0151 number

[suffolkvagabond]

Hi, I've joined this forum on behalf of my 94 year old father who is currently in hospital and I've been going over his bills. All the recent bills I've found show between 25- 30 calls to just one number 01512982320. I've rung it and there is just a machine at the other end which is obviously just collecting calls and charging accordingly. 

What I can't understand is the frequency of these calls.

My father is quite deaf - rarely uses the phone - never rings back when I or any family member calls and has been in bed with his illness virtually throughout December.

Is there any way that these his calls could have been hacked? 

I've checked to see if crossed line and this is not the case 

The charges are not ridiculously high but they are doubling his normally low bill.

Thank you

[Keith_Beddoe]

@suffolkvagabond 

Possibly a care alarm unit, they make occasional calls to make sure they are working.

The called number is allocated to BT, so the alarm company must have a BT Business line, probably with a number of incoming lines.

[suffolkvagabond]

Hi thanks for your reply. I've already checked with Suresafe and they have stated this is not something they do with such frequency, only once a week.

I have their number as I am first on their list to call and its a 01625 code

The calls to the 0151 are far more frequent for instance 8 on the 10th November throughout the day and night 

I can't imagine he would be constantly ringing  this number.

[Keith_Beddoe]

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@suffolkvagabond wrote:

Hi thanks for your reply. I've already checked with Suresafe and they have stated this is not something they do with such frequency, only once a week.

I have their number as I am first on their list to call and its a 01625 code

The calls to the 0151 are far more frequent for instance 8 on the 10th November throughout the day and night 

I can't imagine he would be constantly ringing  this number.

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Not sure what to advise. Perhaps there is another bit of equipment connected to his line, TV box maybe?

Suresafe do have a Liverpool branch, so I wonder if something is programmed incorrectly?

Is he a BT Retail customer, or does he pay another company for his phone service?

[suffolkvagabond]

Yes he's with BT, and has no other services such as broadband attached - apart from his Suresafe alarm. I can't ask him anything as I mentioned he's in hospital so I'm going to unplug the alarm and then check again when further bills arrive.  Again as I said it's not been horrendous amount - average £15 -£20 on the bill but worrying all the same.

Thankyou

[Keith_Beddoe]

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@suffolkvagabond wrote:

Yes he's with BT, and has no other services such as broadband attached - apart from his Suresafe alarm. I can't ask him anything as I mentioned he's in hospital so I'm going to unplug the alarm and then check again when further bills arrive.  Again as I said it's not been horrendous amount - average £15 -£20 on the bill but worrying all the same.

Thankyou

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I will ask a moderator to assist with this, as they can find out the destination address, and should be able to give you a clue, although they would not be able to tell you who it is due to data protection laws , but may be able to tell you whether its an alarm company.

[suffolkvagabond]

Much obliged thank you.

[iniltous · Accepted solution]

TBH, if the number in question is answered by a ‘modem’ , then there is no scam or hack as there is no benefit to anyone , it’s either the calls are being made by some equipment on the line or the line into the property is crossed and the calls although appearing on your fathers bill are not being made by someone or something within his property…..checking the correct number is on the line is simple, dial 17070 from the line , the AVR response should be a phone number …check it’s the correct one, if it’s not correct , there is a problem, if it’s correct, then the calls are being made by the line the charges are for , so it’s either someone calling the number ( unlikely ) or a device connected to the line ‘calling home ‘ and that is far and away the most likely cause….as you have disconnected the ‘Suresafe’ alarm temporarily, if the calls stop, you have proved the problem, if they continue, then further investigation would be required

[suffolkvagabond]

Hi, I've just gone through the Suresafe terms and conditions online and found this

You acknowledge that each time you activate the personal alarm service, for whatever reason including any malfunction of the equipment, your telephone provider may charge you for such calls in accordance with their terms and conditions. We accept no liability for the cost of any calls, however caused. 

I'm guessing that my father is moving around in bed and setting off his wrist alarm. However I'm not getting any alarm calls from Suresafe which is what is supposed to happen. 

Presume my issue is with Suresafe as they provided the equipment.

[iniltous]

Because the 0151 number is simply an ordinary number  ( no such thing as local and national anymore ) if on an appropriate call plan then the number called would be ‘inclusive’ as part of the plan…..the 700min plan for example would cover these calls for fixed monthly fee ….if , as you now suspect , the ‘alarm’ is being triggered but there is no response from the alarm company ( presumably they should call back and check the person is OK )  suggests they may not be carrying out their responsibilities very well, but if it’s the case that even if they called back their call would go answered, then perhaps it’s not the most appropriate type of monitoring system