118004

Beware of pricey directory assistance lines. If you ring a number that's not in use or you press the wrong digits, sometimes they’ll suggest you call this particular number to get details.

I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re ready to fork out something like £15.99 plus about £7.99 per minute. They actually announce the cost, but you can just hang up before they get that far if you’re quick enough.

Got my recent phone bill through from KCOM here in Hull, and it shows a charge of £13.32 from 118004. I never made any calls to that number. I thought it was meant to be taken off by now, but clearly it’s still active.

Saw I had a missed call from this number and went ahead and rang back without thinking. Turns out it ended up costing me quite a lot, not just from them but also extra charges from my phone company! Seriously, this lot should be shut down quick, but what can we do to stop them?

Got a call from 01583688122 earlier. When I tried calling back, they said the number had been disconnected and to contact 118004 instead. Felt a bit dodgy to me, so I didn’t bother ringing the new number. Glad I didn’t, to be honest.

I never even placed the call, yet I got billed £16 for just 17 seconds. What’s going on with that?

I got a voicemail saying it was from Southampton General Hospital with a number to call, 02381 206765. Since I've got surgery coming up, I rang back only to hear that the number's not in service anymore and I should call 118004 instead. Really glad I looked this up before doing anything else. Using the hospital's name like that was quite worrying!

I tried calling 01876 510310 because it was shown as Church Of Scotland Manse in the phone book. But I got a recorded message that said the number isn’t in service anymore and to call 118004 instead. Then another recorded voice mentioned that calls cost about £13.57 a minute or something along those lines. I just ended the call after that. Am I able to get back any charges from this?

On the 5th of February 2018, just after 5pm, I was charged £16.11 for only a 20 second call to the service number 118004. Absolutely ridiculous! I’m definitely getting in touch with BT about this.

I just saw this number on my BT bill with a call that lasted only 3 seconds but cost me £16.11! Seems like 118 is one of those service numbers. Who on earth pays that much for such a short call? Honestly, it feels like a total scam, probably some fraud going on. I can't understand why BT is allowing this to happen. Surely they must be aware of these scammers since they’re the ones taking the money. BT really needs to put a stop to this rubbish!

My parents got charged more than £16 for a 7-second call on January 7th from this number, which they definitely didn’t make. When we contacted BT about it, they couldn’t care less and didn’t help at all. It’s pretty frustrating.

I just got my latest BT bill and it shows a charge of £16.11 for this number. Never dialled 1471 since I didn't recognise it. What’s BT doing to protect customers from these kinds of sneaky charges? Feels like they’re doing absolutely bugger all, the usual!

Saw a mysterious £22.20 fee on my 90-year-old mum’s phone bill for calling this number. Got in touch with BT and they agreed to remove the charge. Seems like they’re aware something dodgy’s going on, even if I can’t figure out exactly how this scam plays out! If you spot anything similar on your bill, definitely push your phone provider to sort it.

My 80 year old mum got a voicemail from a local number so she decided to call it back. But as soon as she did, she was answered by some sort of query service she hadn’t asked for, so she quickly hung up. Later, she found a charge of £16.32 on her phone bill from the number 118004. I’m convinced BT must be involved in this dodgy scheme.

Same here. On the 25th of November, my B.T. bill showed an 8 second call to a 118 004 number that cost me £16.10. Neither my wife nor I made this call. I got in touch with B.T., but they weren't very supportive and kept saying we must have dialled it. Seriously, who makes a call that lasts just 8 seconds? It’s weird. Right now, I’m not ready to just ignore this, but I’m not sure what steps to take next.

I didn’t ring this number at all. After searching online I saw a lot of others saying the same thing happened to them. A charge of £16 just for a call lasting 8 seconds on 25th November 2017? Really strange. My phone number is 01473 831610. What’s going on here?

I just noticed a charge of £16.10 for a call I didn’t even make. I’m planning to get in touch with BT first, then I’ll report this to Action Fraud and also alert OFCOM about the whole thing.

