Noise on line and £20 of rogue calls to 123 numbers

[#1]

So the phone has been noisy for a while, and my bill just came through with £20 of calls to numbers such as 

123

1231

12311111

I did the online tests which came back with nothing and said it was all fine. Broadband is working although only at 40mbps and used to get 70mbps.

I will be contesting the bill.

I did plug the phone into the master socket and it was clear, but as soon as faceplate is connected it is noisy. I already changed the faceplate (BT openreach NTE5 one).

Help

Thanks

[#2]

Something dodgy with the back box/faceplate connection then.

[#3]

I replaced the whole BT socket, both parts (I know BT own it but I am a network engineer and it’s not exactly hard).

The router is connected via cat6 from the back of the faceplate so I’ll see if anything’s been eating that cable.

Cheers

[#4]

@halbot This type of fault may be local to your property but could be anywhere on your line where an intermittent connection causes false pulse dialling so calls low digit numbers. Unfortunately 123 has a hefty charge which adds up.

[#5]

Thanks, is it possible to block a number on the line whist I try and trace the fault?

[#6]

Sadly 123 calls are usually a sign of a lazy BT/Openreach engineer testing the line "quickly".

They may have been working on another line and were just checking yours was still working as it may have been disturbed.

I assume you meant you plugged the phone into the Test Socket (behind the faceplate)?

[#7]

@HPsauce  I think in this case it is probably not line testing going on, there have been a lot of calls (£20 worth) so more likely to be a line fault.

[#8]

Hi there,

I'm really sorry that there are call charges on your bill that you don't recognise.

I can see you've reported a problem to us and we've tested your line finding a line fault so there's likely a crossed line somewhere. An engineer should be going out anytime by 24/10/22 23:59:59 to investigate further.

Once we've confirmed the fault as fixed let me know, and depending on the outcome of the fault, I'll be happy to get those charges refunded for you.