A man was left with an eye watering bill after using Google to search for a contact number for HMRC.
Jared Evitts, a journalist at the BBC, called a phone number that he thought was genuine after using the search engine to find contact details for HM Revenue and Customs in "the logical way". He claimed it was a somewhat 'unremarkable' call until he was later billed a staggering £119 for just over half an hour. Thinking that he had been scammed due to being charged such a high amount, Jared decided to look into the matter further.
He discovered that he had unknowingly called HMRC through a call connection service operated by a company called Bounce Tech Ltd, which charged a premium rate for the call which lasted just 39 minutes. Bounce Tech operate premium rate numbers costing £3.60 per minute plus the phone company's access charge, and connect customers to organisations including HMRC and O2.
Emma Oliver was charged £104.82 for her call (BBC WS)Regulated by the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA), call connection services are not illegal, but charge high rates for calls to organisations that may otherwise be free or low cost. The PSA said the price of the service must be clear, and consumers must be made aware they are not calling their desired recipient directly.
According to the PSA, while pricing information is available from Bounce Tech, it is easy to overlook due the speed at which it is played on the phone, and because of its lack of prominence on their website - particularly on a mobile device.
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But Jared is not the only one to have fallen victim to the premium charges. Emma Oliver, from Amble in Northumberland, was also charged £112.24 for a 29 minute call in June.
She said: "It was the week my dad had died, so I was actually off work and was making lots of phone calls to various companies regarding his death and pensions and payments. I don't even know who Bounce Tech are, I wouldn't personally ring them. I just think I just assumed you were ringing the company you were trying to ring, I had no idea."
The BBC reported that Lesley Carthy, from Warrington, Cheshire, googled HMRC's contact number to try to contact them in June. She was later charged £184.68 by Bounce Tech for a 51 minute phone call.
She said: "I saw this number online, I dialled it and obviously you're in a queue. Nothing was told to me about a call charge. Then 50 minutes went by, it got answered and then the next thing, I got my phone bill."
The disgruntled caller added: "Phoning HMRC, you think you wouldn't be calling on a premium number. I just can't believe it, nobody can believe it."
Lesley Carthy, from Warrington, also faced an eye-watering bill (BBC WS)Lesley said she has since been refunded in full by Bounce Tech for the call, with PSA confirming that it has now opened an investigation into the company.
In July, the PSA issued a warning letter to Bounce Tech, explaining the company's pricing information was not clear enough, was misleading, and customers had experienced undue delay while using the service. As a result, Bounce Tech Ltd has agreed to the action plan to resolve the issues identified by the PSA. The costly company has also agreed to refund complainants who have been charged by them via their phone bill.
A HMRC spokesperson said: "Most customers prefer to deal with us online and we strongly encourage them to do so but if they need to call us, they shouldn't use costly call connection services advertised online."
HMRC encouraged customers to contact them directly on its 0300 helpline numbers that are "free or charged at the national landline rate".
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