I've just looked at my BT bill and noticed I've been billed twice for £16 each for the number 118004. BT already took money from my bank account for it. I'm planning to ring BT tomorrow to sort this out and complain about this charge. I really don't want to see that number pop up on my bill ever again. Hopefully they find out who's behind this scam and put a stop to it.

Just like many others, I ended up with a charge of £16.10 from a 118 004 number despite neither me nor my husband ever making that call. When I rang to sort it out, they weren't helpful at all and just insisted the call must have happened. If they don’t fix this, I’m seriously thinking about switching my broadband and phone provider.

Just got charged £16.00 for a call that we never made from our house. Totally not us.

I called a furniture store earlier and somehow got passed along to this number instead. Very strange!

I swear these kinds of people are just leeches, targetting old folks or those who are easy to mess with. Honestly, no point in trying to reach Telecom2 ltd. If you wanna go straight to the source, you can find the addresses of the bosses here https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06926334/officers and send them loads of complaints. Seriously, how do they manage to rest knowing what they’re doing?

I got charged an extra £13 for a call I never made back in February, from my own place. BT phoned me this morning after looking into it, insisting that I must’ve made the call. No way did I! I was at work all day and no one was home then. They said there wasn’t anything they could do about it. With loads of people getting the same rubbish response, I’m starting to suspect BT might be involved in this and just taking the money!

I got scammed for £16.09 too, same as you. BT was no help at all and even suggested I made the call myself. The thing is, I was stuck in bed after surgery at like 2:34 in the morning, so there's no way I could’ve done that. They claimed no one else had this problem but I know that’s not true. I ended up reporting it to Action Fraud and they told me to also file a complaint with OFCOM. After loads of arguing with BT, they finally gave me my money back. Honestly, I don’t trust BT anymore and I’m planning on switching to another provider. They were just brushing me off until I gave them a crime reference number. After 60 years with them, I didn’t expect to be treated like this.

My mum got accused of ringing this number, yet she’s certain she never made the call.

My dad, who's 94, was absolutely shocked when he looked at his BT phone bill today. He settles it every quarter through direct debit and was really upset to find four calls to 118004 from last November costing him £86. Like many others, he insists he never dialled those numbers. I'm going to help him get in touch with BT to try and get his money back!

My mum had to fight hard to get BT to refund her, but in the end, they did. The problem was clear - her bill showed she’d made four calls to 118004 within just 9 minutes on 2nd December, which cost her £113. She never uses directory enquiries, and these charges were strangely added on her 16th March bill instead of the one from December. BT didn’t seem keen to look into it at first. What I’d say is, make sure you demand to talk to the complaints team based in the UK. Insist it’s fraud, accuse BT of being part of it by acting as the money handler (Proceeds of Crime Act), and tell them you’ve reported the number to Ofcom and will also be contacting Action Fraud after BT replies. Make sure you get confirmation from BT that their UK fraud team is investigating - I have proof of this. That’s the only way to get them to take it seriously. In the end, mum got her money back and an apology, but it took three weeks of battling.

I’d also like to say cheers to this site, as it gave me proof to show BT that loads of other people were charged for 118004 calls they never made. BT has actually sent me a written confirmation that they’re going to check the activity on my account regarding this number, and they’re even checking out what folks have said on this website. Fingers crossed they get on it soon. Much appreciated!

I got a call from Telecom2 on an 0345 number saying they were offering a refund for charges on a 118004 call. Not sure if its legit tho. They asked for my email or text number to send me info but when I said no, they gave me an address to post my details to. Feels a bit dodgy, anyone else had this? Should I be worried?

We've just seen a charge of £16.90 from BT for a call to 118004 on our bill, but we're certain we've never dialled that number. BT keep telling us that we must have made the call from our landline, but they aren’t helping us sort this out at all. Has anyone else had this happen or know what we can do next?

The plain truth is you can't be billed for a call you never made. The technology just doesn’t allow that. What’s really going on is some sales outfit, with no ties to BT or Telecom2, is spoofing phone numbers to trick folks into picking up. Sometimes the number shown isn’t even assigned to anyone, so if you answer, you get a recorded message saying the number’s not in service and suggests calling a Directory Enquiry like 118004. Loads of people ring it and then just forget they actually made that call.

