Huge Orange bill, seems wrong, please advise!

[bhamgirl]

Hi there everyone.

 

I have been with Orange since 2000, and have been on contract with them for most of that time. I used to have 500 minutes, on a £25/month plan, on my latest plan, but my bills used to average £40-60 including insurance and some texts abroad.

I switched to SIM only in June, with 2000 inclusive minutes, for £18. My first bill came to £31, with only 1700 of the inclusive minutes used, with the call charges being made up of Answerphone charges (which I hadn't been informed about), 070 numbers, which I personally didn't know where chargeable, and 0845 numbers, which I knew to be chargeable. However, the most were Answerphone (29p x 17 calls).

 

Anyway, I don't mind a £31 bill, it's certainly lower than £60.

 

However, on my latest bill, due August 1st, I've checked my usage online, and there're £177+VAT worth of call charges. That's 7 times more than the previous bill, and made up of 400 minutes over my 2000 limit. (No texts/calls abroad) I called Orange, and they said it looks right to them, and it sounds like the best they can do is instalments, but they can't do anything until the 1st when the bill is out. I myself have looked at the bill, and there're a lot of calls to my friend, which I knew there would be, as I speak to him regularly. However, we have definitely NOT been speaking that much. Comparing with the previous bill, that's 700 minutes more. It's impossible. The thing is, I can't dispute it, because it's a number I often call. I am CERTAIN something has gone wrong, because I've experienced running around in circles with Orange before, and I have just noticed they owe me money from a previous SIM only mix-up.

 

What on Earth do I do? The bill just doesn't match anything I've ever had before. The thing is, if I refuse to pay, my credit will be affected. I'm trying to sort my life out, and my credit score is improving because I'm being careful. Even if I could afford to pay such a bill, I wouldn't because it doesn't add up. Something's not right.

 

I would be so grateful for any advice. Thank you.

[2Grumpy]

can you compare the calls on the bill with the call log on your phone to see if there is a mismatch? You might be able to get somewhere by analysing all of the calls - especially the longer ones or any made at strange times

[bhamgirl]

Thank you, I will do. There are 36 pages of calls, and it's a bit frustrating to waste all that time. The thing is, as I said, most of the calls on there are to my friend, so on the one hand I'm thinking "Did I spend all that time talking?", on the other hand, a 700 minute increase in calls since the last bill, is a bit much, and has me wondering about it.

I'll go through it, and fingers crossed they're sympathetic.

[2Grumpy]

do you normally get 36 pages of calls? look for the differences