Spurious calls to 123

[#1]

Just received my bill and it has 7 calls to '123' at 50p each on it. Having checked the forums it looks like a well known issue with Openreach engineers looking for lines as I don't have a physical landline phone have never made any calls on my Plusnet line.

Obviously I want to get these spurious charges refunded, but is there a way of reducing my phone credit limit to £0.00 to stop engineers from racking up charges on my account?

[#2]

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Home phone to My Account/ Billing 

[#3 · Accepted solution]

Hey @pearman52, thanks a lot for getting in touch and I'm really sorry to see that this has happened. I think I've found a potential crossed line issue to be honest, which has now been raised with Openreach, and could explain the calls from your landline. 

Either way, they've now been refunded, so the charged amount for the calls will be back with you within the next 5-7 working days. You can also follow the progress of the line fault, and communicate directly with our Technical Support Team here. 

[#4]

Hi Adam,

Thanks for getting in touch so quickly and sorting out the refund.

Openreach are unable to resolve the potential crossed line fault without an engineers visit, I have borrowed a corded phone to test the line and there is a fair amount of loud intermittent static.

My broadband speed has also recently dropped and my IP profile is now set lower than my 50mbps guaranteed speed according to the bt wholesale performance test (results below)

Download Test Download speed achieved during the test was 34.72 Mbps For your connection, the acceptable range of speeds is 27.1-38.71 Mbps

Your DSL Connection Rate: 0 Mbps(DOWN-STREAM),0 Mbps(UP-STREAM) For your connection, the maximum achievable download speed is 38.71 Mbps

IP Profile for your line is 38.71 Mbps

Upload Test Upload speed achieved during the test was 4.55 Mbps For your connection, the maximum achievable upload speed is 20 Mbps IP Profile for your line is 20 Mbps

For context on 5/03/22 I was getting 58mbps down and 17mbps up.

Bt wholesale checker no longer shows VDSL as an option for my number (unreliable and coincidental possibly)

I have just tried to call my landline number from my mobile whilst there was no handset plugged in, There was a ringback tone on my mobile, then the call connected to alot of noise.

I then plugged the borrowed handset into my master socket and dialed again, this time the handset rang, but the call connected automatically to the same noise without having picked up the landline handset.

I am unable to connect the call by picking up the landline handset when ringing.

Ironically I created the initial post under 'Home phone' before it was moderated into billing, as it turns out, that is actually where most of my issue lies. 

[#5]

Thanks a lot for getting back to us and for keeping us updated on here, I can see that the engineer visit has now arranged, so let's see how you get on after the visit.  

Please let us know if you need any further assistance in the meantime. 

[#6]

@pearman32 

With the state of the line being as you describe, there is no point looking at (being concerned about) broadband speeds.  Your experience illustrates well the importance of having a telephone handset for basic fault diagnosis.

It would be worth dialling 17070 and confirming that the number reported as the circuit's definition is indeed your phone number.

[#7]

A positive update on this.

17070 confirmed the correct number but Terrible noise on quiet line test.

Openreach attended this morning, traced the earth fault to somewhere between BT80a junction box from drop wire to master socket. 

At stome stage before I moved into the property it appears the wiring had been run under the subfloor (victorian flat conversion) so the idea of having a new surface mounted cable running through the flat didnt fill me with joy.

A little further digging (and me willing to pull up floorboards) traced the fault to a badly corroded connection that was laying on the very damp earth subfloor of the communal hallway.

Some new jelly crimps and a junction box secured to the joists to keep line away from the damp and I now have a completely silent phoneline whilst doing a quiet line test.

The only problem I have now is my minimum guaranteed speed showing on my account has decreased

• Product: Unlimited Fibre Extra
• Estimated Download Range: 32 - 36Mbps
• Estimated Upload Range: 12 - 13Mbps
• Minimum Guaranteed Speed: 29.4Mbps
• Current Line Speed (Download): 33.6Mbps

This is in contrast to my initial contracted speed below

Estimated peak time speeds:

Download: 54 - 71Mb Upload: 17 - 18Mb

These are the speeds your line is capable of at peak times.

Current line speed: 70.8Mb

This is a measure of the actual line speed you are now receiving based on the product you have taken.

Minimum Guaranteed Speed: 50Mb

This is the minimum speed you should expect to achieve on your line.

It doesn't seem right to me to be able to reduce the guaranteed speed, is this just a knock on effect of the line faults?

[#8]

Thanks a lot for getting back to us on here and for keeping us updated, really glad the engineer was able to locate and resolve the fault.  

Keep an eye on your connection over the next few days and if you have any issues at all, give us a nudge on here.  

[#9]

Hi Adam,

I have 2 more spurious calls to 123 on my bill from 7th and 8th April before the earth fault was fixed, can I get these refunded please?

I hope that fixing the earth fault now being resolved will stop these from appearing.

[#10]

Hi pearman32 I've just sorted that out for you and have popped a ticket on your account with all the details here: https://www.plus.net/wizard/?p=view_question&id=224458970