Just looked over my latest phone bill and saw a £16.90 charge for a 118.004 number I definitely didn’t ring. I got in touch with BT to question it, but they’re convinced the call was mine. They said they’d get back to me about sorting it out, but I’ve had no word so far.

Today, my tenant rang me up curious if I'd been at the flat recently. Apparently, she got her phone bill and saw two charges for calls to 118004, and that cost nearly £50 for under three minutes. Thing is, she wasn’t even nearby that day, so no way she made those calls or that I was at the place. Bit weird if you ask me.

I've noticed a couple of calls on my phone bill that I definitely didn't place. Thinkin' I'm gonna report it as some kinda scam.

Beware of ringing this number, it ended up costing me a fortune. Just 22 seconds on the line and they charged me £16.08! We don’t trust those directory services anyway. Just a heads up to everyone, stay clear of it!

Got a mad bill from P.O. phones showing two calls to this number costing me £29. I swear I never dialled it. Anyone know how to sort this out?

Since the 29th of November this number has called me three times already, added nearly £50 to my phone bill. I'm definitely gonna contact BT about it, even if it seems like no one else is bothered.

I never rang that number, seemed like one of those dodgy premium rate scams.

I got billed £16.08 for a 22-second call which I'm pretty sure I never placed. I have no clue why I'd call 118004, it’s not a number I’d ever dial. I normally check numbers online anyway, never through a phone directory service. Plusnet just tell me “it’s a premium rate number” and don’t offer any help, totally pointless.

My recent BT bill showed some extra charges and trying to sort it out with them has been pretty useless so far.

Today, I got our bill from BT and it showed a £32.70 charge for a 3-minute call to 118 004 - but we never made that call. On that day, I had a hospital appointment at 10:30am, which is about 45 miles from home, so there’s no way we could have phoned them. I’m really annoyed because BT insists we pay the charge and just told us to “check Google” for help!

My mate just got charged £16.90 for a 11 second call to 118004, mad right? BT totally ignoring it. We're thinking of taking it up with the cops and OFCOM. Such a rip off!

We never actually use any directory services, yet suddenly a £144 fee showed up for a 16 minute call in December 2016 - a call we absolutely didn’t make! This charge only just popped up on my latest bill. BT’s so-called “customer service” is a total joke; they couldn’t care less about investigating or undoing this ridiculous charge (my normal monthly calls total around £10 tops!). I filed a complaint, and they promised their Complaints team would ring me back. Weirdly, I’m not allowed to phone them directly, and they refuse to provide a direct number. Despite several promises, nobody ever rang me back. They’re just banking on people giving up! This feels like outright theft. I strongly believe BT is allowing this shady behaviour to go on unchecked. Absolutely disgraceful...

On 9th February 2017, I noticed a £50.927 charge from BT for a call I never made. I contacted BT to sort it out, but they weren't willing to help at all. Very frustrating!

Just checked my phone bill, which comes out of my account automatically, and there’s a weird charge of £16 from the number 118004 that I definitely didn’t dial. I’m planning to call BT to sort this out, but if they don’t refund me, I’ll have no choice but to contact the Ombudsman. Having read through loads of other comments about this scam, it’s crazy that BT’s still letting this happen.

I just called 118, not 118004. When I rang, the person asked which number I needed, gave me the number, and asked if I wanted to be connected. We said no and hung up. After that, I dialled the free number myself. A couple of days later, I checked my BT bill and noticed a charge of nearly £20 for a 1 minute 24 second call to 118004, even though no one from 118004 actually called me.

Accidentally dialed 118004 and as soon as they picked up, I hung up straight away. Yet, BT still charged me £16 for just under 20 seconds on the line. Proper rip off that!

somehow i got charged £16 for calling that number and i didnt even ring it. honestly, i wasnt bothered to look into it.

