🚀 go-pugleaf

>I have tried to ring the number via my Orange hand set (contract) to
>see what it is but I get a long dead tone and a message on the phone
>saying that the number exsists on the other hand a when dialing a
>valid number I get a message saying premium numbers are barred!
>- Something fishy there !
>

The number does not exist !
Is anyone in the postion to confirm this without being charged etc?

On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 19:45:37 +0100, Oswald <Oswald@mercury.com> wrote:

>On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 18:27:43 GMT, Mr Martin
><news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote:
>>Can anyone off me some advice here on where I stand?


Just an update, I have been reading

http://www.icstis.org/icstis2002/pdf/9TH_CODE_FINAL_AMENDED_DEC_2002.PDF

And in several of the paragraphs services are required to hang up
after £20.00p which clearly didn't happen.

On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 18:27:43 GMT, Mr Martin
<news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote:
>Can anyone off me some advice here on where I stand?
You stand to be ripped off again and again has I was three years ago
get yourself back to BT quick and even then you will not be free of
Teleworst they will persist in haunting you until your dying day I am
sure.
Today for the fortieth time yes I am counting I have rung Teleworst's
head office in Woking ( God I wish they would walk) and complained
about having their advertising rubbish flung into our letter box every
other week by our postman and for the fortieth time I was told "very
sorry  it won't happen again sir".
Bastards they are nothing but bastards .
Monty .

"Mr Martin" <news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote in message
news:lk09nv83j0cjl069igqh8uat3ui7gt5lef@4ax.com...
> I opened my Phone bill from Telewest to find it twice the usual cost!
>
> Looking at the bill I have an itemisation for a premium rate number
> (09097920062) which was made at almost 3 in the afternoon on Saturday
> 13th September and lasted for 28 minutes 18 seconds. ( £36.2101 ex
> Vat)
>
> ...Can anyone off me some advice here on where I stand?

I had a similar problem once (different provider). In our case I was
actually in the house at the time that about a dozen calls to various travel
agents and information services were supposed to have been made in quick
succession from our phone one saturday morning. Obviously I couldn't prove I
didn't make them, but I am personally sure that no-one in our house used the
phone at that time.

I tried calling each number, but none of them had any idea who had called
them at that time.

The fraud people at the provider told me that the calls had almost certainly
been made from our line somehow - as opposed to being a billing fault, which
never produced symptoms like this. For example, if I *had* been using the
phone to call a different number at the same time this would prove a billing
fault but this didn't happen. They said it often turned out to be a child
using an extension (not possible in our case) or someone discovering their
cordless phone worked on our basestation (unlikely but not impossible). I
guess it could also be someone getting into a street cabinet or tapping in
at the phone exchange, but they wouldn't admit this was likely. :-)

So unfortunately, you're likely to have to pay. It's not that they don't
believe you, it's just that it's unlikely to be their fault, and I guess if
they waived the bill in the interests of good customer relations then
everyone would try it on. In our case it was only a couple of pounds, but
I've heard of people having to pay thousands! :-(

--
Phil McKerracher
www.mckerracher.org

On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 23:37:58 GMT, "Phil McKerracher"
<phil@mckerracher.org> wrote:
> In our case it was only a couple of pounds, but
>I've heard of people having to pay thousands! :-(
I just don't know why people persist in giving TW their custom
when they can have better service and cheaper by having a BT line
and routing all calls via indirect services and an ADSL net
connection.
Monty .

Mr Martin <news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote in message news:<m039nvo3pkdpaurng5hkm3oit1fve78mgh@4ax.com>...
> On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 19:45:37 +0100, Oswald <Oswald@mercury.com> wrote:
>
> >On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 18:27:43 GMT, Mr Martin
> ><news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote:
> >>Can anyone off me some advice here on where I stand?
>
>
> Just an update, I have been reading
>
> http://www.icstis.org/icstis2002/pdf/9TH_CODE_FINAL_AMENDED_DEC_2002.PDF
>
> And in several of the paragraphs services are required to hang up
> after £20.00p which clearly didn't happen.

I was charged nearly £20 for a call to South Africa on my NTL bill -
as I didn't even have a phone plugged in and only used the line for
unlimited dialup I immediately rang NTL who gave me their Complaints
Address to write to. This I did, and, eventually (about 6 months and
one further letter from me later) the credit appeared on my bill. I
would recommend you follow similar procedure with Telewest - good
luck!

"Phil McKerracher" <phil@mckerracher.org> wrote in message
news:q54db.1307$jj3.12314756@news-text.cableinet.net...
> "Mr Martin" <news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:lk09nv83j0cjl069igqh8uat3ui7gt5lef@4ax.com...
> > I opened my Phone bill from Telewest to find it twice the usual cost!
<snip>
> or someone discovering their cordless phone worked on our
> basestation (unlikely but not impossible).
>
Do you have a analogue cordless phone connected ?
If so, not only is it possible, it's very likely.

