Huge charge for calling my French bank

[natkins]

So I had to call my French bank in an emergency to sort out my buy to let. 

the French bank website said  to call on an 0810 number at ‘local rate eur0.09’

EE on my bill they charged my £5.33 per minute resulting in a massive £495 call charge!!

ee have said the number is premium rate and that eur0.09 only applies to the French.  They have also said this £495 went to the number I called not them. I’m not sure I believe them. 

There seemed to be no way for me to know what this charge was going to be in advance. 

I have no idea who to complain to or what my rights are but this seems outrageous.

Help! 

[natkins]

Hi

bit confused. There are no payments in euros in the image. There are only charges on my bill (charges are different from payments) and they are in pounds not euros. I asked EE to tell me what was actually paid and to whom but the said they wouldn’t tell me. 

also I am happy to ’naive’ but only in the same way as many mis-selling was of ppi etc etc etc. 

it would not be considered reasonable for a consumer to read all the documents to avoid a 6000% markup on the French price. That is not how consumer protection works. 50p per min would be reasonable, over £5 is not without very clear warnings. There are no such clear warnings. 

[BrendonH]

Actually it is reasonable for the consumer to read the terms of any conditions they are entering into. Saying you didn't read them is not a get out of jail free card.

Checking the prices on the French banks website is for french residents within France and the price with your own admittance was in EUROS, we operate in POUND sterling here, so common sense ould state that the price you were seeing was not for UK residents in the UK

[Chris_B]

@natkins   You do know what a contract is ?  It’s a legal document that is agreed too by 2 or more parties.     Not reading the T&Cs of a legal document doesn’t make the T&Cs void when it suits.    It is very reasonable to assume that something that it a legally binding be understood by the entity, who is accepting that agreement, 

[XRaySpeX]

Regardless of having read the T&C's or not, all you needed was to consult your tariff (PLAN PRICE GUIDE Standard and Non-Standard Charges Pay Monthly) knowing that you were calling neither a landline nor a mobile abroad, for which fact it would have been sensible to have Googled "0810 number France" beforehand.

[natkins]

I think you’re being naive. countless examples of that not being true costing those companies billions.  That’s not how the law works and it’s what gets firms into trouble. 

[BrendonH]

I think you need to understand the law yourself because being naive doesn't get you out of paying these charges.

I spent many years helping my wife revise her bachelor's and master degrees in law.

My wife currently teaches law in school.

My mother in law is a judge in the tax tribunals. 

What I can tell you is that you don't have a leg to stand on here EE may waive the fees under goodwill gesture but they don't have to.

You made the call and didn't read the terms stated in your contract, that's on you.

[natkins]

So PPI / car loans/ etc never happened? My mistake. I must have dreamt it.  

[natkins]

Secondly. The warning that the contract states would be given when a premium number is dialed was not given. So I’m surprised I haven’t got any sort of case. 

if it is found that EE have not been playing the warning as it says they do it could be a lot more expensive for them than my few hundred pounds. 

[XRaySpeX]

I expect that warning is only emitted when dialling UK nos. Is EE expected to know all the Service & Premium Rate nos. for all the countries of the world? The onus is on the caller to find out what type of foreign no, he is dialling.

[BrendonH]

You don't have a leg to stand on.

You were not calling a UK number. The price you read were not for people outside of France and it's naive to think that is the price you'll pay.

Have you actually spoken to EE have they said you must pay? If so then just pay it and put it down as a mistake