I got hit with a £38 fee after calling 118004. It was the same kinda thing as mentioned earlier - called an 01 number, got an automated message saying it’s not in service anymore, then was redirected to this pricey number. Tried ringing OFCOM but they weren't much help and just told me to speak to my provider, which is Plusnet. So, just like with the others, I did make the call and now I’m stuck paying. I’m going to give OFCOM another shot now that I know there’s more complaints about this number.

Beware! They scammed me out of more than £20. Total rip off!

Our phone company is Sky, and we've noticed a charge from 118004 on our bill. They've said they can't assist with getting a refund or blocking that number. We've been stuck with this charge and no way to sort it out.

There's a £16 fee on my phone bill from calling 118004, but I never dialled that number. Can anyone assist me with this?

Got charged £16 for a call I never made. I told Sky about it but they just don’t seem bothered at all.

Same here...I couldn’t get the call in time, I’ve got some disabilities so I’m quite slow responding. Was expecting something important, tried calling back but no luck. Then I got hit with a £16 fee! Paid my Sky bill as usual, but I’m not paying this extra charge. Now my service is blocked, but I’ve complained about it.

I’ve just noticed a £20 charge for calling this number but I’m sure I never rang it. After reading through the comments here, I’m planning to contact BT about it.

I just noticed this number showing up on my phone bill with a ￡16 fee for just a 20 second call. I never call 118 numbers, especially not around 10.30 at night, which is way too late for me to be making calls. I tried getting help from Sky but they don't seem interested. What else can I try?

Just a quick update after my previous comment. I finally managed to get hold of someone higher up in the complaints team and they told me the refund will appear on my next bill. It took me 5 phone calls and quite a bit of time to persuade BT that I never made that call. When I hinted that BT might be indirectly allowing scams to happen, they seemed to hear me but made no promise to take any action.

Just like everyone else here, my elderly aunt, who’s 88, ended up with a bill over £20 for barely a minute on the phone. We’re now stuck at the second tier of their complaints process after pushing through the first stage, which involved a “manager” promising a call back that never really resolved anything. We’re waiting to hear back on Monday from the next level. It feels like BT are turning a blind eye to what’s clearly a dodgy scam, but won’t outright admit it. Their only response has been that their lines are fine, but it’s obvious that TELECOM2, who run the 118004 service, must be using some kinda hacking trick to get round BT’s checks. If this isn’t sorted come Monday, I’m planning on reporting it to Action Fraud and also writing a letter to the financial advice section of a national paper.

Just noticed BT has taken £76.979 from me for a call to 118004 on 25th Oct 2016, but I never made that call. Tried contacting BT about it and they just don’t seem interested. Does anyone know how I can get this money back? My account number is WN82852807. Cheers, Barry Southwell ([email protected])

Action Fraud basically gathers info and shares it with the right local Police departments, who then decide what to do depending on their local priorities. You might also want to reach out to Trading Standards, but keep in mind they’ve been hit hard by local council budget cuts and might not have much capacity right now.

even tho it says bt on your bill, the cash actually goes to 118004. its not a bt business at all.

Just noticed a 16.99 charge for a 36-second call to this number on my BT account. I swear I didn’t make that call and no one else at home was using the phone then either.

Beware of National Directory Enquiries run by Telecom 2 Limited. They charge a whopping £15.98 just to get through, then slap on £7.99 per minute on top of your usual phone provider’s fees. It’s ridiculously expensive!

While I was out on holiday, this number rang my landline and ended up on my voicemail. Afterwards, I noticed a charge of £16.09! I had to call BT to complain before they agreed to refund me.

I just got tricked by these people, so annoying.

Got billed £16.09 for just 45 seconds, this has gotta be some sort of rip off!

I’d suggest you report this to Action Fraud Online, like we did, as it seems the more complaints they get the better chance there is of this being properly looked into. The number 118 004 is run by TELECOM2 Limited. If you need to get in touch, their customer service is on 0208 114 1000 or via email at [email protected]. They’ve been offering National Directory Enquiry services since 19th August 2014. My mum ended up with four dodgy charges from 118 004 on her phone bill, so we rang Consumer Advice on 03454 040506. They told us to: First, contact your phone company to make sure there aren’t any issues with your line. Second, send a letter (recorded delivery is best) to TELECOM2 Ltd at Cotswold House, 219 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9FJ, explaining the calls weren’t made by you and asking for a refund. If TELECOM2 don’t respond or won’t sort it, your next step is to complain to PhonepayPlus (now called Phone Paid Services) on 0300 303 0020. Fingers crossed it helps!