I had a friend who would cruse around in his car with a modified
handset, finding analogue cordless phone bases to phreak.

Get rid of it, get a DECT phone to replace it.

Steve Terry

"Mr Martin" <news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote in message
news:m039nvo3pkdpaurng5hkm3oit1fve78mgh@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 19:45:37 +0100, Oswald <Oswald@mercury.com> wrote:
>
> >On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 18:27:43 GMT, Mr Martin
> ><news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote:
> >>Can anyone off me some advice here on where I stand?
>
>
> Just an update, I have been reading
>
> http://www.icstis.org/icstis2002/pdf/9TH_CODE_FINAL_AMENDED_DEC_2002.PDF
>
> And in several of the paragraphs services are required to hang up
> after £20.00p which clearly didn't happen.


Hmm, depends a bit.

You can apply for permission to have longer times, depending on the nature
of the service, this is often granted - see
http://www.icstis.org.uk/icstis2002/pdf/Guideline_02.pdf

Unless the call was for a chat service, ICSTIS are not going to be able to
guarantee you any re-imbursement as only chat providers are required to do
this - and pay both a bond and a deposit to ensure this occurs. If the
company operated WITHOUT permission, they may be able to insist you are
re-imbursed but I wouldn't hold your breath.

They will however be able to give you the contact details of the Company
running the line so you can make further enquiries.

As a general rule, when people have contacted us about queried bills, we
look at the logs and see what sort of message / story was listened to  and
depending on the amount and nature of the complaint we often re-imburse the
caller anyway. I think however we are fairly unusual in that respect.

Mark

No analogue cordless phone!

On Sat, 27 Sep 2003 02:29:23 +0100, "Steve Terry"
<g4wwk@despammed.com> wrote:

>"Phil McKerracher" <phil@mckerracher.org> wrote in message
>news:q54db.1307$jj3.12314756@news-text.cableinet.net...
>> "Mr Martin" <news@swindonvillage.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:lk09nv83j0cjl069igqh8uat3ui7gt5lef@4ax.com...
>> > I opened my Phone bill from Telewest to find it twice the usual cost!
><snip>
>> or someone discovering their cordless phone worked on our
>> basestation (unlikely but not impossible).
>>
>Do you have a analogue cordless phone connected ?
>If so, not only is it possible, it's very likely.
>
>I had a friend who would cruse around in his car with a modified
>handset, finding analogue cordless phone bases to phreak.
>
>Get rid of it, get a DECT phone to replace it.
>
>Steve Terry
>

On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 23:51:28 GMT, Monty <Monty@lancs.no-ip.com> wrote:


>I just don't know why people persist in giving TW their custom
>when they can have better service and cheaper by having a BT line
>and routing all calls via indirect services and an ADSL net
>connection.

But the line rental is cheaper on Telewest, isn't it?  And their
broadband is cheaper/better? than ADSL?  I don't make any outgoing
chargeable calls on Telewest.

"K" <me@work.here> wrote in message
news:82qinv4hlmde91mik2vi31lhjp01u8gj4j@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 23:51:28 GMT, Monty <Monty@lancs.no-ip.com> wrote:
>
> But the line rental is cheaper on Telewest, isn't it?  And their
> broadband is cheaper/better? than ADSL?  I don't make any outgoing
> chargeable calls on Telewest.

Line rental : BT (standard) = £9.50/month, Telewest = £10/month

Broadband : Plusnet = £22/month, Telewest = £25/month

Off-peak 20 min call : TalkTalk ~ 6p, Telewest ~ 46p

Mmmm ????

Jon

On 30 Sep 2003, "Jonathan Pearson" <J.Pearson@breathe.com> wrote:

>Line rental : BT (standard) = £9.50/month, Telewest = £10/month
>Broadband : Plusnet = £22/month, Telewest = £25/month
>Off-peak 20 min call : TalkTalk ~ 6p, Telewest ~ 46p

I wonder how those compare with NTL prices.  Thanks for the quick
comparison (academic for me, as there's no cable firm here :) PGM

"Peter Morgan - 0870 432 9631" <us-mail@rocketmail.com> wrote in message
news:o8ijnvsvau4ti6pj5llk562to634ru3dbi@news.clara.net...
> On 30 Sep 2003, "Jonathan Pearson" <J.Pearson@breathe.com> wrote:
>
> >Line rental : BT (standard) = £9.50/month, Telewest = £10/month
> >Broadband : Plusnet = £22/month, Telewest = £25/month
> >Off-peak 20 min call : TalkTalk ~ 6p, Telewest ~ 46p

