have not made.
Please leave your comments should a situation like this have affected you. The more comments I receive, the better the argument to stop this from happening again and getting something done about it.
Thank you

eyeofthetiger · 17-05-2008, 16:18

HI

Can a rogue dialler come though a broadband connection and the premium rate calls appear on you phonebill? I have virgin media services and have never had dial up or a seperate modem to the one supplied by virgin. I have been charged for premium rate calls on my bill. they were made when there was no one in house as on holiday so the pc wasnt even switched on. Any help would be appreciated. My understanding is your pc needs to be switched on and it is likely to affect you if you have dial up

thanks

SMG · 17-05-2008, 16:26

I use VOIP, my phone is connected to my broadband cable. In order to use it you have to have a provider. The provider wont allow any calls that incur a charge unless you have an account, with credit on. Are you sure the calls were made on your broadband, & if so, who has billed you?

MovedGoalPosts · 17-05-2008, 16:28

A rougue dialler could be picked up from any website, or other download. However, unless your PC is connected to a standard type phone socket (i.e. the PC has a fax or phone modem as opposed to an ADSL or Cable modem) the dialler could not possibly work.

17-05-2008, 16:29

if you do not have a 56 k modem connected to the phone line how can you possibly be dialing out
beat by Rob

Stuart · 17-05-2008, 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyeofthetiger

HI

Can a rogue dialler come though a broadband connection and the premium rate calls appear on you phonebill? I have virgin media services and have never had dial up or a seperate modem to the one supplied by virgin. I have been charged for premium rate calls on my bill. they were made when there was no one in house as on holiday so the pc wasnt even switched on. Any help would be appreciated. My understanding is your pc needs to be switched on and it is likely to affect you if you have dial up

thanks

Diallers do need the PC to be switched on, and they also don't work via Broadband. Virgin don't currently offer a voip option via broadband, so it is impossible for your broadband connection to make any calls that would appear on your phone bill.

You need to report this to customer services, as it sounds like someone else has been making premium rate phone calls on your line.

what? · 17-05-2008, 16:32

the only thing i have heard about like this is when somone had crossed telephone wires, meaning calls neighbours were making were being charged to their line.
do you know if vm have checked to make sure this isnt the case.
also, was there definitely noone who had access to your property who could have done this? were they all to one number as well or was it a series of different numbers?

SMG · 17-05-2008, 16:35

How can these premium rate numbers appear on the broadband bill??? Surely you mean your Virgin land line bill!

eyeofthetiger · 17-05-2008, 16:36

Thank you for all your replies. I have reported it to Virgin and they are saying i have made the calls and there is no fault with the line. please see my other thread. they are trying to charge me Ã‚Â£400 for calls!

---------- Post added at 15:36 ---------- Previous post was at 15:35 ----------

yes they appeared on my virgin phone bill, not broadband but virgin mentioned it could be a rogue dialler through my pc, i am trying to rule out every possibility

SMG · 17-05-2008, 16:39

It cant be a rouge dialer on your broadband, only on your "Cabled" land line. Has anyone like next door been tinkering with your white box, the one that brings the cable into the house?

I`m not saying anyone has, but, if my neighbour goes away, I could open their cable entry box, connect a couple of wires to their landline cable, & phone whoever I like. The fact that these calls have been made while you were away would suggest a "local" theft.

eyeofthetiger · 17-05-2008, 16:39

100% no one in property. I have had an engineer out, they are saying the wires havent crossed over. The calls are for the same amount of time, to the same number for the same amount consistantly through the night. Virgin have even admitted it looks weird! i have been given a copy of the number, it doesnt even ring out!!!

eyeofthetiger · 17-05-2008, 16:46

not as far as i am aware. i checked it and the engineer checked it, it doesnt look like it has been tampered with. we checked the green box at the end of the street together. the engineer said it looks like the wires have been tampered with and there was a fresh fingerprint on my tag for my address but they had been moved back again. Now virgin are denying that the engineer even said it. The engineer reported his findings to his supervisor (whilst i was in background so overheard) his supervisor came back with the reply " sounds like she has been discoed", does anyone know what that means?

---------- Post added at 15:46 ---------- Previous post was at 15:43 ----------

i agree and that is what i am trying to say to virgin but they are saying they have proof i made the calls from my house but are not prepared to show me this proof until it goes to court, if it does. I spoke to a neighbour last night, she had the same thing happen to her, she lives right down the street but the amount she was billed wasnt so big. she had to pay it.

SMG · 17-05-2008, 16:47

It sounds like you've got your answer m8, In order to "tap" your landline someone would physically have to connect a couple of wires, somewhere between the provider, & you.

Proof? Sounds rubbish to me. Challenge it m8. If they had proof, they would tell you & sort it out, never let it go to court.

eyeofthetiger · 17-05-2008, 16:55

its getting them to admit it. my argument is the security issue surrounding the boxes in the street. anyone can get a key to them and do it.

---------- Post added at 15:55 ---------- Previous post was at 15:50 ----------

i will! i am writing to anyone who will listen. they will wish they hadnt taken me on! ha!

SMG · 17-05-2008, 16:57

Virgin must know this kind of thing happens, however, someones got to pay the bill. If they can "persuade" you to pay it, problem solved. Fight it, & tell them their street boxes are not secure, go as far as you can, including taking your business to BT. I suspect they may see sense & investigate further. Either way m8, good luck.