Glad to see I’m not alone in this, something's definitely fishy with BT. The number they rang is from a nursing home where my brother lives, so I’m sure these dodgy folks know exactly who to target. Time to have a word with BT about this mess.

My mother recently got her BT statement and it's showing four calls to this number, amounting to over £70 in charges! The thing is, she never dialled a single one of them. When we contacted BT, they were adamant that she must be mistaken and refused to entertain the idea that fraud could have occurred. As a result, I've decided to report this to Action Fraud UK. I've also noticed that there are quite a few other claims regarding this number on unknownphone.com.

My mum, who’s quite elderly, got a BT phone bill listing four calls to 118 004 around the 19th of October, each about a minute long, costing her over £70 altogether. She insists she never made any of those calls. When I contacted BT, they showed hardly any concern, just saying she must’ve made them and even suggested she might have dementia and can’t remember! They didn’t offer any advice on how to stop this happening again or show any real interest in the possibility of fraud. I’m planning to raise the matter with Ofcom about BT’s responsibility here. Meanwhile, I genuinely think fraud has taken place and will be reporting it to Action Fraud (http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report-a-fraud/how-to-report-a-fraud) hoping they’ll look into it.

I've been billed £47 for three calls to this number, but I never actually placed any of them.

BT charged me £16.09 for a call lasting 25 seconds, which they said I supposedly made. Problem is, I never actually made that call. They told me the only way to prevent it happening again is to block all outgoing premium rate numbers. But honestly, that makes no sense because the call never happened to begin with!

I had a similar experience where my bill suddenly shot up by £16.09 for a call that lasted just 13 seconds - a number I never dialled! I'm planning to raise this with BT, and if they don't sort it out, I'll be contacting Ofcom about it. This definitely feels off, and I’m determined to find out what’s going on. Cheers, Edward from Anglesey.

I recently spotted a rather peculiar charge of £16.09 on my phone bill for a mere 13 seconds of a call. It appears to be a premium number that comes with a rather hefty minimum fee attached. The website describes it as "DQ in English providing natural numbers"-whatever that is supposed to imply! Frankly, I reckon it’s some sort of scam, and I've promptly reported it to BT. The customer service representatives based in India attempted to offer me a £5 discount as a so-called goodwill gesture, but I outright declined, insisting that it be treated as fraud. They’ve since escalated the issue, and I’m currently awaiting their response. I highly recommend that anyone else in a similar predicament report it as well.

My sister, who struggles with Bipolar, got really stressed after she was charged £28 for what was said to be a call to 118004. When she got in touch with BT, they claimed she must have dialled directory enquiries but advised her not to let them connect the call to avoid the fee. I took a closer look at her bill and saw that the total had exactly doubled to £56.23, yet other mobile charges around £6 were totally ignored. After checking out this number and reading other people’s stories, I honestly think this needs a proper investigation - something fishy is definitely going on here. My sister can’t handle the stress of disputing this with BT, partly due to her health and partly because she’s worried about the cost and hassle. It’s baffling why the regulator hasn’t stepped in, considering how scared people must be to answer their phones now, myself included, because of this shady situation.

Got charged 16 quid by TalkTalk for this phone number even tho no one was around when the call happened. Fingers crossed I can get my money back.

My 80 year old mum found a £16 charge for just a 30 second phone call on her bill. She doesn’t remember ringing that number at all. I’m hoping Plus.net might be able to sort it out or maybe even refund her. Has anyone else had something like this or can explain what might have caused it?

My mum, who's 76, got a charge of £199 saying she made a 23-minute call to this number. Thing is, she was out when that call supposedly happened. BT won’t take any responsibility for it.

We've never dialled this number yet somehow it ended up charging us £18 on our BT phone bill. How is that even possible?