But Telewest only charge £1 for caller display where I believe BT is £1.50
so it ends up the same in the end ;-)

Ivor

On  30 Sep 2003 19:40, "Ivor Jones" <this.address@is.invalid> wrote:

>"Peter Morgan - 0870 432 9631" wrote in message
>> On 30 Sep 2003, "Jonathan Pearson" <J.Pearson@breathe.com> wrote:
>>
>> >Line rental : BT (standard) = £9.50/month, Telewest = £10/month
>> >Broadband : Plusnet = £22/month, Telewest = £25/month
>> >Off-peak 20 min call : TalkTalk ~ 6p, Telewest ~ 46p
>
>But Telewest only charge £1 for caller display where I believe BT is £1.50
>so it ends up the same in the end ;-)

Some years ago I had a page comparing the different network services on
BT with other providers.  I'll may resurrect it and bring it up to date.

"Ivor Jones" <this.address@is.invalid> wrote in message
news:blcima$lej$1@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
>
> But Telewest only charge £1 for caller display where I believe BT is £1.50
> so it ends up the same in the end ;-)
>
> Ivor

Agreed, also Telewest provide a basic TV package for £3.50/month extra, at
the end of the day using either BT or Telewest is going to cost around £500
a year give or take £50.

We have the choice of both, but opted for the BT/ADSL route as there was
more flexibility in SP and voice carrier, although at the time I remember a
telewest advert on the radio suggesting that 8/10 customers who had a choice
between ADSL and Telewest BB opted for Telewest, not sure why so many opted
for Telewest as price wise, BT/ADSL is slightly cheaper using appropriate
carriers.

Jon

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 12:56:51 +0100, "Jonathan Pearson"
<J.Pearson@breathe.com> wrote:


>
>Line rental : BT (standard) = £9.50/month, Telewest = £10/month

It was cheaper on Telewest  when I switched.  And the Telewest price
includes the basic pack of Digital TV (which I use)

>
>Broadband : Plusnet = £22/month, Telewest = £25/month

OK - Most ADSL are more than £24.98 - I like cable broadband as it
comes with a network-attached modem which is owned by the cable
company and so includes free maintenance/replacements.  I think -
BICBW - that cable braodband is slightly fater than ADSL.

>
>Off-peak 20 min call : TalkTalk ~ 6p, Telewest ~ 46p

Irrelevant - I don't use my Telewest phone for outgoing chargeable
calls.

On  01 Oct 2003 12:27, K <me@work.here> wrote:

>On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 12:56:51 +0100, "Jonathan Pearson"
><J.Pearson@breathe.com> wrote:
>>Broadband : Plusnet = £22/month, Telewest = £25/month

>OK - Most ADSL are more than £24.98 - I like cable broadband as it
>comes with a network-attached modem which is owned by the cable
>company and so includes free maintenance/replacements.

Pipex, FreeUK, Freedom to Surf, Datacomms Europe, and Metronet PAYG
each offer ADSL for less - from 10 +VAT depending on use, and some
such as Prodigynet are 19.99/month, while others offer free install
(but point taken about the supplied hardware - I've found it quite
useful to be able to swap/lend routers depending on the needs of my
clients, however.

>>Off-peak 20 min call : TalkTalk ~ 6p, Telewest ~ 46p
>
>Irrelevant - I don't use my Telewest phone for outgoing chargeable
>calls.

Your choice.  I suppose the cost of a TV package could be quite a lot
more than a family's phone calls, or much less, depending on their
mix of calls...

>>Line rental : BT (standard) = £9.50/month, Telewest = £10/month
>
>It was cheaper on Telewest  when I switched.  And the Telewest price
>includes the basic pack of Digital TV (which I use)

but also perhaps irrelevant, if one doesn't want them especially.  I've
had satellite services (no cable alternatives here) since BSB days ('90
or thereabouts!) and while Sky One may have some sci-fi before C4/ C5/
BBC (or perhaps never reach terrestrial channels), there's been little
in the "must have" category to stop me cancelling Sky, not once, but
about 3 times  (first from analogue, then later had a year with the
digital service installed in another room, so installer left my 80cm
alone and added a second dish), then a year or two later they offered
all the channels (Sky World) at half price for 6 months, and I switched
to basic set at a tenner, for the remaining 6 months, and then cancelled
the lot again - the films were OK, the snooker too, but E4 Bravo and the
rest are far from "must have".  VH-1, MTV, MTV Base etc were of moderate
interest, but with a Freeview box, analogue satellite and internet, I've
most radio and TV services I want (BBC, CNBC, CNN).  Freeview works well
and boxes are coming down in price (I used On Digital and if I had held
on for a few more months would have had one of their boxes without any
need to buy, but the new boxes seem reliable and choice is still in
excess of my needs - sometimes box stays on BBC 7, as I can not yet
get Radio Wales (I get Central and Granada ITV, not HTV).   Peter.

