Advice for us and a warning for others about call charges

[#1]

My wife was trying to get hold of someone in an emergency but the call was going to a message each time. She rang about 90 times until getting through. We were charged 54p for each call.

[#2]

@Gardeb01   Welcome to the Plusnet Community Fora.

Unfortunately, once the answering machine kicks in that's the shocking cost if you don't have a call plan:

If you don't make enough calls to make the cost of a plan worth it have you considered using a mobile for outgoing calls, you can have a mobile sim with unlimited UK calls for about a fiver a month? If you have poor mobile reception get one that supports WiFi calling.

[#3]

From  Plusnet residential call tariff guide 

It looks like you were charged each time the call setup charge of 32.47p, plus the call rate of 21.17p for up to one minute.

Advice ?, if you convert your Plusnet landline to VoIP (as will be necessary before the end of 2025), then taking A&A VoIP as an example, they have no call setup charges, and the call rate would be 1.5p/minute charged to the nearest second.

Less than one minute call with Plusnet = 54p  (53.64p rounded up)

Less than one minute call with A&A = < 1.5p

I had a similar phone bill shock after a death in my family and unexpectedly needed to make many phone calls,

I quickly changed phone providers !

.

[#4]

I have been using the "18185.co.uk" phone service on my Plusnet landline  (they also trade under different numbers too, difference is the call rates: eg one might do cheaper calls to asia).

To make a call, I just prefix the number I want to dial with "18185", so I'm no longer paying Plusnet, I'm paying 18185. They have a 4p call setup charge. Landline calls are 2p/min, mobiles are 6p/min. Most expensive is 087 calls, at 18p/min... much cheaper.

There are MANY other services out there providing the same service.

(you can also use such services on your mobile, you have to call a free 0808 or an 0208 number first: great to make "local calls" when abroad, as the call back to UK is included on your EU roaming)

[#5]

Doesn’t change the fact that the system is wrong. What’s happened to common sense? The same number was dialled in a desperate attempt to speak to someone yet that one 2 minute conversation after getting hold of them cost £45!! Computer says no!!!!!!!! Extortion!

[#6]

May be a stupid question, but why was a message not left after, say, the third or fourth attempt, asking them to call you back. Don't know who you were ringing, but obviously the line was busy?

[#7]

Slightly irrelevant really but it was an emergency regarding our son and my wife was desperate for. Help

[#8]

@Gardeb01 

Charging is automatic, there's not a person listening in to calls and interpreting what's going on.

I can understand you feeling aggrieved but I'm afraid that experience doesn't come cheap! Hopefully your post will make others aware of the consequences of constantly redialling a number that connects to an answering service without having an active call plan.

I suspect that some are faced with this situation when trying to contact, for example, a local GP practice and constantly redial until they get through.

[#9]

No, not irrelevant at all.

It is VERY frustrating when you are trying to contact someone urgently, and the phone isn't being answered, and you just get dumped to voicemail. In such a case, if you know you just got dumped to voicemail, then probably worth leaving a message: "Hi, this is mum, call me asap!" is worth doing. But then the double whammy of discovering you just got charged a stupid amount for a 1 second call, that hurts!

Whilst we have 18185, occasionally my wife will manage to make a call without it: OUCH! £££ I did consider paying for a call package with Plusnet, but given the number of calls we make on the landline, it really wasn't worth it. If I add together the 18185 costs and the occasional plusnet call, it's still cheaper than a plusnet call package.

(I don't have this problem myself, all my calls are from a mobile, where all calls ARE included!)

[#10]

@Gardeb01 

can you please share the first four digits of the number you were trying to call? Was it know to you or new number?

Not saying this is the case here but there are many scams which frighten people to think a relative needs help in an attempt to extract money.

[#11]

@Gardeb01 

Do you have any plans yet for migrating your phone number to a VoIP provider over the next twelve months ?,

before Openreach switch off your landline phone soon after the end of 2025.

.

[#12]

"obviously the line was busy?"

Not necessily. The line doesn't have to be busy.

If a mobile phone is currently without a connection or is powered down then it may (will?) immediately fall through to the default voice mail of the mobile operator - without even a single ring tone or any other indication.

[#13]

Was the OP calling a mobile though?

[#14]

I have been using the "18185.co.uk" phone service on my Plusnet landline  (they also trade under different numbers too, difference is the call rates: eg one might do cheaper calls to asia).

To make a call, I just prefix the number I want to dial with "18185", so I'm no longer paying Plusnet, I'm paying 18185. They have a 4p call setup charge. Landline calls are 2p/min, mobiles are 6p/min. Most expensive is 087 calls, at 18p/min... much cheaper.

There are MANY other services out there providing the same service.

Surely, if you don't have a calling plan with PlusNet, then as soon as you dial the first "1" of the "18185", you incur PlusNet's call setup charge (as they're connecting you to 18185.co.uk), or at least as soon as the call is "answered"? I thought the only calls that didn't involke the setup charge were 0800 and 0808 ones (and maybe 999).

[#15]

Many numbers that start with a "1" are free to the caller.

18185 is one of many "Carrier Selection Codes", that divert your outgoing call to another telephone operator (the first one in the UK was Mercury, where you had to dial "131" and your 10-digit customer number, typically stored on a special button). Nowadays you are identified automatically by your "Caller ID".

(Worth noting that instead of dialling 18185, there are options to call 0808 1 703 703 (freephone) or 020 81 80 2828 (local rate) instead: these are good if you are calling from your mobile or a service provider who doesn't support 18185)

From https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/Glossary/UKPracticalLaw/I606573da827011e9adfea82903531a62...:

"The IA (indirect access) pays the incumbent an interconnection fee for carrying the call and charges a retail rate to its customers, making money on the difference."

So nothing gets added to your PlusNet bill, but you pay via 18185 or whoever.

I do not have a PlusNet calling plan, and can assure you that I have never been charged by PlusNet for calling via 18185