On Wed, 01 Oct 2003 15:38:40 +0100, Peter Morgan - 0870 432 9631
<us-mail@rocketmail.com> wrote:


>
>Pipex, FreeUK, Freedom to Surf, Datacomms Europe, and Metronet PAYG
>each offer ADSL for less - from 10 +VAT depending on use, and some
>such as Prodigynet are 19.99/month,

OK point taken.

>>
>>Irrelevant - I don't use my Telewest phone for outgoing chargeable
>>calls.
>
>Your choice.  I suppose the cost of a TV package could be quite a lot
>more than a family's phone calls, or much less, depending on their
>mix of calls...

Indeed - but it suits me.

Actaully, I remember whey I switched to Telewest now - I was pissed
off with BT when they tried to charge me for removing Home Highway.  I
pointed out thet there was no disconnection charge when I took out the
service (I'd specifically checked this) so I refused to pay one.  So I
said I would switch to another provider and disconnect altogether for
no charge - which is what I did.

>
>but also perhaps irrelevant, if one doesn't want them especially.

Indeed - but it suits me.

"K" <me@work.here> wrote in message
news:c89onvsuc75e0870qqfo9tunu6b2bhhu5v@4ax.com...

> Actaully, I remember whey I switched to Telewest now - I was pissed
> off with BT when they tried to charge me for removing Home Highway.  I
> pointed out thet there was no disconnection charge when I took out the
> service (I'd specifically checked this) so I refused to pay one.  So I
> said I would switch to another provider and disconnect altogether for
> no charge - which is what I did.

I switched because when I was getting loads of prank and junk calls and
asked for a number change, BT gave me a number that had previously been
allocated and was still in the book under the previous user's name, so I
got all his junk calls instead..! BT refused to give me a number that had
never been previously used so I told them to get knotted and went to
Telewest (then Birmingham Cable).

It was a good deal at the time as if you wanted a 2nd line you got it for
half price rental, but they didn't take long to sneak the 2nd line rental
up to the same as line one, so I got rid of it. Now thinking of returning
to BT and porting my number, but unsure of the best package to go for,
anyone any ideas..? I don't make many outgoing calls, except for
non-geographical numbers, as these aren't included in my mobile minutes.
The mobile gets used for most ordinary calls as I have a reasonable deal
with more than enough inclusive minutes.

Ivor

 Now thinking of returning
> to BT and porting my number, but unsure of the best package to go for,
> anyone any ideas..? I don't make many outgoing calls, except for
> non-geographical numbers, as these aren't included in my mobile minutes.
> The mobile gets used for most ordinary calls as I have a reasonable deal
> with more than enough inclusive minutes.
>
> Ivor
>

Don't get any BT package go the Standard Line Rental at £9.50 per month then
choose an indirect  call provider there are a huge number to choose from.
Some of the companies are listed here. http://www.magsys.co.uk/telecom/. I
would suggest www.tspeak.co.uk as their minimum charge is only 1p. Which
makes a lot of small calls cheap.

Alex

AlexC wrote:

>  Now thinking of returning
>> to BT and porting my number, but unsure of the best package to go for,
>> anyone any ideas..? I don't make many outgoing calls, except for
>> non-geographical numbers, as these aren't included in my mobile minutes.
>> The mobile gets used for most ordinary calls as I have a reasonable deal
>> with more than enough inclusive minutes.
>>
>> Ivor
>>
>
> Don't get any BT package go the Standard Line Rental at £9.50 per month
> then
> choose an indirect  call provider there are a huge number to choose from.
> Some of the companies are listed here. http://www.magsys.co.uk/telecom/. I
> would suggest www.tspeak.co.uk as their minimum charge is only 1p. Which
> makes a lot of small calls cheap.
>
Remember that 0845s (but NOT 0870s) are eligible for Friends & Family
discount, and come out of call allowance (just over 2 quid a month on
BT standard tariff).  Also the cumulative effect of BTs discounts mean
that you can get 100% discount for call allowance PLUS 10 or 20% F&F
discount, so (up to a point) the more you call, the lower your total
bill!

BT's online 'Cost of Calls Since Last Bill' service is useful to check
how much of your call allowance you've got left.
--
Alex Monro, Exeter, UK              90% of everything is crud - T. Sturgeon
alexm at pobox dot com              GPG key 68F8 6270 available from
Running on GNU/Linux (SuSE 8.2)     hkp://blackhole.pca.dfn.de